As a leader at an association or other membership-based organization, you know that engaging your members is critical for long-term success. After all, engaged members are more likely to see the value in their membership with your organization and renew their memberships. To track and enhance engagement, you must carefully choose metrics that will help you measure progress toward your goals and ultimately level up your program.

Fortunately, this data is already stored in your CRM—you’ll just need to unlock the insights. Let’s walk through a few key engagement metrics and how to enhance each one.

1. Participation Rate

Participation rate refers to the percentage of members who actively engage in activities such as attending events, volunteering, taking courses, contributing to discussions, joining or leading committees, etc. These members show that they’re interested in your offerings and see the value in their membership, leading to increased retention and satisfaction.

Here are some tips to improve your participation rates:

  • Personalize outreach. Protech’s guide to membership management explains that most association members expect personalized experiences and communications. Your association can achieve this by making tailored recommendations of resources, events, and content the recipient will likely be interested in based on their engagement history.
  • Offer relevant, engaging content and activities. You might need to revamp your current event calendar or content topics to appeal to your members’ interests. Reference past engagement data, insights from member surveys, and industry trends to determine whether your content and events are meeting members’ needs and expectations. Then, update or add to your offerings as needed.
  • Recognize and reward engaged members. Showing appreciation for engaged members can make them feel valued and inspire others to start actively participating. For example, you could give a public shoutout to members who offer valuable contributions during meetings and reward them with exclusive perks and a discount on next year’s membership fee. Members who want to earn similar incentives will likely start looking for ways to get more involved.

2. Membership Revenue

Membership revenue is the total income generated by members. Remember to consider other revenue streams besides dues that stem from products or services offered to members (e.g., paid event registration or a guided upskilling course). Tracking revenue is key to understanding whether your membership program is profitable and if your organization can (or should) expand its benefits and offerings.

Some tips to drive more membership revenue include:

  • Standing out from peer organizations. Compare the perks your competitors offer to your membership benefits. What can you do to go above and beyond those benefits or make your membership program truly unique? For example, you might set up a members-only Q&A session with an influential figure in your space that other associations haven’t asked to speak. Promote these desirable benefits in your marketing materials to position your membership program as one-of-a-kind.
  • Creating tiered membership levels. Configure customized membership tiers in your association software to appeal to those with varying budgets and interest levels. As the membership fees for each tier increase, so should the value you provide. This way, you can attract highly dedicated individuals who are willing to pay more for exclusive perks, as well as more casual supporters who are happy with your entry-level membership tier.
  • Incentivizing early renewals. Persuading members to renew can be stressful, especially if they wait until the last minute or incur late fees. Offering early renewal discounts or other incentives can circumvent these complications and make the process smoother for everyone. Make sure to communicate regularly about renewals and position these benefits at the forefront to encourage members to secure them.

3. Digital Engagement

Digital engagement metrics track members’ interactions with your organization’s online presence. This may include website visits, email open and click-through rates, social media engagement, and participation in virtual events.

These metrics indicate how effectively your organization connects with its members online, which is crucial to maintaining an engaged membership in a digital world. As Deep Sync’s guide to data-driven marketing explains, using data-backed insights will enhance targeting and personalization, improve campaign performance, help you stand out from competitors, and achieve a higher marketing ROI.

To improve digital engagement, you can:

  • Segment campaigns. Using your CRM or AMS system, create segmented campaigns based on factors like member lifecycle, interests, geographic location, etc. Then, tailor the marketing materials for each campaign to the corresponding segment. For example, an email campaign targeted at long-term members may promote opportunities to earn leadership roles or volunteer in other capacities.
  • Recognize behavioral triggers. Set up automated emails or notifications that are triggered by certain member behaviors. Then, use these messages to catch the attention of disengaged members (e.g., “We noticed you haven’t logged in for 30 days—here’s what you missed.”) and encourage more engagement from involved members (e.g., “We noticed you’re one of our top blog post readers!”).
  • Balance short-form content and value. Snappy, short-form content often outperforms longer content on social media, but this doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. Share bite-sized videos, infographics, or quotes from long-form content in posts. For instance, you might create a short video with highlights from a recent webinar and link to the full video on your website. Not only do you grab members’ attention, but you’ll entice them to check out your site.

4. Member Feedback

Member feedback gives your organization a direct line to their thoughts and opinions. Collecting feedback helps you better understand their needs, expectations, likes, dislikes, and overall satisfaction. With these insights, you can enhance your strategy to better engage members, plus implementing their suggestions shows that you’re listening.

You can collect member feedback by:

  • Surveying members regularly. Share periodic surveys (e.g., each quarter or every six months) with certain segments to gauge members’ attitudes toward your membership program and prioritize opportunities for improvement. Additionally, create more specialized surveys to distribute after events, renewals, etc.
  • Establishing and sharing feedback channels. Members may come across a problem or think of a suggestion between your periodic surveys. Offer other ways for them to provide ad hoc feedback, such as filling out a form or emailing a specific staff member, and ensure members are aware of how these processes work.
  • Taking action. When members provide constructive feedback, it’s because they think their input will help you improve. Show that you’re dedicated to being the best organization you can be by considering and evaluating their feedback. Follow up by sharing updates about which suggestions you chose to move forward with and why.

Effective membership programs can save your organization time and help you efficiently manage your cash flow during financially challenging times. Tracking member engagement metrics allows you to predict opportunities and problems before they happen, meaning you’ll be well-equipped to adjust your strategies, proactively address changing needs or preferences, and ultimately retain more members.