We have all found ourselves irritated by intrusive and annoying ads.  Ads that are in no way helpful or even related to the content we are viewing.  But when ads are targeted and properly placed, they can be very effective in achieving their purpose.  Communities are a perfect environment for placing ads targeted to your members.  You know who your members are and have already established a level of trust with them.  Molly Talbert at Higher Logic has written an article with three reasons why you should incorporate ad campaigns into your community.

Creating content that is engaging, relevant, and informative can be challenging.  Associations need good content that will keep their current members engaged and attract new members to their organization.  Finding the inspiration to create that content is often a struggle.  An article, written by Jennifer Barrell at Aptify, lists five ways to find new inspiration for content creation.

What is marketing automation and why do associations need it?  The growth strategies of yesterday no longer work.  People, laws, and culture have changed.  People today are very tech-savvy and they know what they want.  We are now at a crossroad in the association market.  We need to evolve and grow and now is the time.  Suzanne Carawan, CMO at HighRoad Solution, delivers her presentation "What Is Marketing Automation" in the ASAE Lunch Learning Webinar.  Suzanne explains what marketing automation is and why it is so desperately needed by today's associations.  She takes us step by step through what our new growth stategies need to be in the changing landscape of marketing and tips on how to achieve them.