Complete Story
07/30/2019
Connect With Your Slackers to Engage Members Online
By Tim Ebner, Associations Now
The office collaboration tool Slack can double as a way to reach members online. But first, it helps to know a few techniques for how to engage effectively.
Your members may love your online community, but don’t kid yourself: They connect elsewhere too. When Digital Analytics Association Community Manager Catherine Hackney saw members increasingly talking in a popular office-chat app, DAA followed them there.
“We noticed a lot more of the conversation was happening in Slack than our own private [community] space,” she says. “It took a few years before DAA staff felt comfortable, but now we have a specific Slack channel where we monitor and post.”
The app lets users tag individuals and chat in a way that’s similar to text- ing, making the community feel more conversational and immediate, Hackney says. Here are three ways DAA uses its Slack channel, Measure Slack:
- To monitor feedback. For better or worse, DAA members use Measure Slack to voice feedback on their membership experience. “We have had a few complaints in our channel,” Hackney says. “But that gives us a nice opportunity to address any concerns a member might have in an open way.” The key is to provide an accurate and prompt reply.
- To share links. Slack has become a natural place to share resources that might interest members. “I usually limit it to one link per post,” Hackney says. “Usually it’s a helpful blurb that links to our site or blog.” Each share must be informative, and getting members to share increases visibility.
- To respond to prospective members. The Measure Slack community is open to nonmembers, and Hackney regularly fields questions about how to become a member. “Some people joined DAA because of our Slack presence,” she says.
This article originally appeared in the May/June print edition of Associations Now, a publication of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).