Top 5 Ways Professional Associations Can Use Blogs

By Marcie Hill

Businesses of all sizes and in all industries are using blogs to educate, promote and communicate. These tools can be especially beneficial for professional associations where education and communication with members is critical. Following are the top five ways these organizations can use blogs to improve the value of services they provide to customers, vendors and other stakeholders.

Communication

Professional associations can quickly share information, answer questions and respond to complaints and concerns. Any questions received could very well become topics on the site and get conversations going as people gladly share their opinions. Executives can use feedback from this information to add, remove or adjust programs and services provided to members.

Education

Organizations that educate tend to be favored more than those that don't. Thus, blogs can be used to conduct online trainings as well as update members on developments in the industry while educating the general public about how these changes impact them.

Media Creation and Coverage

Unless professional associations have great relationships with mainstream media outlets, it's a bit challenging to get events and stories covered. Blogs make it easy for organizations to create and share highlights from monthly meetings, networking events, and education sessions in any media format of choice. The world would get a chance to witness firsthand how these organizations serve their members.

Marketing and Promotion

In addition to marketing and promoting upcoming events and trainings, the association can use blogs to highlight accomplishments of the organization and its members; to sell books; and make other relevant industry related resources readily available.

Relationships

Relationships are crucial in this industry, therefore, consistent communications about the industry, the organization, employment and other opportunities will help maintain current members while attracting new ones. Information shared may even pique the interest of former members or people with little or no knowledge of the industry.

Above are the top five ways professional associations can use blogs. In addition to communicating with and educating members, they can be used for marketing and promotion as well as media creation. Most importantly, the relationships built from the aforementioned activities will ensure the continuous growth and sustainability of the organization.

Marcie Hill is a journalist, professional blogger and live blogger. She is the Founder and President of The Write Design Company, http://www.thewritedesignco.com. They help clients build their brands in online communities through writing, blogging and social media. They also provide corporate trainings on these topics. Contact The Write Design Company at 877.570.5228 for your writing, blogging, live blogging and social media needs today.

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