What is Digital Engagement?

Having a community and being a community guide are two totally separate things. 

Having a community is having the property, having the people, having the connections, and all the other tactical pieces of a community. 

Being a community guide is a mindset, a process, a vision drive to see people guided to something more.

My challenge to you here is to fully embrace the role of a guide (and not just a host or admin).  The most successful communities are the ones where the leader(s) take on the role of a guide and work to steward their community down a path and toward a goal that betters the member.  Let’s look at some ingredients to what makes someone a great community guide.

• Personal Commitment - it starts with a commitment to adopting this role and making it part of who you are and all that you do.

• Define a Path - guides have a path for where they are taking people and they share that guide with their community to rally around.

• Create Resources - you need resources that help show people the path you are guiding them down so it’s not abstract.

• Build Steps - you guide people to their next step and don’t overwhelm them with the full picture and the big end goal.

• Equip Others - strong communities that guide people have equipped others in the community to become guides to others (it should not be all on you).  

• Demand Simplicity - guides help make things simple… again, you don’t want to overwhelm people with the big end goal… just guide them one simple step at a time.

• Measure the Journey - there are so many things you can measure today and our tendency is to focus on things like revenue… guides also focus on guidance progress.

• Keep it Fresh - there’s no silver bullet for guiding members - keep a constant rhythm of challenging what you have and how could do things better/differently.

• Listen Well - strong community guides have a knack to listen well to their community (and their needs) to architect new solutions to the deeper needs.  

• Stay Innovative - the needs drive the innovation - guidance should be an innovative response to the needs of your community.  

• Automate - you can’t automate everything but many things you can - find the things (like drip campaigns) to help guide your community.  

I could spend a ton of time here talking about your role as a guide and ways to bring that to life.  This is a journey for you and you never really achieve the end… but that’s good.  You’re constantly working to create a better experience for your community.  Guiding people takes time but the results are significant.  

The big challenge… think less about what you are trying to “sell” or deliver and focus on how to guide your community to the shared end goal.  The rest will fall into place.

Cause Machine Solutions

You are the guide… but Cause Machine is here to set you up for success.  The Cause Machine platform is designed to help guide members through various experiences and continue guiding them into greater community engagement.  We believe the journey is far greater than the single touch point.  Our goal is to see your members have a great experience at every turn and throughout their entire journey.   Schedule a demo today!

You care about your content. You care about who owns said content. And, maybe you also care about certain views about where your content lives.

Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to engage a community, and you’re concerned about social media platforms and their control over your content and information, it’s not easy to find and build an audience on a platform that isn’t called Facebook. 

Have you looked? If so, you quickly found that it’s tough to connect with an audience outside of the big social channels. 

Whether you're an author or leader with a community, Facebook seems to own the world and therefore, own all of your friends and followers—and your information. We all know the stories of Facebook being caught exposed for what they are doing with every little piece of your information and behavior online. I’ll try NOT to get into that here. 

If all of that wasn’t enough to consider, there’s more. What if Facebook no longer supports your point of view? Could your entire site be removed? Whether you ever get off of Facebook or not, you should know there are options out there. Here’s the thing: you may, after reading this, decide to ride Facebook as long as you can. But, for you who’s reading and want to jump ship, what are your options. 

Here are three (3) ideas if you're looking for conservative alternatives to Facebook: 

#1 Ride Facebook.

I know, not really an "alternative" here. But, listen. As I mentioned earlier, it’s certainly one of your options to get from Facebook what you can. There is something to the fact that your friends—and yes—even your parents are there. So, when it comes to connecting and getting your message out there, it’s one of the best in a lot of ways. Maybe for an intentional amount of time and growth, you may still want to utilize Facebook. 

The big strength of Facebook is the sheer number of people there. But, you must understand, you’re at the mercy of Facebook’s tools and changes. Don’t hear me say you should jump off of Facebook. But, for this who are bothered or interested in other options, or trying to monetize your blog more, let’s at least a peek at what’s out there. 

#2 Use Another Tool.

Now, maybe you’re done with Facebook. Believe it or not, you can launch your community in some other social platform or build out a private community. You can try doing something similar on another social platform like YouTube or Instagram. I know, Facebook owns Instagram, so there’s that. But, point is, it may be worth it if you haven’t tried—and depending on your followers—you may be able to get what you need out of another platform entirely. 

If you want to get away from Facebook entirely, consider YouTube, LinkedIn, or even Twitter. Again, it depends on your most important issue related to Facebook. But, you’re reading this post, so, you’re at least interested in checking out other options. 

