Today’s episode of The Member Engagement Show is a special presentation of a recent webinar covering the release of Higher Logic’s 2025 Association Community Benchmark Report: “From Data to Action.” Kelly and her guests Eileen Quinn and John Micah Yates, strategic advisors on the Higher Logic customer success team, walk through the results of the study and offer strategies to increase member participation and engagement. Topics include: Highlights from the report Strategies for increasing engagement in your online community Average community size, logins, and discussions The most common types of engagements What kinds of engagements are lagging Community digest open rates How many users make use of resource libraries If AI is pulling people away from online communities Login trends based on months of the year The inverse trend between size and participation The relationship between community age and engagement How automation rules impact engagement How gamification impacts engagement How volunteering, mentoring, and job boards impact engagement Tactics for growing communities Ways to increase discussion and contribution activity How much, if any, of your content should be gated Tips for avoiding over-emailing   Some Helpful Links: Webinar Recording 2025 Association Community Benchmark Report Podcast episode with Christin Berry of ASAE Podcast episode with Karen Saverino of Smithbucklin  

Our guest this episode of The Member Engagement Show is Brian Scott, President and CISO of 501CISO, who talks about the increasing prevalence of cybercrime targeting nonprofits and associations. We discuss the industrialization of cybercrime, the unique vulnerabilities of smaller organizations, and the importance of cybersecurity education and training. Topics covered include: Why cybercrime is worse than it’s ever been. The global industrialization of cybercrime. How AI is helping cybercriminals be more effective. Why nonprofits and associations are becoming a bigger target. Are Managed Service Providers (MSPs) always reliable protection? Tips for hiring and using MSPs. The impact of being the target of cybercrime. Key things associations should do to protect their security and data. The '501 CISO Big Six' essential protections to implement. Why cybersecurity is not just an “IT problem.”   Some Helpful Links: Episode on AI use and data privacy with guest Amanda DeLuke. Explore more resources from Brian Scott & 501CISO: cleartoneconsulting.com/publications/

Our guest on this episode of The Member Engagement Show is Christen Berry CAE, VP Business Analytics and Data services at ASAE. Christen recently presented a session at ASAE’s annual conference on how to use data to gain meaningful insights that can help you ask better questions and make better decisions. This tied in nicely to Higher Logic’s own recently released 2025 Association Community Benchmark Report, so we thought this was the perfect time to help associations more effectively collect and leverage data. Topics covered include: The ways data can be most helpful to associations. Gaps in the way we approach data. Getting beyond just numbers to help foster faster decision-making. Using different formats to get information out to constituents. How offering fast answers can lead to broader content discovery. Organizing information infrastructures to facilitate fast answers. Data setup for internal use. Data mining to combat low survey response rates. Why data, in isolation, isn’t enough for good decision-making. The importance of knowing why you’re gathering data. Why it’s okay if your data just helps you ask better questions. Why watching the pattern can be more powerful than watching the numbers. The need for curious people. How to not get overwhelmed with data. Building automations off your data.   Some Helpful Links ASAE Higher Logic's 2025 Association Community Benchmark Report

On this timely and informative episode of The Member Engagement Show, Dorothy Deng, Partner at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston discusses AI and copyright law, especially as it relates to association management. There are many legal considerations for associations using AI and this is an excellent primer on the copyright fundamentals to stay safe and within the law. Topics covered include: Fundamental copyright considerations and how they that relate to AI use. The embedded principles of copyright law - human authorship and fair use. Does writing AI prompts afford you ownership of the AI output? Why you’re on (a little) safer ground if your prompt includes pre-existing human created copyrighted material. Why those “This material was AI generated” labels might prevent you from having a copyright claim. Does the percentage of human vs. AI involvement in a work matter to the copyright office? How to protect yourself from unwittingly infringing on other people’s copyrights. How associations should keep copyright in mind when using AI. The licensing opportunities for associations as LLMs seek higher quality data.   Some Helpful Links: The U.S. Copyright Office’s Report on AI  

