Strengthening Digital Member Exchange Beyond Committees

Create a digital, interactive internal platform on which all your members can exchange ideas at any time and from any location. This forms an internal network that grows beyond the committees and enables dialogue.

This network offers members a continuous source of shared experience, inspiration and support across the entire sector or profession. The association becomes the facilitator at the centre of the network.

• Create suitable spaces for exchange: Open groups invite all members to share and discuss specific topics. Closed groups admit only relevant members, for example groups structured by areas of responsibility.
• Establish a new mix of content: The usual top down information distributed by the association is supplemented by interactive content and a valuable bottom up knowledge exchange among members.
• Use questions and surveys: These low threshold formats create interactive content that refreshes your content mix with minimal effort.
• Allow members to choose their preferred communication channel: Whether web, mobile, app or email, members remain well-informed regardless of the channel they choose.
• Gather experience and feedback internally: Members can easily ask questions to use the association’s expertise or request experiences or feedback from others within the protected internal platform.
• Encourage discussion of impulses: Posts, comments and surveys help to discuss ideas promptly and clarify questions quickly within the internal network.
• Activate members automatically: Inactive or very busy members receive automatic email summaries of content they may have missed and remain reliably up to date.
• Ensure simplicity: Participation in the association’s internal communication is made easy through functions similar to familiar social media platforms.
• Allow searching through past interactions: Topics and ideas discussed in the past remain accessible and documented. New members can familiarise themselves more quickly and develop an understanding of earlier discussions. Interesting but older topics receive renewed attention and can be developed further from where they were left, including by members who were not yet part of the association at the time.

The foundation for meaningful interaction is clear structure. Successful Member Experience Platforms are built around thematic and functional groups such as:

• Topic-based groups: e.g. e-mobility, public relations, practice management
  
• Role-based groups: e.g. HR leads, communications professionals, managing directors, young professionals
• Regional groups: e.g. Münsterland, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, local chapters
• Ad-hoc groups: for time-limited or spontaneous topics like elections, annual general meetings, new coalitions, or campaigns

Create topic related discussion threads in these groups with a core team of responsible individuals who publish suitable association topics on a regular and consistent basis. This creates a steady flow of relevant content. Make cross topic information available in one area for all members. Gradually lead your members into interaction by offering many low barrier opportunities for participation. These may include surveys on current topics, opinion polls or sentiment checks. Members can select one of the predefined answers with a single click, or provide their own answer in open surveys.

Support and amplify interaction among active members by commenting on open questions or by linking potential experts from within your membership and drawing their attention to the discussion. This creates a vibrant internal network that exchanges ideas across committees and remains active independently of fixed in person events. Even if you and your members use additional communication channels, integrate them into your platform and transfer discussions or at least their outcomes into the member portal. This cross posting gives all members the opportunity to participate actively or stay informed through passive reading.

An interactive Member Extranet means your members can access information at any time, strengthen their professional network within your association, and share expertise more effectively – all entirely independent of committee meetings.

Your members can focus on the topics that matter most to them while keeping a clear overview of all your subject areas and working groups.