With the platforms I just mentioned, aside from LinkedIn, there aren’t a ton of options for groups, building community, or connecting all types of people in general. Sure, there are sites like MeWe and Parler popping up, but they aren’t yet super comparable to Facebook’s audience size. So, how can you build a community that’s also private? Great question. I have some ideas. 

#3 Build a Private Community.

This isn’t as difficult as it may sound. But, it’s no cakewalk either. Yes, you would have to start from scratch. But, maybe you already know how to create content Google ranks you for. And, this would mean having to find a software tool that allows you to do have your community access. When it comes to building your private community, there are at least three things you need to get right.

First, some cautions. Building your private community takes time—a long time. You’ll need a plan and have to set several things like preferences, branding, site structure, membership plugins, and so on.

Again, most of this isn’t impossible to complete. But, you’ll need to have plenty of time to start. Then, you’ll have to re-train your audience to use a new tool instead of Facebook! 

Second, the things you’ll need to do. You’ll need to start with a plan. For example, you will need to find a tool that meets your needs now and allows you to grow. You will need to find a tool that’s easy for your members to use. And, you’ll want to consider on the front end—if you need to hire someone to get it set up, help with branding, and get started may be the right decision.

Third, benefits. If you can jump all of these hurdles, there are great benefits, or trade-offs, to keep in mind. Everything from security, to access, to knowing user behavior, and so on. You’ll have almost total control of your community. You’ll have a much higher sense of security and privacy—because you’ll be the decision-maker for what you do with your content. You control the direction, message, and engagement of your community. There is power in your audience not being “sold” only what and when Facebook wants to sell them. 

I don’t mind telling you, I’ve helped dozens of communities figure this out - if you want to learn more, hit us up, as I understand the deep need for having a private and secure community site. I’ve walked many others through this process. And, I happen to have created a platform, a strategy, and a team to assist.

Need more help taking your community digital?

You want to have a dynamic and multi-dimensional community that thrives. In order to do that, you need a strategy of both online and offline engagement. This guide will help you think through your approach to engaging a virtual community. Download the free eBook: How to Take Your Community Digital.

About the author: Will Rogers is the Founder and CEO of CauseMachine. Will’s career has been spent leading organizations and helping to mobilize communities to a shared vision. He has served in various leadership roles to build community engagement and movements teaching him valuable hands-on skills and experience. Will has developed business and community engagement strategies for dozens of organizations in nearly 50 countries. He and his wife have two sons and now live in Kentucky after two decades in Colorado.

As anyone who plans and coordinates events can tell you, a lot of work goes into making a memorable moment seem effortless.

Event management is a time-consuming endeavor, with countless moving parts, conflicting deadlines, and communication obstacles to master. In some cases, you almost need to be a magician to pull things off – but with the right event management tools, you can do what seems impossible.

The Impact of Events

According to Statista, the total size of the "party and event planner sector" in the United States was $4.08 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, and it's still recovering from the major shock of the pandemic. That's a sizable growing market, and with relatively low barriers to entry, it can be a promising industry for entrepreneurs to break into – especially if you have a knack for spectacular brunches or over-the-top birthdays even adults leave smiling. 

One of the major challenges to entering event management has always been juggling all the components of the business – but there's help for that. 

What Needs Do Event Management Tools Fulfill?

Event management tools come in two basic forms, all-in-one or purpose specific. And basically, they can be anything that helps streamline the work of creating and running an event of any scale. 

Some things to consider when choosing event management tools include:

• Do you need an event website or mobile app?
• How will you promote the event?
• Do attendees need to register or get tickets?
• Will you need to create and update schedules?
• Will there be exhibitors or vendors? 
• Will the event be in person, virtual, or a hybrid event?

Once you know what you need, choosing the correct tool or platform will be a cinch. 

The Best Event Management Software
 

1. Cause Machine

Cause Machine is different from other event management tools. It's an all-in-one platform, allowing you to do everything from managing complex hybrid/virtual events and email marketing to restricted membership content. Cause Machine allows planners to start with a blank slate and build the event management solution that's right for them – all in one place. No need to juggle five different apps or pay for five different services. 

Pros

• Drag & Drop Website Builder.
• eCommerce Store.
• Virtual or Hybrid events are easy to run and manage.
• All-in-one solution for scalability.
• Online Course Builder.
• Dynamic event management from registration, email communications, event tickets, and more.
• Custom membership options.
   

Cons

• Limited front-end design customization.
• Setup can take time, depending on the needs.

It's not easy to create and run the perfect event, but with event management tools like Cause Machine, it can go a little smoother. Set up a free demo on Cause Machine.

