How to Engage New Members Virtually

New member engagement is critical. After all, we can’t have lifetime engagement without having new member engagement first.

Last week, we talked about how to engage new members with email. This week, we will tackle part two of Michelle’s great question.

Michelle asked: Do you have any other ideas for how to connect virtually outside of email?

There are so many tools and ways to engage members virtually, and this is excellent news for geographically dispersed members, members who can’t travel (with today’s busy schedules, even a drive across town can be too daunting), and reaching members in between in-person meetings.

So, how do we engage our newest members virtually? Let’s dive back into the New Member Engagement Study, where we surveyed 15 tactics for answers.

If you work for a trade association, you might want to engage new members with email, phone calls, welcome kits (likely emailed, not snail-mailed welcome kits), and virtual orientation events.

Professional associations prioritize a slightly different lineup of tactics—emails, engaging new members in their online community, virtual orientation events, and phone calls.

Which tactic do I think you should start with? Here are a few of my favorites, along with some best practices and caveats.

Virtual Orientation Events

When the team at Dynamic Benchmarking and I conducted the New Member Engagement Study for the first time in 2018, virtual orientation events were called ‘Onboarding Webinars.’ These were highly scripted, perhaps even recorded, static events that gave members a tour of the available resources. Well, associations have evolved these events to ‘Onboarding Webinars 5.0 (or maybe 8.0😉—there’s been a lot of evolution here.)

These events have evolved so much that we decided to call them by a new name, ‘Virtual Orientation Events.’ These days, these events are far more reactive to the needs of the people in the virtual room. The host will often start by asking participants questions. The answers will inform the session's content by highlighting resources that will most help the participants. Some virtual orientation events even have facilitated networking so new members can connect with other new members.

This tactic is one of my favorites. Associations rate it as one of the most effective tactics, so I predict more associations will add virtual orientation events to their onboarding programs.

Phone Calls

Phone calls ranked high in usage and effectiveness for trade associations and were in the top 5 for professional associations. If there’s time for this tactic, try it out! Likely, you will get a whole bunch of voicemails, and that’s totally okay because a kind, cheery, we’re-so-happy-you-joined voicemail is engaging for new members.

Our data suggests that phone calls made by volunteers are less effective than those made by staff. This could be because volunteers don’t have time to make the calls. And time is a critical issue here. This tactic can be really, super, very effective for staff or volunteers, but only if there’s time to do it. If you don’t have time, no worries. There are many other tactics to try!

Online Community

If you have an online community, you can turn on a weekly digest so new members see the conversations, but don’t stop there. Perhaps you can welcome new members by name in your online community (depending on size). Or run a new member leaderboard. Or message them from the online community with topics or sections they may want to join.

We talked with the fabulous Marjorie Anderson, Founder of Community by Association, and you’ll see more ideas from her on page 26.

Anything Else?

Some new digital tactics have popped on the scene recently, and we are very interested to see how they mature. Chapter or special interest group onboarding, new member engagement committees, and new member ambassador programs can activate volunteers to help engage new members.

I hope one of the tactics I’ve mentioned sparks your imagination!

Next week, I’ll be answering Lauren's question. She asked, “How would you approach engagement with a very introverted membership?” Great question, Lauren! Stay tuned.