On this episode of Higher Logic’s “Member Engagement Show,” Higher Logic Strategic Advisor Bekah Weidner talks about ways to bring in non-dues revenue (NDR) in uncertain economic times or times of economic change. Looking for ways to boost revenue at your organization? Topics covered include: The importance of having diverse sources of revenue. Sponsorship and advertising strategies and tactics. Non-dues revenue from newsletters, emails, events, job boards and more. The right way to use your community to benefit sponsors, partners, and the association. Exploring all of your association content assets as sponsorship opportunities. The importance of keeping sponsorships aligned with your association’s tone and mission and protecting the integrity of the content assets. Helpful Links: For more revenue generation ideas... Join us on September 10, 2025 for our free webinar: From Engagement to Non-Dues Revenue: Monetizing Your Online Community Check out our Non-Dues Revenue Success Kit    

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we talk with Bettina Fowler, Senior VP of Customer Success at Higher Logic to get the very best of her popular session at Higher Logic's annual Super Forum conference, “45 Ideas in 45 Minutes.” Bettina has been involved in customer success at Higher Logic for 11 years and has tons of great insights from working with customers on implementation, member engagement, and marketing strategies. Kelly chats with her about quick and easy ways to level up the way in which associations and nonprofits serve their communities. Topics covered include: Top things to check regularly and make sure you didn’t miss in your platform setup. Tools and strategies associations can easily use to improve member engagement. The features in your platform that you might not even know about or might be underutilized. Are you maximizing AI functionalities in your community management? All the reasons not to fear upgrades to your platform.   Helpful Links: Higher Logic customers can access the full Super Forum session recording in the Higher Logic User Group (HUG).

Our guest on this episode of The Member Engagement Show is Higher Logic’s own Senior Product Manager, Aaron Novelle. Aaron has been a leader in the development of AI enhancements to the Higher Logic Thrive platform. With those enhancements now in beta, we wanted to catch up with Aaron about how associations can leverage AI to continuously improve the member experience. Topics covered include: What Higher Logic AI tools are available now and what’s on the horizon. What AI search assistants are and what they can do when connected to online communities. A primer on RAG (Resource Augmented Generation) LLMs vs. the global LLMs that power general AI tools like ChatGPT. How associations can deploy AI while keeping their data safe. Associations as the bastions of specific expertise and knowledge. The importance of aggregating and categorizing your association’s knowledge base - and how to make that easier. Some Helpful Links: Learn About Higher Logic's AI Search Assistant (and Turn it On in Your Community!) Higher Logic's AI Toolkit ASAE Webinar: Embracing AI Safely (with Higher Logic's Amanda DeLuke)

On this episode of Higher Logic’s award-winning “Member Engagement Show,” we talk with Karen Saverino, CMO at Smithbucklin. Karen has over 25 years of experience in marketing and communications, most with nonprofits and associations. She is one of the authors of Smithbucklin’s recent report on the Perceptions and Evolving Role of Associations. Listen to the episode for insights from that report and to hear ways associations can apply those insights to attract and retain members. Topics covered include: What are members' most valuable benefits from their association? Do members currently trust their association? The importance of education and professional development. Is AI a threat to online community participation? What prevents people from becoming members? Four fundamentals you should focus on based on the report’s data. Some pointers on doing your own member research.   Helpful Links: Smithbucklin’s Perceptions and Evolving Role of Associations Report Learning management and trends podcast episode with Bluesky

