What is the point of having a community that is not engaged? Have you considered why your members have joined your organisation? Do you know why they stay? Are they even staying? Do they feel like valued members of your community?
A group of members who don’t actually know each other and do not interact with each other is not a healthy community. Thankfully in this digital age, there are solutions that will help you as a community manager to increase engagement, drive membership growth and turn your community into a powerhouse that will help your organisation thrive.
We have listed some key features that you really should look for when choosing your new membership platform. A Member Directory Give your members their very own profile page. Let them sync their information with LinkedIn to streamline the onboarding process. Having your members profile discoverable on your member directory is a key benefit for them. It exposes them to the rest of the community, allowing them to build their own networks. Interactive Chat Messaging A fluid and intuitive chat interface will allow your members to connect in real-time and discuss whatever is important to them. Arrange meetings, discuss your organisation or products. Instant messaging allows your members to communicate in a convenient and accessible way, globally. Connection Networks Membership connection networks allow your members to network around specific needs. For example, peer to peer mentoring programmes, executive coaching sessions. Offering these types of supportive relationships where they can expand their skills and participate in useful information exchanges, can increase the value of the platform to your members, driving membership growth. Groups Allow your members to group themselves. Not just in the areas you think they will fit in best, but where they know they fit in best. It could be by region, interests, career path, particular skills. Manage your own groups, but also allow your members to manage their own groups. Foster a deeper sense of community within your larger membership. A Knowledge Centre Whatever your organisation does, it is key to have a central location where your members can learn more about you, find useful information, see photos from events, watch informational videos etc A knowledge centre is an invaluable resource and a huge benefit for your member community, allowing for collaboration and building collective knowledge. Having a good knowledge base can also lead to greater member retention. An Opportunities Board Share exciting opportunities for your members, encouraging collaboration and progression. Post jobs, volunteer opportunities or work placements that might be interesting or relevant to your member community. An Events Board Be they conferences, award ceremonies, specialist training sessions or even networking opportunities, make sure your member community stays aware of upcoming events. Allow your members to RSVP and see who else might be going. Events can increase engagement and provide added value to your members. As well as being a really useful tool for member retention, events can also increase brand awareness for your organisation which can then attract new members. A Social Media Hub Keep your members fully up to date with the latest news and goings-on with your organisation. Embed your social media feeds into your platform to allow your members to stay up to date in one space, without them having to log into Facebook, Twitter and whatever other social networks your organisation uses. Keep your members engaged not only with your social media feeds but also on your platform. A Personalised User Dashboard Give your members their very own personalised space in your community, a user dashboard that can bring everything your community and the platform has to offer into one, easily accessible space. Showing ‘at a glance’ summaries of their networks, groups, chats, events and opportunities and the latest news. 
