Still very much in its youth, the interactive online landscape is rapidly evolving and therefore the choices facing membership organisations are continually changing too. However, a key gateway to interaction is most conveniently going to be the organisation’s website – a repository for all of its key activities, tools, products, publications and support services and therefore (in theory) relevant to all of its members. Here, members can be invited to proactively interact and engage with the organisation, to individual staff, volunteers and ordinary members, using well publicised links to general or specific forums and the online offering:

‘The goal is to create and increase opportunities for member engagement,and to help members succeed in their experience at every stage.' DiMauro, 2010

It’s important to tailor your online engagement activities
Of course, not all members will want to interact online, nor will it always be the most appropriate method for an activity. Once your online strategy is underway and you are in a position to review and improve it, it can be useful, using CRM and transactions data, to segment your membership according to their online behaviours.

Segment your membership according to their online behaviours

DiMauro (Social Media Today, 2010) suggests four segments – which may fit your organisation to a greater or lesser degree: the least engaged group is labelled ‘Being online’ who are technology-shy and require hand-holding through your online content; the second group ‘Doing online’ participate only occasionally in membership activities, need encouragement to engage more often and actively contribute to online discussions – perhaps through incentives and case studies that give examples where participation has led to member satisfaction and success. The third group, ‘Acting online’ consist of members who are highly active online, with a wide base of member connections, using online tools to set up and contribute to new discussions. Such members would ideally receive support, mentorship and recognition from the organisation. The final group ‘Thinking online’ is the most actively engaged, driving membership interests forward and therefore consist of candidates for special roles in leadership/governance, on advisory boards, panels and so on. Ideally, the membership organisation would progress members from the first group to the second or third position, where ultimately most members will end up. As DiMauro says ‘the goal is to create and increase opportunities for member engagement, and to help members succeed in their experience at every stage.'

'Face time' with your members will always remain valuable

An online engagement strategy can replace or bolster many events that would previously have only been possible in the real rather than virtual world. However, ‘face time’ with your members will always remain valuable from a social psychology perspective. Regional meetings, national or multinational conferences, and less formal gatherings such as summer parties and charity events provide excellent opportunities for members to network, create new relationships and get a very tangible feeling of involvement and contribution. Such events should therefore be supported, not replaced, by an online communications strategy.