Fall Programming

Join the Ottawa-Gatineau CSAE Chapter at one of our upcoming events!  Click here for our full slate of programming.

Or, scan the list below for additional details:

Programming & Continuing Education:

• On October 16th, join us at the Best Western Plus Victoria Park Suites for our Leadership & Development Lunch.  Dr. Roseann O'Reilly Runte, President of Carleton University, will share her thoughts and insights on how to hone our leadership skills while maintaining that all-too-elusive work-life balance.  Be part of this unique opportunity to hear from one of Canada's premier leaders on a subject that directly impacts all executives and learn how to cut through the million threads holding you back.  Click here to register.
• On November 18th, we will be hosting a half-day workshop at the Ottawa Conference & Event Centre on Information Management - Effective Processes to Reduce Uncertainty.
  
  Participants in this complimentary session will learn:
• How to determine the right time to make a change
• How to assess the needs of their organizations and select and implement effective and integrated systems
• How to manage the human side of change
• How to ensure that they understand and are delivering the financial and non-financial information the Board requires to discharge its responsibilities
  
  We have partnered with BDO on this one - and hope to see you there!  Click here for more info.
• Right after the 1/2 day workshop, stick around for lunch - back by popular demand, we will hear from 3 Executives:  What are three tips for balancing the demands of a CEO role with the demans of the rest of your life?  Click here to register.

Interested in Marketing & Communications?

We also have two free networking sessions to consider:  October 14th will be geared towards Young Professionals in Association Communications, November 11th will be all about Digital Analytics: Making them relevant to your association.  Sign up for one, or both!

Stuff Happens - Social Media, Associations and Sudden Events

Twitter, Blogs and Helping Members When Something Goes Wrong 

There’s a scene in the iconic movie Forrest Gump where Tom Hanks/Forrest gets mud splashed on his face from a passing car and is given a shirt to wipe it away. When the bright yellow shirt is pulled away, it has a muddy smiley face gracing the middle. That’s when Hanks/Forrest mutters, “It happens,” in his Alabama drawl.

That moment is supposed to be the line that spawned a million upbeat bumper stickers pasted on cars and dorm room walls around the world. But it’s also very true; stuff happens and sometimes it’s not very good stuff. Floods happen, terrible winter storms happen, strikes happen and vandalism happens. That doesn’t mean your association, and its members, need to be unprepared.

Social media can help any association come to the assistance of its members during an event that threatens their industry. Here are just a couple examples.

Twitter

Twitter is made for breaking news. Twitter users can instantly get news from colleagues, organizations, news services and other connections. They can search for specific topics, write an update in a less than a minute and include photos and videos. They can access the platform in their office or in the middle of a field. In this way, Twitter can be an association’s best friend when the unexpected hits.

Twitter offers organizations a way to relay vital information to its members. Updates on a natural disaster (evacuations, emergency services, etc.), surprise political decision or any other piece of news that affects your members can be quickly, easily and succinctly passed on to members.
Twitter is a great platform to use to not only inform members, but also guide them to important resources when they need them quickly. Tweets can be sent out with links to information on government assistance, your association’s insurance program, or articles that give strategies on coping with unexpected scenarios, such as a flood.

Twitter also acts as a gathering place, a space where an organization and its members can join together and support their colleagues. An encouraging tweet, a meaningful conversation about shared experiences or an offer of time or resources from a colleague can help a member through a tough time and many an obstacle. Twitter opens up several avenues to make this possible and the best one is through an organization’s account.

Twitter offers a forum for those affected by natural disasters to tell their stories in the days after an unanticipated event and long after a member has rebounded. Twitter is a great platform to see the way members triumph over hardship and the pride and perseverance they show in their jobs. There is no better way for an organization to inspire and empower its members than to share these stories of dedication and success.

Blogging

Blogging does a lot of what Twitter does, but in a bigger, more in-depth way. While Twitter is there for you to pass on news and information immediately and in bite-sized pieces, a blog will help your association tell stories, convey detailed information and share analysis of an event.

It’s great when your association’s president, CEO or executive director can write a letter to members about an event, explaining the ins and outs, detailing the resources available and showing support for the people most affected by a sudden turn in fortunes. A blog is a handy platform with which to achieve this, as it encourages members to read, comment and share the content.

A blog can also be used as an outlet for storytelling. Your members have a story to tell after an unexpected event hits their operations. A blog offers those members a chance to outline their experiences in an interview, photo blog or guest post. This type of blog helps connect your members in a way few other platforms can; with shared experiences. They may even be a part of one member’s story that helps another member recover or cope with the changing landscape of an industry, whether it’s a physical landscape or a cultural one.

Author Bio: Marc Cousineau is the President and Founder of Incline Marketing. Marc is passionate about helping non-profit organizations and associations grow and serve members through online marketing and social media.

You can follow Marc on Twitter, @marccousineau2, and follow Incline Marketing @inclinemktg

Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Promote Your Publications by Harnessing the Power of Members

The tactic of using members to promote your association is nothing new. But have you ever considered using members to promote the value of your association’s publications? Here are five ways to use members, or even readers, to promote the value of your publications, leading to higher readership and possibly more advertising dollars.

