What balance between traditional forms of association communications, such as printed magazines and newsletters, and newer, trendier forms such as podcasts or online communities, should associations strike? We talk with two leading communicators in the association community about maintaining this balance: Evan Sparks of the American Bankers Association and Bill Thorne of the National Retail Federation.

Both Evan and Bill head communications at their respective associations, and focus not only on producing content that their members value, but on delivering that content in a way that is accessible and convenient for as many members as possible. While association professionals have ranked traditional face-to-face events and print magazines within their top three communication channels for three years running - AND printed member newsletters broke into our top ten for the first time since we’ve run this survey - newer, trendier forms of communication are gaining prominence. Private online communities, apps, and podcasts were all rated at very or extremely valuable by 40 percent or more of association professionals surveyed.

We talked about the logic of publishing quick updates and in-depth features on different platforms. We touched upon integrating advertiser content into member communication in a way that presents product and service info without determining an association's content strategy. And we cover how to find out which communication platforms are effective among members and other stakeholders, who should be making those decisions, and how often you should be examining those preferences.

Show links:

ABA Podcast: https://www.aba.com/Press/Pages/podcasts.aspx

NRF's annual STORES Magazine: https://nrf.com/connect-us/stores-magazine

American Bankers Association: https://www.aba.com

National Retail Federation: https://nrf.com

Want to be a guest on our podcast? Drop us an email at associationadviser@nayloronline.com with your topic ideas! Want to stay behind the scenes, but have a concept you want to know more about? We're always accepting episode ideas at the email address above.

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How to Keep a Member Magazine Thriving for More Than 100 Years

The Association Adviser PodcastBy Association AdviserMay 24, 2021