2. Eventbrite

Eventbrite is one of the best-known event management tools out there. If you've gone to an event that you needed to RSVP for in the last few years, chances are you've used it. The platform makes setting up registration or e-tickets easy, and with automated e-mail confirmations, it can give your small-to-medium-sized event a sense of professionalism. But it's important to note: Eventbrite doesn't do everything.

Pros

• Ease of use and familiarity.
• Create custom tickets and registration pages.
• Email reminders for attendees.

Cons

• Eventbrite only helps get plan the event – it's not designed to help with day-of needs. 
• Relatively high fees.
   

3. Cvent

Cvent is an easy-to-use event management software that helps manage event registration and engagement. The platform can automate tasks like data analytics, event marketing, event registration, etc. to save time. You can manage attendees and build event reports to navigate every aspect of the event process.

Pros

• Plan and promote your event.
• Engage attendees.
• Capture leads and track ROI.

Cons

• Features can be time-consuming during setup.
• Clunky reporting.

4. A2Z Events

As its name implies, A2Z Events can help you handle almost every aspect of behind-the-scenes event management, from floorplan design and staff coordination to creating exhibitor and vendor portals. Its scale makes it ideal for large events like trade conferences or big weddings, but it's not as useful for smaller events, and does not include any public-facing features. 

Pros

• Create the perfect event layout.
• Great for larger teams.
• Good for conferences and other big events.

Cons

• Lacks attendee-facing tools like a registration portal, event map.
• Overkill for most events.

5. Zoom Events

Zoom Events is a great video-conferencing tool that has taken Zoom's original purpose of virtual meetings to the next level with the ability to run dynamic events. With Zoom Events, you can host virtual/hybrid events, webinars, digital panel discussions, online courses, and more. Most people find it easy to navigate, and e-mail confirmations keep everyone on the same page.

Pros

• Easy and familiar to use.
• Host multiple virtual sessions at once.
• Connect your audience.

Cons

• Free version comes with time limits.
• Limited screen-sharing functionality.

Start Cause Machine

Starting with a community engagement strategy is the secret to building a successful organization in the long term. Cause Machine helps organizations build the plan of engaging a community well and then begin mapping out the technology to help support that strategy. We're certain that you'll find some great resources and powerful tools in Cause Machine to better engage your community. Learn how it can work for you here.

So what’s the difference between digital delivery and digital engagement?  It’s huge!

I sat in a conference several months back with some leading organizations sharing their digital strategy.  The ideas were great but it continues to be impressed upon me that there is a critical difference between delivery and engagement.  And from all of those presentations… I heard 100% delivery in the world of digital.  

Okay, so partially, that’s to be expected.  The digital space is largely a place to “delivery” or pushes the content/resources you have available.  And we most commonly think of engagement as being more in person and not in the digital space.  

I would offer the foundation that digital should always lead to interpersonal in-person connections… but we’ll save that for another discussion.

Most organizations have a digital strategy that’s 100% delivery.  

Most digital strategies look like this:

• Blog postings

• Facebook postings

• Instagram postings

• Twitter postings

• LinkedIn postings

• Webinars

• Virtual events

• Websites

Most digital strategies do NOT look like:

• Conversations

• Guiding people down a path

• Connecting people with each other

• Being responsive to the needs of others

• Making great connections

• People forming groups

• People moving from digital to interpersonal in-person connections

So this is where you have a choice.  Do you want to be all about running a digital delivery strategy or a digital engagement strategy.  And yes, it’s a choice.  Digital engagement is going to take more work but you’re also going to see greater results.  Here are some building blocks to help you start down this path.

• Define your Difference - start by defining what you mean by both digital delivery and digital engagement.  It’s good to have both and even if you’re great at engagement, you still need the delivery part.  Just don’t leave off the engagement!  

• Build a Path - create a path for where you are leading people and how you are guiding them there.  The path will help you (and your community) to see the direction forward. 

• Drive to Connections - the best way to wrap your mind around digital engagement is to think about personal connections.  What connections would you like to see people make and then reverse engineer how to get there.  

• Try Things - there’s no silver bullet for what digital engagement looks like and it’s often very different per each organization.  Dream up a few things and give them a try.  

I’ll close with this.  I truly believe you have a duty, stewardship, and responsibility to help nurture and engage your audience (with you and with each other).  May I challenge you to think well beyond the realm of just digital delivery.  It’s work but the rewards are amazing.

Cause Machine Solutions

The Cause Machine platform is built on a philosophy of digital engagement and a drive to see each community moving members from online connections to in-person connections.  While we love the benefits of what technology can bring to our lives… we believe nothing can bring more life to us as humans than connecting with each other.  That’s why we’ve built every piece of this platform with that goal in mind.  Schedule a demo today!

