The Dirty Little Secrets Why Your Website Isn’t Delivering Value

The Business of Association Publishing

Association Media & Publishing

November, 3, 2011

Who We Are

Frederick L. Faulkner IV

– Fred Faulkner is the Principal at AIE Digital, LLC, a digital marketing and web consultancy focusing on associations and small to mid-sized busineses.

Amy Peebles

– Amy Peebles is the Director of Strategy and Programs at the American Bar Association

The Dirty Little Secrets

Association Challenges

You Have a Lack of Urgency

Governance• Overhaul the governance model and committee operations

Staff• Empower the CEO and enhance staff expertise

Membership• Rigorously define the member market

Value• Rationalize Programs & Services

Technology• Build a robust technology framework

Race for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations

Your PEOPLE are the problem, not the

TECHNOLOGY.

Silos

Inter-department

Projects

Internal Politics

Skills

Project Management

Communications

Business Analysis

Accountability

Who Owns the Decisions?

Who Implements the

Decisions?

You Don’t Understand Your Audience &

Their Needs

Checkbook Member

Passive Member

Engaged Member

Member Leader

You Don’t Understand the

Ecosystem

Visitors / Members

Website / Content

Search Engines

Websites & Blogs

Social Media

Email AdsOffline

You Lack IntegrationAcross Your

CommunicationChannels Both From a Technical and Strategic

Perspective

Message

Communications

Editorial

Technology

AMS / CRM

Social Media / Email / Web

Member

Take Back the Web

• Define Who Owns the Website

– Roles to define:

• Website Layout and Design

• Advertising

• Content– Homepage

– Landing Pages

– Navigation & Architecture

• Back-end Management

• Features & Functionality

Take Back the Web

• Know Who Needs Training

• Define Member Involvement & Oversight

Association Strategy

• What Role Does the Website Play?

• Build a Specific Website Strategy

– Keep all digital and non-digital channels in mind

– Define metrics to measure against

• Strategy needs to evolve and change as your organization changes

Strategic Pillars

Digital Strategy

Distribution Content Engagement Analytics

Publishing Strategy

• Does Your Current Workflow Need to Change?

– Inbound content / content creation

– Content editing

– Systems that are used for editing

– Distribution (offline, online, store)

– Rights & Permissions

Redefine the Value Proposition

• What is your competitive advantage?

• Why should people seek information from your site?

• Are you engaging members and prospective members?

• Are you still considered the authoritative source on your subject matter?

Inbound Marketing

• Find ways to convert traffic to your site to members and/or customers

• Define some tactical conversion funnels into your website

• Track metrics and modify as necessary

Thank You