5 ways an online community is key to delivering a great member experience

Delivering value to your members is what your association is all about. You’re the go-to resource for your industry or profession. You’re the place members go to stay informed, network, and advance their careers. 

In fact, the latest Community Brands research shows that 51% of members rely on associations for networking, collaboration, sharing ideas, and participating in a professional community. 

But how can your association keep members engaged and deliver continued value? Invest in your online community to improve the member experience! Follow the tips in our blog to get started.  

How to improve the member experience with your online community

Community Brands research found that nearly half of members have used their organization’s online community, and those that have report higher loyalty metrics and a strong sense of community. 

An online community is a convenient way for members to stay connected with your organization and other members. With an online community, your organization can efficiently deliver member value, enhance the member experience, and boost member engagement. 

Here are five ways to elevate the member experience with an online community: 

1. Provide a one-stop shop for information and answers

An online community gives you a single, convenient place to highlight your association’s value, reach more members, and streamline your member marketing efforts. It’s also a single, convenient place for your members to find information and stay connected with your organization and other members.

2. Build connections and networks

An online community helps you foster connections and networks among your members. For example, to increase interactions and member loyalty, you can bring your most engaged members into contact with less engaged members. You can also promote community participation by rewarding the most engaged members with a badge displayed on their profiles.

3. Deliver targeted, valuable content

Community Brands research shows that 47% of members value targeted, relevant content. An online community allows you to provide personalized news feeds that serve content based on member interests and activities.

4. Create a direct communications channel

An online community helps you keep members engaged by delivering content directly to them. For example, you can use notification capabilities through your online community to automatically send members a digest of new posts, comments on recent discussions, or suggest new topics to discuss.

5. Offer a better onboarding experience

When members first join your association, it’s crucial to make a good first impression and make them feel welcome right away. Using groups functionality in your online community, you can create a group for new members where they can ask questions and discuss topics. You can include an association staff member and even a highly engaged veteran member in the group to help answer questions and direct new members to helpful resources. Offering this new member group also encourages new members to network and build connections.

These are just a few examples of how an online community can help your organization deliver a great member experience. An online community is a fantastic tool to help members connect, learn, and get involved in their own ways and on their own schedule.  
 
And the best part? An online community isn’t a one-time event – it’s a convenient, effective way for your association to provide member value every single day.

Why your association needs the right online community to boost your member experience

Not all online member communities are created equal. Having the right technology goes a long way in boosting the member experience and improving member engagement.  

With the powerful Nimble AMS online community platform, Nimble Communities, you can easily connect association members, drive engagement, and enhance member loyalty. Here’s how Nimble Communities will help you become a member-centric association:

• Personalize the member experience. Nimble Communities helps you customize the member experience with personalized content feeds based on member interest and activities. Staff can easily promote valuable member connections and networking opportunities based on member data and behavior.
• Innovative member value. Empower your members with a modern member experience. Nimble Communities encourages on-the-go connections and collaboration with a mobile-responsive community accessible from any device at any time. Your association can also stay top of mind with a customized and branded mobile app.
• Simplified online community management. Nimble Communities offers easy community management. Staff can create dashboards and gain valuable insights into how members are using your online community. With a quick glance, you can see the most popular groups and discussions, most talked about topics, most active members, and most frequently viewed pages.