Companies like Netflix made the subscription/membership model mainstream, and even part-time entrepreneurs like podcasters or craftspeople can employ memberships successfully. But just because it's popular doesn't mean it's easy.
 

Why Membership Growth and Retention is Important

At its most basic, membership growth and retention is about keeping your project healthy. Since income comes directly from members on a recurring basis, keeping the ones you have is just as important as getting new ones.

Forbes states it will cost "four to five times more" to win over a new member than it will hold on to an existing one, and if you lose more members each month than you gain, the business is unsustainable. 

Side note: If you need to manage users in a membership model, Cause Machine is an all-in-one platform to create and scale your member growth and retention strategy. Set up your trial.
 

7 Strategies for Membership Growth and Retention
 

1. Create Amazing Content

Whether it's podcasts, online learning, or a jelly-of-the-month club, all membership-based businesses sell content – so you better make it fresh. Create a membership website that serves your content and value to members. It should be relevant to your audience, unique to you, and above all useful. This makes members feel educated and empowered. Make sure to find the right frequency for sharing content (not too much, and not too little), and consider throwing in extras like downloadable freebies and how-to's.

Key Notes:

• Your content should give VALUE to members.
• Optimize your content for sharability and search engines.
• Deliver content based on your user's appetite.

2. Make Your Membership Experience Unique

As the subscription/membership market booms, consumers can find almost anything they want – so your content and value offering need to stand apart. To optimize membership growth and retention, find an under-served group and cater directly to them. Avoid the temptation of trying to be everything to everyone.

Key Notes:

• Deploy effective email marketing and nurture strategies.
• Offer free resources and content as lead generators.
• Do good market research, and identify how your offer stands out.

3. Build A Community

The ironic part of this hyper-connected age is that people crave actual connection more than ever, and they often seek to satisfy that need with a membership. To get them interested and keep them coming back, make sure your group becomes a community. Strong member engagement is the key. Get the members engaged with great content, and with each other. 

Key Notes:

• Make members feel like more than customers.
• Encourage members to make connections at virtual or hybrid events.
• Create membership tiers so your most committed members get the best experience.

4. Lean Into Creativity

Creativity is a purpose of life, and it should be a regular feature of your member community, too. On top of regularly scheduled content, invest in bonus content relevant to your group and share with no extra charge. Maybe you can turn a frequently-asked-question into a group challenge and offer a prize for the member who wins. Or, bring in a guest speaker who the group would not usually have access to.

Key Notes:

• Maintain content consistency, but make it a point to surprise members with valuable additions.
• Create fun challenges out of common questions or concerns.
• Invite guest speakers or add special events.

5. Library Card

Believe it or not, just making your old content available can drive membership growth and retention. Create a library of past lessons, videos, or whatever your content is centered around, and make sure members can always go back and access it. It sounds simple, but having a bank of resources at their fingertips can inspire some to keep their membership going.

Key Notes:

• Continued access to past lessons and other resources is a benefit 
• Create and maintain a library members can come back to
• Something else here

6. Optimize Member Value

Aside from structuring and executing quality content, another important thing to consider is your membership structure. Most subscriptions run on a monthly payment – but in some cases, a longer-term or annual payment option is better.

Many groups are focused on personal transformation (like healthy living or learning a new language). Since it could take a full year or more to reach the goal, making the commitment up front could dissuade some from giving up half way through.

Key Notes:

• Select a payment structure that fits the group's focus.
• Structure value based on each 'tier' or subscription level; higher commitment means more exclusive perks.
• Become the best in your space.

7. Give Members What They Want

Last but not least, go ahead and ask people what they want. Yeah, it's that simple. Membership growth and retention hinges on serving customers in a way that helps them win and win big! But while you will get rewarded for figuring out how to do that, you don't get extra credit for guessing. First, get to know your members. Then, pay close attention to crucial feedback as you launch new products or phases of your offering.

Key Notes:

• Find out what your members really want.
• Pay close attention to feedback on content, at events, or on your platform.
• Send surveys asking specific questions; fill that need!

The membership model is just as effective as it is popular. You can build a thriving business from scratch, or transition an existing one to a more stable revenue stream. Try these membership growth and retention tips to keep yours running smoothly.

Grow Members with Cause Machine

Starting with a community engagement strategy is the secret to building a successful organization in the long term. Cause Machine helps organizations build the plan of engaging a community well and then begin mapping out the technology to help support that strategy. We're sure that you'll find some great resources and powerful tools in Cause Machine to better engage your community. Learn how it can work for you here.