Our guest this episode of the award-winning Member Engagement Show is Romeo Talento, Customer Success Advisor at Higher Logic and a career expert in SEO strategies, who talks about some of the ways associations and non-profits are approaching and should approach those SEO strategies. Prior to his role at HL, Romeo managed membership and marketing for associations like the American Bar Association and the Merchant Risk Council. Topics covered include: A primer on what SEO is (and isn’t). How search engines work. The importance of keyword research and wording things correctly. The steps to incorporate into your day-to-day work to optimize content for search engines. Recommendations for one-person marketing teams juggling multiple hats. The three types of SEO you need to know. The importance of alt text in images, page titles, and working links. Tips for page design and backlinks. The power of data and numbers in your web content. Suggestions for long-term SEO wins. How AI and voice searches are changing SEO   Helpful Links On-Demand webinar with Alec Cole, Founder of Salt Rock SEO, on AI’s Impact on SEO SEO Checklist: 41 Tips to Optimize Your Website Higher Logic Thrive

Our guest on this episode of The Member Engagement Show is Peggy Hoffman, Founder of Mariner Management. Mariner Management is an association management company providing full management services to small associations and counsel to global associations seeking to improve member communities and volunteer development. Peggy also works as a member community strategist, volunteer management consultant, national speaker and trainer for volunteers and staff. In this episode, we discuss the current state of association volunteer systems, with topics covered including: What research tells us about the current landscape of association volunteer programs. What are the reoccurring challenges? What adjustments to volunteer systems make a difference? The demand for shorter-term volunteering. What keeps volunteers engaged? What kind of information do volunteers really want when it comes to a program’s goals and achievements? What draws in and engages the next generation of volunteers? Why you should ask volunteers to “get milk on their way home, not go out of their way.” Determining when to sunset a volunteer program that's not performing. The critical role of the staff liaison. Just how important is it to have a volunteer program? Peggy will be presenting a session at Higher Logic's Super Forum Conference, March 26-28 in Nashville, TN, on "Igniting Engagement: Empowering Members to Lead." Join this interactive session to learn how to shift your perspective and your strategy around volunteering to ignite engagement.   Helpful Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Article: Why Volunteering Needs a Transformation Article: Create Better Volunteer Experiences Through Feedback Report: A Holistic Approach to Association Volunteer Management Executive Summary: A Holistic Approach to Association Volunteer Management Report: Mutually Beneficial Volunteerism Guide: The Decision to Volunteer - Why People Give Their Time and How You Can Engage Them Simplified Engagement Loop from MCI's Engagement Index Report: Chapter Performance and Benchmarking Report

On this episode of Higher Logic Thrive’s The Member Engagement Show, our guests are Andrea Wieters, Director of Strategic and Future Focused Research for the ASAE Research Foundation, and Jennifer McNelly, CEO of the American Society of Safety Professionals. Both work on ASAE ForesightWorks, a program focused on major trend analysis and forecasting to equip associations and their volunteer leaders for effective environmental scanning and planning for change. Andrea, Jennifer, and Kelly discuss ForesightWorks' continuous strategic intelligence on drivers of change in the association industry and practical applications for the insights provided by this program. Topics covered include: What the ASAE Research Foundation and ForesightWorks does - including their list of "Drivers of Change". The newest Drivers of Change: AI, emerging Gen Z, and the talent drought. The ways the world of work is changing and why every association leader needs to understand it. The importance of a systems-based approach. Six key thematic areas of change explored in the ForesightWorks list of Drivers of Change. Advice for association leaders on how to apply drivers of change to strategy.   Some Helpful Links ASAE ForesightWorks   Why Associations Need Foresight The CDC’s Future of Work Higher Logic Thrive

On this special episode of The Member Engagement Show, we give you exclusive listener access to a recent webinar: “What Do Members Want? Tips and Trends from Higher Logic’s 2024 Association Member Experience Report.” Presenters Higher Logic Content Marketing Manager Kelly Whelan, Director of Product Marketing Sarah Spinosa, and Strategic Advisor Bekah Weidner reveal insights gleaned from the study and add their thoughts on how you can use these insights and best practices to improve your member engagement. Topics covered include: Why members leave their associations. How often do members interact with their association? What are the top member benefits? Member education needs and trends. How associations can participate in targeted initiatives members look for. Member communication preferences. How important is personalization and segmentation to members?   Helpful Links Watch the Webinar: What Do Members Want? Tips and Trends From the 2024 Association Member Experience Report 2024 Association Member Experience Report Association Community Benchmark Report Higher Logic Thrive Learn Higher Logic Post on Engagement Scoring Super Forum 2025 Registration

