If you haven’t already, you will need to have a communication plan in place to reach out to members – not only does this enhance the reputation of your association but it also showcases the services and support on offer, which will help members in these difficult times.

Member benefits

If you offer things like HR Support, legal advice and professional development and training resources, you need to communicate these benefits to existing and potential new members to ensure they are getting maximum value out of the membership.

Digital networking

As we continue in lockdown, most face-to-face networking events and conferences have been cancelled or are on hold. Make sure you keep members informed about ticketing options and refunds or rescheduled events that your association has planned.

Online networking forums and webinar software can mean that many events can still take place remotely. It is also a good time to raise the digital profile of your association.

Support groups

You can invite your members to join online groups. For example, why not encourage members to share ideas and support each other on closed groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. If you put someone from your organisation into the group to ‘moderate’ and monitor the discussion, it will give you a greater understanding of how your members are being affected in the current crisis and give you a chance to better support them.

Online member communities are also a great option to enable members to connect and provide each other with peer-to-peer help and support.

Be positive

Even in these difficult times, it is important to remain positive with all member communications. As much as you can make sure that people feel supported and listened to. Encourage member feedback and keep celebrating any members’ work in the community, welcome new members and do what you can to boost morale across your membership. It will stand you in good stead as an association once everyone is out of this crisis.