On this episode of Higher Logic Thrive’s The Member Engagement Show, our guests are Andrea Wieters, Director of Strategic and Future Focused Research for the ASAE Research Foundation, and Jennifer McNelly, CEO of the American Society of Safety Professionals. Both work on ASAE ForesightWorks, a program focused on major trend analysis and forecasting to equip associations and their volunteer leaders for effective environmental scanning and planning for change. Andrea, Jennifer, and Kelly discuss ForesightWorks' continuous strategic intelligence on drivers of change in the association industry and practical applications for the insights provided by this program. Topics covered include:

• What the ASAE Research Foundation and ForesightWorks does - including their list of "Drivers of Change".
• The newest Drivers of Change: AI, emerging Gen Z, and the talent drought.
• The ways the world of work is changing and why every association leader needs to understand it.
• The importance of a systems-based approach.
• Six key thematic areas of change explored in the ForesightWorks list of Drivers of Change.
• Advice for association leaders on how to apply drivers of change to strategy.

Some Helpful Links

ASAE ForesightWorks

Why Associations Need Foresight

The CDC’s Future of Work

Higher Logic Thrive

On this special episode of The Member Engagement Show, we give you exclusive listener access to a recent webinar: “What Do Members Want? Tips and Trends from Higher Logic’s 2024 Association Member Experience Report.” Presenters Higher Logic Content Marketing Manager Kelly Whelan, Director of Product Marketing Sarah Spinosa, and Strategic Advisor Bekah Weidner reveal insights gleaned from the study and add their thoughts on how you can use these insights and best practices to improve your member engagement. Topics covered include:

• Why members leave their associations.
• How often do members interact with their association?
• What are the top member benefits?
• Member education needs and trends.
• How associations can participate in targeted initiatives members look for.
• Member communication preferences.
• How important is personalization and segmentation to members?

Helpful Links

Watch the Webinar: What Do Members Want? Tips and Trends From the 2024 Association Member Experience Report

2024 Association Member Experience Report

Association Community Benchmark Report

Higher Logic Thrive Learn

Higher Logic Post on Engagement Scoring

Super Forum 2025 Registration

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we explore educational trends and best practices for associations, as well as Learning Management Systems (LMS) with two fantastic guests from Blue Sky eLearn: Chief Revenue Officer Mark L. Jones, CAE, and VP Association Solutions Liam O’Malley CAE, PMP. We cover all things related to empowering associations to create powerful learning opportunities for members, including topics such as:

• What a Learning Management System (LMS) is.
• Education as a huge driver for Non-Dues Revenue.
• Education for membership expansion.
• Bringing data management and technologies like AI into association education.
• How to diversify your educational experiences.
• How the right platform can create a coherent and efficient learning ecosystem.
• Why a learning program doesn’t need to be a heavy administrative lift.
• Tips for adopting and launching learning programs and an LMS.
• The biggest gap in most association learning programs.

Higher Logic partnered with Blue Sky eLearn to launch our newest offering, Higher Logic Thrive Learn.

Helpful Links:

Higher Logic Thrive Learn.

Blog post with Blue Sky on AI-powered learning.

The 2024 Association Member Experience Report.

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we talk with Angela Costa, TD SYNNEX Marketing Strategist, and Kendrick Johnson, TD SYNNEX Digital Marketing Specialist about how to strategize and set up your community to attract sponsors and generate content and value for members. It’s a great listen for any association interested in monetization and non-dues revenue. Topics covered on this episode include:

• Creating an environment where members, content, and sponsors can come together in mutually beneficial ways.
• Strategizing to drive traffic to your community: "If you build it they won’t necessarily come."
• Ways to monetize your platform.
• How to effectively use gated content.
• The importance of keeping fresh content in your community.
• Sponsorable newsletters as revenue and traffic drivers.
• Using editorial calendars to avoid “random acts of marketing.”
• Leveraging sponsors for thought-leadership content that helps your community users.
• The importance of having a dialogue and sharing tips with your sponsors.
• Being patient and testing things out.

TD SYNNEX is a leader in IT solutions orchestration and global technology distribution. They connect the technology ecosystem and manage relationships with major technology partners for organizations.

