In January, the top rated links on AssociationJam.org were for blog posts and articles on Membership, Volunteers and Fundraising, with Technology and Social Media not far behind in the votes tally. There were also some highly rated marketing-communications articles posted in the "Other" category.
Here's a look at some of the most popular links submitted to Association Jam in January, 2011 by category:
Membership:
Three Reasons Why Representation of Member Needs is the Biggest Challenge for Associations
Carol-Anne Moutinho | Association Resource Center - ARC Blog
The average satisfaction benchmark in the more than 47 member needs and satisfaction studies we have conducted is just 57% for member representation. This is almost always the lowest score of the five benchmarks we measure. Representing member needs to different stakeholders is often central to an association's mandate...so why is it such a challenge?
Volunteers:
Your Flow Chart for Volunteers
Jayne Cravens | Coyote Communications
In this blog post, Jayne Cravens of Coyote Communications outlines a mapping process for volunteer engagement and management, and provides a diagram demonstrating what a volunteer in-take flow chart could look like as a result of a mapping process.
Fundraising:
Social Networks Meant for Social Good, but at a Price
Stephanie Strom | New York Times
Over the last year or so, there has been an explosion of online intermediaries promising to help nonprofit groups raise money and awareness. ...But to many in the nonprofit world, the value of the sites remains to be seen. For one thing, they hand partial control over charity brand names and trademarks to users who are often unknown to the nonprofit groups they support.
Social Media:
Coming To You Live From ... The Internet?
Becky Rasmussen | Drake & Company
In today's world of "citizen journalism" and real-time reporting on Twitter, does traditional PR still have a place?" PR can actually be enhanced not replaced by new media strategies, insists Becky Rasmussen of Drake & Company, and offers a case example of how technology combined with good solid PR can make it easy for journalists to see story possibilities.
Technology:
Serious Game: Inside the Haiti Earthquake Response
Timo Lüge | Social Media 4 Good
I know that many of us are struggling with doing things online which are educational and interesting. I love so called "serious games" for that purpose but of course they take a long time to produce and are anything but cheap. A camera team that was working with the Red Cross while I was in Haiti just created one that I think can be a good example of how to do this kind of thing. It's basically an offshoot of the documentary they were doing and allows players to take on the role of a journalist, aidworker or survivor and I think it's doing a really decent job (considering the audience).
Other:
The New Rules of Branding Your Business Online
Inc.com
The new rules of branding your business (or nonprofit) on the Web have a lot less to do with presentation, and a lot more to do with interaction. Inc.com has compiled nine of the most innovative and ingenious tips from articles, guides, and interviews in Inc. and Inc.com over the past year. These are the new rules of branding online. While the article refers to a corporate brand, the rules can just as easily apply to a nonprofit, membership organization or club.
We Asked. They Answered: Do Annual Reports Still Matter?
Bruce Trachtenberg | Communications Network Blog
This post from the Communications Network blog offers an overview (and link to a podcast) of a webinar about the research report "Talking to Ourselves" A Critical Look at Annual Reports in Foundation Communications. It offers a mix of views about the future of annual reports and examples of ways various foundations are continuing to produce annual reports.
Do you have something to say to Associations?
If you’ve got a stand-out blog post, article, presentation, video, or other online resource to help associations and non-profits be more effective, we invite you to submit your links to AssociationJam.org and vote for your favorites. Follow @associationjam on Twitter to see which stories make it as #ajam front page news!