4 Membership Recruitment Ideas Your Association Must Try

Recruiting new members to your association can seem like an uphill battle. You want to show audiences the value your association can offer them while saving time and money. You know what your audience likes in an association, and you want the chance to impress them with your benefits.

On the other hand, you don’t want to move too fast in the recruitment process. Offering memberships to an audience too soon may ruin a potential new relationship with your association.

With that in mind, there’s a lot to consider when coming up with a membership recruitment strategy. Finding new, effective ways to reach potential prospects can be frustrating. 

So, is there a perfect membership recruitment strategy out there for your association?

Here are 4 membership recruitment ideas your association will want to use in its recruitment strategy. These ideas can help your association navigate the membership recruitment process and engage with new audiences.

1. Offer a discounted event for non-members.

Your association’s events are something members look forward to attending. Why not give potential prospects a sneak peek on what they’re missing out on?

If you’re an association that offers ‘member-only’ discounted prices for events, it might be valuable to allow non-members to steal that discount for a specific event. Not only does this invite potential buyers into an exclusive event with your association, but it allows them to see the value in your discount as well.

But why should you invite non-members to an event?

Events are a great way to get to know your potential buyers. What are they interested in gaining from your association? What problems do they want a solution to? An event is a platform that can double as a unique learning environment.

What events are best when inviting non-members? Well, this depends on your association’s brand and mission.

Analyze which events perform best with your current members in order to choose an event for non-member invitations. For example, if your association has an event with valuable guest speakers, it might be useful to open that event up to non-members.

A sponsored event could also be valuable to those looking to become a member. Or, you could invite prospects to the event with the highest attendance rate. After all, your current members are your best word-of-mouth marketers.

Make sure to engage with non-members at these events. A warm welcome from your association will only further demonstrate the value you can offer.

2. Start advertising on social media platforms.

Looking to reach a new audience, but don’t know where to start? Running ads on a new platform could be what your association is missing.

Advertising on social media is a great way to branch out to potential members while still staying cost-friendly. In fact, Over 50 percent of B2B marketers rank social media as a ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ low-cost advertising option.

If you’re interested in marketing your association on a new platform, Facebook lead gen ads are a low-cost way to advertise.

Facebook lead gen ads can be run for just a few cents per click. With 2 billion monthly users on Facebook, finding your association’s targeted audience is a breeze.

Another ad-friendly platform with a large demographic is Linkedin.

Linkedin ads directly target a unique group that may fit your association’s targeted audience. Like Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to budget your own ad spending with flexible pricing options. You can also stop running your ads at any time. These platforms give your association all of the advertising control.

If you're looking for another reason to market on social media, it's time to talk about audience targeting.

Social media users enter personal information every time they sign up for an account. Because this information is stored within platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, it saves you the time of having prospects fill out a contact form.

Research your potential buyer and find out which social media platforms they use. If you know what social media works best for your audience, you can easily target them through strategically placed ads.

3. Allow access to an exclusive webinar.

Hosting a webinar is an innovative way of engaging your current members. Why not show that value to prospects through an exclusive, one-time webinar offer?

Why are webinars an ideal opportunity for membership recruitment? There are many answers to this question, but let’s go over just a few.

Webinars are a convenient way to convey a lot of valuable information in a little amount of time. They save associations both time and money when it comes to member engagement and recruitment.

Did we mention webinars are a low-cost option?

The average cost to host a webinar ranges from as little as $100 to $3000 depending on the type of technology and promotion costs. If you’re looking to save money on your membership recruitment strategy, a free webinar offer might be a perfect way.

If your association is one that hosts a webinar strictly for members, try offering one free webinar session to non-members. However, make sure the webinar is relevant to prospects. You don’t want to invite non-members to a webinar series that they cannot connect to.

Use the webinar service to collect information from non-members in order to pursue them in the future. Does your association use a landing page to collect contact information? A webinar offer would be a great time to use it.

If your association wants a member recruitment idea that’s both innovative and cost-effective, a webinar offer might be perfect for you.

4. Make joining your association easy.

Prospects have seen what your association can give them, and now they’re ready to join. Don’t make becoming a member a hassle.

Joining and renewing a membership should be simple, accessible, and constantly available for those interested. You want anyone interested in becoming a member to be able to join from anywhere, at any time of the day.

There are a variety of ways to make joining your association easy. One way to ensure that is to have a 24/7 membership page on your association’s website.

Your audience has a busy schedule and should be able to join your association at their own convenience. A 24/7 membership option on your website minimizes any roadblocks that prospects could face.

Another aspect to consider when it comes to membership recruitment is website optimization. You don’t want prospects to leave your website more confused than before. Keep your website simple and make your membership offers easy to find.

With mobile use at its peak, having a mobile strategy for membership recruitment is vital. Mobile recruitment allows your association to reach mobile users on its own platform.

Offer prospects a mobile membership option. There are different ways to do this, from optimizing your website for mobile use, to allowing people to become a member through a mobile app.

Whatever method you choose, having that mobile option takes your association’s recruitment to the next level.

While attracting new members may seem challenging, it doesn’t have to be a struggle. Your value can be conveyed to prospects without spending a huge amount of time and money.

Try incorporating these member recruitment ideas into your association’s recruitment strategy.