Helpful Links:

Higher Logic's Community Content Calendar Template

Higher Logic's Community Manager Toolkit

The TD Synnex Level Up Community

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we speak with Higher Logic’s Senior Privacy Analyst Amanda DeLuke about much-talked-about concerns around AI, privacy, security, and data protection. Topics covered include:

• What is ISO and SOC2, and why are they important security standards?
• The latest AI and privacy trends.
• How to approach AI at your organization with your eyes wide open.
• Considerations when approaching different use cases for AI in associations.
• Free resources on privacy and security.
• How to not be overwhelmed by the AI revolution.
• How data classification factors into privacy and security.
• What the legislators are doing (or not) to help.

Some Helpful Links:

Podcast on AI with Conor Sibley, Higher Logic's CTO

Higher Logic Blog Posts on AI (including tips for prompts, things associations should know, and Higher Logic's partnership with IBM to harness the power of community and AI)

Messaging, Malware, and Mobile Antiabuse Working Group (M3AAWG)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

Our guest this episode is Michael Jones, VP of Mobile Technologies at Results Direct. Results Direct helps associations leverage mobile apps and engagement trends to enhance member communication, engagement, and retention and improve the member experience. Results Direct is a longtime partner of Higher Logic and partnered with us to create Higher Logic Thrive Mobile 365. During this episode, we explore:

• Current tech and engagement challenges facing associations.
• Learnings from The State of Mobile in Associations Benchmark Report.
• How mobile apps help associations address some of their biggest priorities.
• The three places associations interface most with their members.
• How overall mobile use is trending across all demographics.
• How mobile opens a new communication channel for going beyond email.
• Why a mobile responsive website doesn’t tap the full advantages of a mobile app.
• How to get members to download your app.
• Tips for making your association app a success.

Helpful links:

Higher Logic Thrive Mobile 365

Results Direct

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we cover Higher Logic's recently released 2024 Association Community Benchmark Report, which collects community performance and engagement data specifically for associations and non-profits.

Not only do we discuss key metrics from the report, but expert community advisors Tiffany Moule and Kimmie Harrington share tips for improving your community performance and member engagement. Topics include:

• What the report is and how associations can best use it.
• Highlights from the report including:
  • Which months have the highest community engagement.
  • Average open rates for community digests.
  • Average discussion activity.
  • The impact of size and age on community engagement.
• How to engage different types of community users.
• The positive impact of tying mentoring, volunteering, and job board opportunities to your online community to increase engagement with your programs and community.
• Just how big a difference personalization makes.
• Why onboarding is a critical time for community engagement.
• The percentage of community members you can expect to contribute content.
• The impact of having resource libraries in a community.

Helpful Links:

Register and join us for our free upcoming webinar on the 2024 Association Community Benchmark Report, taking place September 25 at 2 PM ET.

Download the 2024 Community Benchmark Report

Explore the Community Manager Toolkit

More Higher Logic podcast episodes and resources

Our guests on this week’s episode are Higher Logic Senior Advisor of Customer Success, Kristen Parody, and Higher Logic Customer Success Manager, Cate Sauer. Kristen and Cate are both regulars on the Higher Logic Users Group (HUG) and former association management professionals. Their work at Higher Logic revolves around helping associations succeed by sharing high-level strategies, best practices, and support.

During the episode, we share tips for how associations can manage and engage groups, chapters, and events by using dedicated microsites.

• Hear about some common association use-cases for microsites.
• Learn why microsites are great for offering personalized branding and experiences for different member segments or events.
• Learn how chapter and other microsites can be used to empower volunteers and chapter leaders.
• Understand the best practices for setting up microsites, including the benefits of testing and starting small.
• Learn what Higher Logic's Component Management add-on is and how it can help.

Helpful Links:

Kristen Parody on LinkedIn Cate Sauer on LinkedIn

• FloridaMakes Webinar on how they use microsites.
• Microsite Resources in the HUG Education Library
• Info on Higher Logic's Component Management Add-On

Higher Logic Success Team Contacts: successteam@higherlogic.com realmagnetsuccessteam@higherlogic.com informzsuccessteam@higherlogic.com