Running any type of organisation is no mean feat (especially without the right membership management software!). Besides managing your members / customers, you also have the most important task to deal with – ensuring new people sign-up.
You probably feel like you’re banging your head against a brick wall at times. How can getting people to sign-up be so difficult? You do all of the right things, promotion, marketing, perks and events but the going can be tough.
You’re not on your own. All organisations have to overcome this hurdle at some point. The key is keeping an open mind and thinking outside of the box. Which is precisely what we’re doing today by sharing with you five ways the popular social media platform Twitter, can boost your membership numbers, raise your profile and increase registrations.
Why You Should Be Using Twitter
Social media. Love it. Loathe it. Everyone’s on it. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – they’re all steaming ahead of the traditional forms of communication, paving the way for people to socialise on an unprecedented level.
But it’s not just socialising that happens on these networks. People are connecting with the brands they love, sporting legends and popular causes. They want the juicy gossip and useful titbits and the best place for these short, snappy snippets of info right now is Twitter.
If your organisation doesn’t already have a Twitter account, you’re missing out on quite a big deal. Seriously. Stop what you’re doing, head over to Twitter and type a rival organisations’ name into the search bar.
Do they have an account? If yes then they’re already one step ahead of you. If they don’t, here’s your opportunity to muscle in. Set up an account, even if it’s just to reserve a username for the time being, then come back here to find out how to use Twitter to increase your club members.
Still here? Go!
5 Ways To Use Twitter To Increase Sign-Ups
Welcome back!
So with a bit of luck, you’ve at the very least got a Twitter account. Great! Now let’s look at how you can put that simple profile to good use and really give your registration numbers the boost it needs.
1. Get That Profile Optimised
One of the most fundamental steps to a great Twitter presence is a fully optimised profile. This is how people will find you, so you’ll want to make a great first impression and ensure you show up easily in search results.
Upload a profile image and header photo. Flesh out your bio with relevant information and keywords that reflect your organisation. Keep it clear, simple and easy to digest. Include a link back to your website and consider adding a few hashtags in there to make you more discoverable.
2. Follow Relevant Influential Accounts
Who are the popular people that your members or customers idolise? Grab a pen and jot down everyone you can think of who relates to your organisation and has something to say about your sector. Bloggers, reporters, famous figures and publications. These are the people you’ll want to start following on Twitter.
These people are thought leaders and like to voice their opinions. Getting your content in front of them or at the very least engaging with them can have a massive impact on your own reach. For instance, imagine if one of them retweeted one of your tweets to thousands of their own followers. That’s thousands of pairs of eyes on your content, relevant to your organisation who may never have laid eyes on it before.
3. Post Interesting, Eye-Catching Content
Why? Because people are hungry for information. Share with them something that they find valuable and they’re more likely to take notice of you in the future. Consistently sharing great images, thought-provoking articles and eye-catching videos related to your organisation will help position you as a leader.
While your competitors are going about getting the attention of potential new members the traditional way, you’ll be riding the information wave with a host of followers hanging off your every word.
4. Engage With Existing Members
But wait. Surely if you want to increase your registration applications, you should be going after new members, not existing ones? Sure, sometimes but don’t neglect the wonderful pool of contacts you’ve already got waiting at your fingertips.
Dig through your membership database, grab the names of your most active members and look them up on Twitter. Connect with them, engage with them, give them a virtual slap on the back. Start up a conversation and they’ll reciprocate.
Your contacts have the huge potential of influencing people beyond your sphere of contacts. They have friends, family and acquaintances who may just become your next member if the right information is in front of them.
Use your membership software to help spread the word, make them feel valued and they’re likely to become your greatest assets.
5. Showcase Your Organisation’s Personality
Twitter is jam-packed full of people trying to get their links noticed. Spend five minutes looking at your Twitter Stream and you’ll understand what we mean. Self-promotion is all well and good but you need to mix that up with your personality – you don’t want to bore your followers to death.
Look at it from an individual’s perspective. They’re interested in joining your organisation, so the first thing they might do is Google you and come up with your Twitter account. If all they see is link, after link, after link promoting yourself – they’re probably going to click the big ‘x’ in the corner of their browser and bid you farewell.
Yet if you use Twitter to inject some personality into your presence, it’ll make for a much more interesting read. That potential new registration will get a feel for what you’re like and it could very well help them to decide whether to join you or not.
Ultimately, don’t be afraid of trying something different, in order to achieve better results. Taking that first leap into something like Twitter can be a bit daunting but we can guarantee that if you follow the advice in this post, you’ll not only increase the exposure of your organisation, but also gain registrations and reach new people, you might even enjoy it!
Good luck!
Interested in finding out how LoveAdmin can help you manage new registrations? Visit our free Resource page.