1. Put them in print. Most associations continue to do print pieces to promote their association to members as well as non-members because print is still effective when used smartly. Your publications are a key member benefit, so the value of the publications is promoted in any print pieces you produce for the purpose of recruiting and retaining members.Print promotions are the perfect place to use targeted testimonials. Target testimonials allow you to show segments of your audience the value of the publications in a non-promotional way because the testimonials come from their colleagues, not from association staff. When using testimonials in print, or any other format, it is beneficial to include testimonials from different segments of your key audiences so that readers will see themselves represented and associate themselves with the value being presented.
2. Find the social media champions. Social Media is a great way to create engagement and spread information quickly. Many associations are already involved in this medium on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, and more. In addition to sharing information and creating conversation, you can use social media to locate individuals who are already talking about your association or the topics that you cover, and contact them about becoming a champion for your publication.This does not mean they promote your publication, or your association, but it does mean that you feed them important information or exciting things that are happening in your publications and ask them to participate in the conversation on your social media sites or on their own. If you recruit the right people to serve as champions, your content will get coverage without much effort on your part.
3. Encourage members to forward content via enewsletters. Using your members to help spread the word can be very simple if you are producing an e-newsletter to recruit members or to inform current members about key happenings in your association. It is simple because almost all email programs make it easy to insert a “forward-to-a-friend” link within your e-newsletter. Not everyone is going to actually take action on a forward-to-a-friend link, so to maximize its usage, suggest that e-newsletter readers pass the message along, and then track how many recipients actually do so.E-newsletters are also a great place to insert video testimonials or links to video testimonials. A video testimonial can be captured at one of your events or can be self-produced by a reader. Like a written testimonial, a video is a great way to promote your publications in your readers’ own words.
4. Feature testimonials on the website. Your website is a great way to communicate with members and non-members alike. Testimonials about your publications, videos about how members and non-members have benefited from your publications, and quotes from authors and social media champions can all be posted on your website for your community to see. The real estate on your website is very valuable and because of that, many of your association’s departments will want to have a presence on the site. However, since your publications are valuable member benefits, commit to making sure that publications have a regular presence there.
5. Promote from the inside. It may sound silly to cross promote your publications, but it is a smart thing to do. If you have multiple publications, promote content from one publication in another publication so readers of one will learn the benefits of another. Including testimonials or links to videos or social media comments about your publications within the publications is a good way to engage more people, ultimately leading to a higher level of commitment and understanding of your content offerings. Messaging about sharing the publication with other colleagues increases awareness within the right audience, with the added benefit that the publication was suggested by a colleague, not a staff member. The members of your association and your industry are resources that you should take advantage of. Having these types of people speak for your association and spread the word about your publications provides a level of legitimacy and authenticity that staff spokespeople cannot duplicate. If you are not already using members to tell your story, start doing so right away. Happy recruiting!

This post was submitted by Scott Oser, of Scott Oser Associates, with over 17 years of marketing experience in the association and publishing industries. Before starting the firm he worked for market leaders like National Geographic Society, AARP and Science.Throughout his career Scott has excelled in developing, implementing and analyzing multi-channel direct marketing programs. He is highly skilled in creating effective membership, marketing and sales programs with the ability to align resources and operations to consistently achieve and exceed goals.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Why Smart Advertisers Choose Associations

During my almost 20-year career, I have been fortunate to work for — and with — both for-profit and association publications. Throughout this time, I have often heard that it is not as easy to sell ads in association publications as it is in consumer publications. Over the last seven years, as I have focused on selling advertising almost exclusively in association publications, I have learned that simply is not the case.

Here are a few reasons some people believe that association publications are not as valuable as consumer publications:

• The majority of readers do not make a commitment to the magazine; they are receiving it as a member benefit because they are a member of the association.
• Association publications are typically not audited, so an advertiser or an ad agency cannot easily compare an association publication to a consumer publication that is audited.
• Associations often do not have as many readers as consumer publications.

At face value, these are all good reasons that it is smarter for an advertiser to put their ad dollars toward a consumer publication as compared to an association publication. The good news for association publishers is that there are even more reasons why an association publication is a great advertising choice:

1. Associations keep their members. According to ASAE, the average association annual member-renewal rate is 80 percent . That means that advertisers are able to consistently reach the same individuals multiple times over multiple years if they advertise regularly over time. All marketers know that staying in front of potential customers is important. This consistency is almost guaranteed when working with associations.
2. Associations can be small, but they are targeted. Most associations and association publications are built around an industry or a mission that members support or believe in. This basically guarantees that the individuals who are receiving the publication are similar in need and focus. Targeting is important in advertising, and if you are able to reach an audience that is almost totally made up of the type of individual you are trying to reach, it will increase the likelihood of success.
3. Associations are communities of engaged members. Associations are putting more and more time and money into engaging their member community. They are giving members ways to communicate and even share information about products and services they use and like. With these engagement mechanisms already in place, companies that consistently advertise and do a good job of getting members to talk about their product or service to the larger community will see word of mouth about their offerings progress faster than they may see in a consumer environment.
4. Associations are trusted. As nonprofit organizations, associations are looked at with a level of respect and trust that for-profit entities often are not. A company that advertises in an association publication benefits from the perception of trust as well. Members also trust the association to provide them with the right information, products, and services, so companies that advertise in association publications may receive a more positive perception than they would if the ad were placed in a consumer publication.
5. Association members pay a good amount for dues. It is true that association members typically do not pay for their publication directly like a consumer would for a magazine. That said, members are making a choice to join the association and are typically paying a dues amount that is higher than the ever-shrinking price of a consumer magazine. Additionally, many consumer publications are controlled (qualified subscribers receive a free subscription) where a subscriber doesn’t pay anything for their subscription.