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we explore educational trends and best practices for associations, as well as Learning Management Systems (LMS) with two fantastic guests from Blue Sky eLearn: Chief Revenue Officer Mark L. Jones, CAE, and VP Association Solutions Liam O’Malley CAE, PMP. We cover all things related to empowering associations to create powerful learning opportunities for members, including topics such as: What a Learning Management System (LMS) is. Education as a huge driver for Non-Dues Revenue. Education for membership expansion. Bringing data management and technologies like AI into association education. How to diversify your educational experiences. How the right platform can create a coherent and efficient learning ecosystem. Why a learning program doesn’t need to be a heavy administrative lift. Tips for adopting and launching learning programs and an LMS. The biggest gap in most association learning programs. Higher Logic partnered with Blue Sky eLearn to launch our newest offering, Higher Logic Thrive Learn. Helpful Links: Higher Logic Thrive Learn. Blog post with Blue Sky on AI-powered learning. The 2024 Association Member Experience Report.

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we talk with Angela Costa, TD SYNNEX Marketing Strategist, and Kendrick Johnson, TD SYNNEX Digital Marketing Specialist about how to strategize and set up your community to attract sponsors and generate content and value for members. It’s a great listen for any association interested in monetization and non-dues revenue. Topics covered on this episode include: Creating an environment where members, content, and sponsors can come together in mutually beneficial ways. Strategizing to drive traffic to your community: "If you build it they won’t necessarily come." Ways to monetize your platform. How to effectively use gated content. The importance of keeping fresh content in your community. Sponsorable newsletters as revenue and traffic drivers. Using editorial calendars to avoid “random acts of marketing.” Leveraging sponsors for thought-leadership content that helps your community users. The importance of having a dialogue and sharing tips with your sponsors. Being patient and testing things out. TD SYNNEX is a leader in IT solutions orchestration and global technology distribution. They connect the technology ecosystem and manage relationships with major technology partners for organizations. Helpful Links: Higher Logic's Community Content Calendar Template Higher Logic's Community Manager Toolkit The TD Synnex Level Up Community  

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we speak with Higher Logic’s Senior Privacy Analyst Amanda DeLuke about much-talked-about concerns around AI, privacy, security, and data protection. Topics covered include: What is ISO and SOC2, and why are they important security standards? The latest AI and privacy trends. How to approach AI at your organization with your eyes wide open. Considerations when approaching different use cases for AI in associations. Free resources on privacy and security. How to not be overwhelmed by the AI revolution. How data classification factors into privacy and security. What the legislators are doing (or not) to help.   Some Helpful Links: Podcast on AI with Conor Sibley, Higher Logic's CTO Higher Logic Blog Posts on AI (including tips for prompts, things associations should know, and Higher Logic's partnership with IBM to harness the power of community and AI) Messaging, Malware, and Mobile Antiabuse Working Group (M3AAWG) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)    

Our guest this episode is Michael Jones, VP of Mobile Technologies at Results Direct. Results Direct helps associations leverage mobile apps and engagement trends to enhance member communication, engagement, and retention and improve the member experience. Results Direct is a longtime partner of Higher Logic and partnered with us to create Higher Logic Thrive Mobile 365. During this episode, we explore: Current tech and engagement challenges facing associations. Learnings from The State of Mobile in Associations Benchmark Report. How mobile apps help associations address some of their biggest priorities. The three places associations interface most with their members. How overall mobile use is trending across all demographics. How mobile opens a new communication channel for going beyond email. Why a mobile responsive website doesn’t tap the full advantages of a mobile app. How to get members to download your app. Tips for making your association app a success.   Helpful links: Higher Logic Thrive Mobile 365 Results Direct  

