Social media is classed as being any website that allows user generated content. Social media is one of the most popular activities online, with more and more people logging onto social networks, creating and commenting on blogs and creating user reviews for products.
Companies relying on memberships are starting to understand the true value that lies within these channels. There are many different social networking sites available, but one of the most commonly used is Facebook. Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently. Originally created for students at Harvard University, it has grown into a communication platform for all, and is now being used by millions of people throughout the globe:
• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 35 million users update their status each day
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events created each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans
• The media age of a Facebook user is 26
o Yet the fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
Because so many people are now using Facebook, it makes sense for membership organisations to utilise it to improve communication and to create an interactive experience for their own community.
Many membership organisations are still using traditional Web 1.0 technologies to communicate with their member base - a static website providing information and announcements, but with no ability for the website visitor to add information or communicate back to the website owner. For some membership organisations, they will have a fantastic looking website which provides a host of information to their members. However, people are now becoming used to being able to use social media to gather information. From a membership organisation’s viewpoint, it seems what makes these technologies attractive, is the various social media tools that enable users to easily publish ideas and transmit them to a wide audience. Unlike the one way communication associated with Web 1.0, today’s technology enables users to create a digital identity by sharing their personal thoughts and relevant ideas.
More and more membership organisations are taking advantage of the different tools Facebook offers to improve how they communicate with their members. Managing a membership organisation can be hard; with all the aspects of running a business, effective communication with members is key. However, finding ways to effectively communicate with your membership base is not always an easy task – frequent contact is central to ensuring members are retained year in, year out. If membership organisations can find a dependable way to communicate with their members, they will be able to provide important information that will not only improve the members’ experience, but may help to build a productive membership base also.
Facebook’s social networking can help build the sort of communication structure that enables membership managers to communicate with members on a regular basis. Because most people are used to using Facebook to communicate, utilising the following applications can help to improve member-related communication:
• Group Feature: Creating focused communication groups for different member types allows membership managers to easily share information and data in a way that is specifically tailored for each member
• Event Feature: Because most membership organisations have to communicate information related to numerous events, Facebook’s event feature can aid excellent event-based communication. Scheduling an event is very easy and its broadcast feature enables membership managers to not only reach a large audience, but simply and effectively reminds members of important events
• Send Message Feature: This feature allows membership managers to send messages directly to their members. Managers can create a variety of groups based on the different communication requirements. What makes this application so practical is that much like email, member managers can pinpoint communication to specific members
• Multimedia Feature: Membership managers can share a range of multimedia with their members. The ability to easily share videos and images with members can add a huge amount of value to members. Images of previous events, video interviews with important members and other multimedia communications can be shared instantly. If designed well, these snapshots can provide a powerful insight into the membership organisation and their membership community. By emphasising certain aspects of the membership community, membership managers can have a influential hand in shaping it
• Announcement Feature: Membership managers can easily broadcast messages and reminders to help members stay on top of important member-related events
• Blogging Feature: By using the ‘Notes’ feature, membership managers can provide regular updates, blog about significant events and issues and provide valuable information to members
• Discussion Feature: By using the discussion feature, membership managers can create an valuable way for members to share ideas and thoughts with the organisation and with other members. As long as the discussions items are properly planned and well managed, they can present an excellent way for members to participate in the organisations decision making process
• Member-to-Member: One of the most popular ways membership managers can use Facebook is to help other members communicate and build relationships with each other
Facebook is a powerful tool for membership organisations because the social networking structure it is built upon can be used to facilitate communication and build a dynamic online community. Depending on the type of membership organisation, the majority of members may already have an active Facebook account. For membership mangers, this provides them with a powerful communication tool – one which can be used to share all kinds of different information and which can be customised to meet the personal needs of individual members.
Managing a membership Facebook account is made extremely simple through the use of an integrated membership management software solution. These solutions enable membership managers to update and manage their Facebook account without having to leave the membership management solution platform. The platform will also integrate into other social media sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Quality membership management solutions also integrate with CRM systems and other back end office solutions, providing membership organisations with a way of managing their membership base with ease.
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