E-ssociating: Fundamental Concepts for Success

If you have read each of the three proceeding articles in this series, then you no doubt have noticed a pattern. Each of the 3 technologies covered share some fundamental concepts that should be utilized in order to be successful. No matter which of the technologies you may choose to implement within your organization, the following tips will help you establish them.

1. Quality of content is ultimately what matters. Remember that technology is only the tool. The content you promote/deliver through it is what actually establishes value. No matter which tools you choose to implement they will all fail if you are not offering content that your members appreciate or need.
2. Design goes far beyond how it looks. Make sure to evaluate a potential vendor’s design skills. Design reaches far beyond how an item looks, it directly influences how easy to use and how successful these technologies will ultimately become. Vendors with poor design skills or abnormally low prices tend to skip over details that may go unnoticed until a later date in order to save costs up front.
3. Don’t forget to listen. Information from your members will begin flying in at a rate that you may not expect or even notice right away. Things such as usage habits, blog statistics, or frequently updated wiki pages may not be direct communication with you, but they all say something important about your members and what they are interested in.
4. Everything takes time even on the internet. Don’t be surprised if you do not see immediate results. Within blogging especially it may take 3 to 6 months of continual work before you begin to see measurable results. When things do start to pick up you will notice that they grow exponentially. The longer you maintain these initiatives the easier and more successful that they ultimately become.

That wraps up this series about our article E-ssociating: The 21st Century Art of Electronic Association Marketing. Hopefully you have gained some helpful information that can help you further establish your organization’s online presence through these technologies. If you are further interested in any of the topics discussed or have any questions in general please don’t hesitate to contact Michael at mfaye [at] associadirect.com or visit our website at http://www.associadirect.com.