In this episode of The Member Engagement Show, we cover Higher Logic's recently released 2024 Association Community Benchmark Report, which collects community performance and engagement data specifically for associations and non-profits. Not only do we discuss key metrics from the report, but expert community advisors Tiffany Moule and Kimmie Harrington share tips for improving your community performance and member engagement. Topics include: What the report is and how associations can best use it. Highlights from the report including: Which months have the highest community engagement. Average open rates for community digests. Average discussion activity. The impact of size and age on community engagement. How to engage different types of community users. The positive impact of tying mentoring, volunteering, and job board opportunities to your online community to increase engagement with your programs and community. Just how big a difference personalization makes. Why onboarding is a critical time for community engagement. The percentage of community members you can expect to contribute content. The impact of having resource libraries in a community. Helpful Links: Register and join us for our free upcoming webinar on the 2024 Association Community Benchmark Report, taking place September 25 at 2 PM ET. Download the 2024 Community Benchmark Report Explore the Community Manager Toolkit More Higher Logic podcast episodes and resources    

Our guests on this week’s episode are Higher Logic Senior Advisor of Customer Success, Kristen Parody, and Higher Logic Customer Success Manager, Cate Sauer. Kristen and Cate are both regulars on the Higher Logic Users Group (HUG) and former association management professionals. Their work at Higher Logic revolves around helping associations succeed by sharing high-level strategies, best practices, and support. During the episode, we share tips for how associations can manage and engage groups, chapters, and events by using dedicated microsites.  Hear about some common association use-cases for microsites.  Learn why microsites are great for offering personalized branding and experiences for different member segments or events. Learn how chapter and other microsites can be used to empower volunteers and chapter leaders. Understand the best practices for setting up microsites, including the benefits of testing and starting small. Learn what Higher Logic's Component Management add-on is and how it can help. Helpful Links: Kristen Parody on LinkedInCate Sauer on LinkedIn FloridaMakes Webinar on how they use microsites. Microsite Resources in the HUG Education Library Info on Higher Logic's Component Management Add-On Higher Logic Success Team Contacts:successteam@higherlogic.comrealmagnetsuccessteam@higherlogic.cominformzsuccessteam@higherlogic.com    

Our guest this episode is Heather McNair, CEO of Cloud Generation. Heather has had a long career working on association communities and credentialing programs. Heather also shares how Higher Logic Thrive Credentialing can help associations administer their certification, certificate, and credential programs. In one example. Heather shares how an association more than doubled the number of new certificate participants in just one year, while cutting staff time spent on the program in half. Throughout the episode, we discuss: The different types of credentialing programs: certifications, certificates, micro-credentials, and stacked credentials. How Higher Logic Thrive Credentialing makes managing complex certification programs. Opportunities associations are missing when it comes to certification and credentialing. How to ensure members understand the importance of certification, the process of getting their credentials, and how to approach re-certification. Strategies for nurturing members toward certification. How to revitalize a certification program that may be stalling out. Repurposing existing content for certification programs. Using technology to scale and improve certification programs.   Helpful Links: Higher Logic Thrive Credentialing Heather McNair on LinkedIn higherlogic.com/podcasts

Our guest this episode is Higher Logic's Chief Technology Officer, Conor Sibley, who has spent three decades at influential companies designing and managing Internet scale platforms. He has intimate knowledge of emerging technologies and is part of the team leading the development of Higher Logic’s own AI toolset. We talk about the ways AI applications for associations are evolving, and Conor highlights Higher Logic's new AI tools. Topics covered include: The types of AI that go way beyond just generative AI. How associations can use AI for highly personalized experiences. The power of AI in automated marketing. Definitions for Multi-Modal Large Language Model, AI hallucinations, and results augmented generation (RAG). AI applications that can help associations externally and internally. The ways AI can be applied to improve translation and multi-lingual experiences Helpful Links:June 11 Webinar: Available Now - See Higher Logic's New AI Tools In ActionAdditional resources at higherlogic.com/podcasts.