Selling advertising in an association publication is not an easy thing to do. However, if you educate your advertisers and potential advertisers to the benefits you bring to the table, it will be much easier. There are many benefits to advertising in an association publication — we just have to make them known.

This post was submitted by Scott Oser, of Scott Oser Associates, with over 17 years of marketing experience in the association and publishing industries. Before starting the firm he worked for market leaders like National Geographic Society, AARP and Science.Throughout his career Scott has excelled in developing, implementing and analyzing multi-channel direct marketing programs. He is highly skilled in creating effective membership, marketing and sales programs with the ability to align resources and operations to consistently achieve and exceed goals.

Image courtesy of cooldesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

10 Things to Do Before Implementing Something New

1. Talk to your co-workers across all departments early in the process to get their thoughts and perspectives and how it might impact their area of responsibility.
2. Talk to your association network to see what their experience has been and how it has impacted them at their association.
3. Make sure that what you are considering doing helps you better serve your members or makes your efforts more effective and efficient.
4. Don’t do it just to do it (Don’t chase the shiny object).
5. Talk to your members to make sure that what you are considering is right for them.
6. Test or develop a pilot program for the idea to see how it will play out in real life.
7. Run the numbers to see how following the “trend” will impact your bottom line and your association’s business.
8. Do your research (i.e. books, white papers, listservs).
9. Allow for a cooling down period so that you don’t rush into implementation too quickly.  Give yourself a chance to sleep on it for a little bit.
10. Consultants/associations should both take equal responsibility for implementation/outcomes

This post was submitted by Scott Oser, of Scott Oser Associates, with over 17 years of marketing experience in the association and publishing industries. Before starting the firm he worked for market leaders like National Geographic Society, AARP and Science.Throughout his career Scott has excelled in developing, implementing and analyzing multi-channel direct marketing programs. He is highly skilled in creating effective membership, marketing and sales programs with the ability to align resources and operations to consistently achieve and exceed goals.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

AWESOME Blog Posts (Featuring @Dan_Vee @jcufaude @WildApricot @affinitycenter)

These four posts that we saw in the last week focused on ROI (in one form or another).  For our followers, we re-capped them here, and encourage you to read the full posts!  Great stuff!

1. ROI to R.O.M.E:  Thanks to Dan Varroney for this one.  R.O.M.E (Return On Member Engagement) encourages association executives to be proactive, and change the conversation.  Instead of engagement taking a back seat to budgets and putting out fires, can this challenges be avoided by focusing on the member and the outcome?  
2. 7 Simple Upgrades to Improve Conference ROI:  Jeffrey Cufaude posted this at the end of July, and his suggestions should be read by all who have limited budgets to adhere to when planning a conference, but want to really move the needle and increase attendee participation, and ultimately, attendance year over year.  Get your delegates involved!  
3. How Are You Welcoming New Members?: While we all recognize that we need to be consistent and timely with our outreach to new members, we do not need a Wal-Mart greeter.  Wild Apricot posted some stats from the US-based research produced by MGI, and adds commentary on what we can be doing to welcome new members. 
4. Combating Low Member Engagement: Affinity Center International shares four best practices – as a result of the MGI Research that states that membership is on the rise, but renewals are down.  These best practices might help you get rid of high attrition.  

What’s on your reading list this week?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Associations That Create Change – An Interview with Paul Smith, Executive Director

In the May-June issue of the CSAE Ottawa-Gatineau Executive, an interview with Paul Smith, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) was submitted for publication.

Associations are constantly on the lookout to create change in their industry, and remain relevant. Paul Smith, the Executive Director with CACEE was kind enough to share his experience with his organization, the change created, and the accomplishments achieved as a result.

Paul was kind enough to answer questions relating to:

• What happened with your organization to make you realize that a change was needed?
• What did you identify as possible ways to implement change?
• How did you get stakeholder (Board of Directors, Staff, etc.) buy-in to making the change?
• Did the process work the way you had anticipated?
• What timeframe did you account for in your planning to create and implement this change? How does this compare to the time it took?
• What were some of the hurdles you did not anticipate?
• What have the outcomes been so far? Is there anything else you anticipate taking shape as a result?
• What advice would you provide other association executives who are looking to create change?

To read the full article, click here and flip to Page 9.  Paul has some great insights, and we thank him for his honesty, and willingness to share!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.