4 Fun Ways to Take Personalized Member Engagement to the Next Level

When interacting with a company or organization, you want to feel like your voice matters, and personalization can do just that. At Web Scribble, we take member engagement very seriously. We know you want the best chance possible to really connect with your association’s membership and create a much better relationship with them. We’re always on the hunt for the best member engagement tips and tricks that you can use to get the job done. And while we’ve talked about the value of personalization in any member engagement strategy, we love to see people take it to a whole new level. The OMR Festival planners did just that!

‍In fact, they went to the liberty of making one of their guest speakers feel super welcome - by putting her face all over coffee cups, pillows, water bottles, you name it. There was no way this guest speaker couldn’t feel more important to the festival with the hard work and imagination they put in. The unique route that those conference planners took inspired us to come up with our own unique ideas that your association can use to personalize communication to your members and increase your overall engagement. So, if you’d like to get a similar response and really wow your members with how much you know them, keep reading on and try some of our ideas on for size!

1. Care packages

Do you want to show members that you’ve listened to their struggles and you want to help them in the most personal way possible? Put together a “care package” of sorts with discounts and items that fit their own unique needs. This is a great way not only to engage with members on a personal level while also promoting your own benefits and services. Think of this as a personalized surprise gift that members receive to help them in their journey.

For example, let’s say you have a member who wants to advance their skill set in their industry, but lead a busy life and can’t find the time to take lengthy educational courses or take time from work. You could send them a swag bag, either through real mail or via email, containing discount codes to educational webinars, passes to see a keynote speech for free that you’re hosting, destressing items personalized with your association’s logo, and more. Include a personalized note, and you’re in business with your members!

2. Blends of coffee/tea

Want a nice gift to give to members that can be as unique as they are? Consider sending them their own blend of coffee and tea based on their personality traits and preferences. This is a great marketing technique for holidays and important dates. If your members have a birthday coming up or maybe an important anniversary with your association, this is the perfect gift. Everyone loves a good, warm cup of something delicious, and if you can pinpoint flavors and blends personalized for each member, you’ll really wow them. In order to do this, you’ll want to study members through personal interactions and surveys. Take notes on them when you can, collect data, and reach out to make that personal connection. Then, based on what you’ve learned, create your blend and send it out!

Let’s take another example: You have a member that loves to get his work done at night and is really upbeat. You can send them an extra caffeinated blend of coffee to keep them going through all of those nightly work sessions. Or, if you have a member who wants to take the stress out of their work week, you can send them a destressing blend of tea to help ease things.

3. Custom event brochures

Sending out an event brochure before your association’s big day is essential if you want to get everyone excited about what you have to offer. But if you want to make it really special, you may want to tailor your brochures to match the personal needs of members. While your events hold a lot of great opportunities for members, not every member wants the same thing out of your events. Some may find the speakers most important, while others may want that extra time to network and check out vendor booths.

Tailoring your event brochures can help members get to the things that matter most to them, and show them that you’ve taken notice. In order to figure out what members like, try running event surveys on previous events you’ve held. Ask members what they found valuable and what they didn’t quite resonate with, and base your personalized brochures on these answers. Sprucing up the way you present events to members can get them more excited to attend events, both improving your personalization skills and your event attendance rates!

4. Reusable straws

With everyone hopping on the reusable straw bandwagon in an effort to be environmentally conscious, you may find this marketing technique a big hit with your members- and it can be easy and cost effective to make. Personalizing a reusable straw and sending it to members is a great little gift that can really go a long way for your association. To start, it shows your support in being more environmentally friendly- great for any association with a strong push for a better planet.

Second, it can also gain you some serious marketing points on social media. Reusable straws have been popping up in photos all over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. By sending members one with their name on it or a personal message, you have the opportunity to get onto their social media page and spread the word about how great it is to be a member at your association. While this is a small token of personalization, it can have big results, so give it a shot and see how your members respond!

Take personalized marketing to a new, fun place by trying out some of our ideas. You may even shock your members with how well you really know them!