Grow Your Association on Social Media in 4 Easy Steps
How Associations Can Leverage Social Media
Social media offers a wealth of opportunities for growth, brand awareness, community engagement and more. If you’re an association that offers courses, programs, events, and digital resources, how can you leverage social media to recruit new members and better reach your existing network?
Read on to learn how, using four of our time-tested methods and strategies for associations.
CHOOSE THREE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO FOCUS ON
We know the sheer volume of social media platforms can seem intimidating. But the good news is that you don’t have to be active on all of them! In fact, for associations, we recommend focusing on less than three social media platforms.
Which one(s) will depend on where your audience is most active online, and how much time you realistically have to dedicate to each platform (a strong social media strategy helps you narrow this down as well!). Here’s a quick breakdown of the most popular platforms best suited to educational associations:
Facebook: With a whopping 2.91 billion users as of 2023 (up from 2.74 billion in January 2021), Facebook is the biggest social media network worldwide.
It’s less visual, making it easier to manage
It also offers vast opportunities for reach and brand awareness, thanks to its popularity
Instagram isn’t far behind Facebook, with 2.5 billion monthly active users as of 2023.
Since it’s highly visual, Instagram requires more time to manage, but the payoff is extremely worth it.
Instagram is great for sharing photos of any association-related events, success stories, event promotion, brand awareness and more, and is perfect for community engagement. It’s also the most enjoyable platform to be on!
LinkedIn is capable of generating 3x more conversions than other platforms
Like Facebook, it isn’t as visual as Instagram and doesn’t require as much time or energy to manage
It’s considered one of the best platforms for building thought leadership
Twitter reported 436 million monthly active users as of January 2023.
80% of active Twitter users access Twitter via the mobile app
Tweets that include images or videos are 394% more likely to be retweeted
CREATE A CONTENT CALENDAR
Social media can seem time-consuming, but not if you’ve planned your content in advance. Take some time each month to create and schedule your content for the next four to six weeks. That way, you can focus on the rest of your association-related tasks without worrying about what you’ll post next.
Here are a few handy tips to get you started:
Consistency is key. It doesn’t matter how many times a week you post, just that it’s consistent, and every post is high-quality. Once or twice a week is more than enough.
Quality > Quantity. It’s better to post one strong, value-driven post a week than two or three mediocre ones.
Create content pillars. Not sure what to post? Divide your content into categories—or pillars—that you’ll regularly share each month. Examples of content pillars include:
Informative and newsworthy posts on new + upcoming programs and events
Success stories; posts about students who have taken your programs and seen positive results
Educational, resourceful posts on a particular topic or subject relating to your association’s field (for example, entrepreneurship, youth programs, etc.)
Repurposed content; your website is probably packed with useful content that hasn’t been seen yet! Repurpose content from old blog posts and seminars etc. (so long as they’re still relevant) and turn them into educational posts for your new followers
To schedule your posts, use a tool like Later, Sprout Social, or Hootsuite.
ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY
Social media is a two-way communication tool that lets you engage with your community in truly authentic and meaningful ways. For associations, engagement is one of the best methods to spread the word about your programs and events, share success stories and reach new stakeholders.
Amp up your social media engagement:
Give a shout out to local organizations with projects in relevant industries
Go LIVE on Instagram or Facebook during events to share key takeaways in real-time. Gather “in the moment” responses from fellow attendees and onlookers from afar
Comment, share, like and tag other users
UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES IN EVERY POST
If you want your social media posts to get maximum exposure, make you implement these steps in every post:
Add a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of every post, directing them to your site
Post when your audience is most active
Make your content easy to share by using clear links and bold visuals
Utilize targeted, brand-specific hashtags in every post
Tag other users to leverage their networks
We Offer Social Media Strategy Support for Associations
Ready for a fresh social media strategy that will help build brand awareness, reach new stakeholders and promote your programs? We’ve got you covered!
We’re a friendly social media company that knows our stuff. No matter your goals or experience level, let’s chat about how we can help!