Agentis StrateGist

In the last few years, search engine optimization (SEO) has become a big business. Site owners are eager to have their sites show up near the top of a user’s Google search results, and there are hundreds of tutorials, how-to guides, and technology companies that aim to achieve this goal. Costs can range from several hundred dollars to price tags in the tens of thousands.

While all websites can benefit from SEO, most associations don’t budget for the practice, and may balk at making the investment. However, there are some simple modifications you can perform that will aid in SEO without breaking the bank.

One of the most effective things you can do to increase your association website’s prominence on the ‘Net is to encourage other sites to link to you. The more sites that are linking to you, the greater chance that Google and the other search engines will rank your site higher. Search engines use algorithms to determine which sites are more ‘relevant’ than others, and the number of direct links from neighboring sites is ranked highly in the mix.

Other no-brainer site upgrades that can raise your site’s search engine visibility is to utilize keywords strategically. Keywords are the words that you think most prospective visitors will be using to search for your site, or for information about your association’s specialty. Placing these keywords in your headings and page titles will further increase their relevance in the eyes of Google.

Finally, a sitemap of your site can help the search engines index your site. A sitemap is simply a page that contains links to all the content that your site has to offer. This can increase the number of your site’s individual pages that are indexed by Google, and have an effect on page ranking.

Associations must use three-fold approach to building social media networks: market research/audience definition, message and content development, and platform selection and implementation. Like all communication initiatives, the first step is to define and get to know your audience or audiences. The next step is to craft the proper message or messages. Finally, it comes down to finding the right vehicle to transport those messages, and that’s where social media comes in. Like any other communication tool, the use of social media must be carefully planned and executed for long-term success.

It is important to recognize that, without a robust and well-defined social media strategy, Facebook is just another pretty face. Beauty really is only skin deep—if you have nothing relevant to say, it doesn’t matter how or where you say it.

It is also important that association leaders understand that social media is not one-way communication, and that they must be prepared to relinquish control over the content posted by any given audience using a dynamic social media platform. Associations cannot mandate or manipulate a desired brand image in today’s marketplace like they could in the past. Their members and constituents are communication savvy, and are already using social media tools such as blogs to provide commentary, kudos and complaints instantly and en masse, in ways never before imagined.

It is time to retool antiquated association service models that kill the entrepreneurial spirit and prohibit the agility required to bring innovative and useful products to fast-changing, high-demand markets. In this regard, there is much we can learn from the for-profit start-up about customer-focused product development.

As marketing guru Theodore Leavitt pointed out in his famous 1960 article “Marketing Myopia,” companies and even entire industries are destined to fail when they focus on the needs of the seller rather than the needs of the buyer. Unfortunately many associations also become stuck in this myopic rut.

In their Business 2.0 article, “The Next Disruptors,” Erick Shonfeld and Chris Morrison highlight 10 companies whose innovation may either completely transform existing industries or create new industries altogether. The key things that these firms (which are all very different) have in common is that they have refused to be bound by current industry models and norms, they have considered market gaps as they developed their products, and they all have a customer-focus that allows them to see lucrative business opportunities more clearly.

Many of our associations will be kicking off a new program year very soon—and I suggest that before we do, we scope out the needs of our members, and revamp our products and services using a customer focus, instead of wasting valuable time and energy trying to sell the status quo.

Let’s make a commitment to disrupt our current service models so that we can truly satisfy member needs and far exceed their expectations. Let’s promise to stop developing conference themes and session topics using the same old formulas, repackaging the same tired sponsor benefits, redeploying the same worn-out committee structures, and regurgitating the same redundant newsletter topics.

That is unless of course we can verify that our members truly want old, tired, worn-out and redundant.

As association marketers, we sometimes get caught in creative and strategic ruts when it comes to engaging key stakeholders–especially if we serve organizations with “tried and true” programs. Sometimes it’s not that we don’t look for new ideas–it’s just that we don’t look in new places.

Exploring the corporate landscape can be a good approach when trying to venture outside of the box. Unique and cost-effective marketing strategies can be inspired by small-to-mid-sized for-profits, especially by companies that take a fearless and funny approach. For example, Big Ass Fans, manufacturer of industrial (six- to 24-foot diameter) ceiling fans has also manufactured a tremendous marketing program with proven results, since the company’s formation in 1999.

Big Ass Fans does five marketing things right—things that can all be applied to the organizations we serve (even if more conservatively).

1. Make a quality product—and follow-it up with high-touch service. Big Ass Fans has won numerous awards for product quality— its Research & Development Department is led by a world-renowned architect and scientist, and staffed by seven engineers. What’s more, the company is also BIG into service after the sale (tremendous customer support, lunch-n-learn opportunities and extensive invitations for feedback and dialogue).

2. Make a connection—one trip to the Big Ass Fan website (www.bigassfan.com) and you have a fantastic picture of the corporate culture. Check out the company profile (including photos) and the Longhopes Donkey Shelter page—both ingenious ways to connect with potential customers.

3. Make a statement with creative branding— When it comes to brands, quirky is good, outrageous is better, and over the top is out of this world. Love it or hate it (and for most people it is one or the other), the Big Ass Fan brand concept is unforgettable.

4. Make a joke—laughing at yourself and laughing all the way to the bank are not mutually exclusive. (see the Big Ass Fan press release page, Hee-haw, Hee-haw)

5. Make the most of your marketing budget—use an integrated approach. Big Ass Fans reinforces the same themes and messages (high quality product, stellar service, sense of humor) in every marketing strategy that they employ. From the product and the price to the promotional components including branding, public relations, sales, to their choice of strategic partnerships and charitable donations, you know a Big Ass Fan communication when you see it.