What is Digital Engagement?

Ah, the great question of when, where, and how… or even why to use technology.  So obviously, we’re a technology company but I hope you can hear us loud and clear… the greatest desire in our technology is that it moves people AWAY from the community and INTO relationships with other people.  We really do believe that technology is a means to strengthen your community, it’s not the end goal.  So let’s tackle these one at a time.

Why should we leverage technology in our community?  For Scalability

The most significant reason is to allow technology to allow you to scale and grow your reach, impact, community, and engagement.  It’s a tool and when used properly, it can help accelerate the work you’re doing.  You know on Mario Kart where your car drives over those arrows on the group and it propels your vehicles faster ahead?  Well, that’s the picture you should have for what technology does for you.  

How should you leverage technology?  For Better Member Experience

There are so many ways to leverage technology but where I want to focus our attention is to challenge you to leverage technology in the space where it betters the experience for your community member.  There are all kinds of backend systems you could leverage and those are the ones your business will lean to adopt.  But your leadership must guide the ship to find tools that better the overall experience for your members. 

When should you leverage technology?  When You Have a Plan

There’s no great answer to this question other than “when the time is right” but here are some thoughts.  If you go too early then might tackle more than you can chew.  If you go too late then it’s difficult to infuse.  So I recommend that you have some beta testing done already with your community via Facebook groups, Google docs, events, discussions, etc. and most often, one of two things are going to happen.  First, you’re going to feel the pain of needing to be on a platform or second, you’re going to crest a critical mass of people (usually around 200) where you want to better organize their experience.  

The most important thing though is to have a plan.  Technology is designed to serve your strategy so be sure to have your strategy is place so the technology can serve you.  If you jump too quickly into technology without a plan, you are most certainly going to get frustrated.  Technology solves nothing without your plan… then it can be amazing.  

Where should you leverage technology?  Holistic Member Experience

The best way to answer this question is everywhere… well, everywhere that creates a great member experience.  Consider how all a community wants to engage - they want to attend events, have discussions, view resources, be educated, and make connections.  Dream for a moment on what makes your community a success and then explore how technology can bring that all to life in a more dynamic or scalable manner.  

Cause Machine Solutions

Cause Machine is packed full of tools to help you scale your community - tools like event management, member directories, organization directories, job boards, groups, discussion boards, e-courses, and stories.  The entire system is designed to help you maximize your community engagement strategy.  Plus we have countless resources to better educate and equip you to lead your community well.  Schedule a demo today!

Many times we think of innovation as a gifting that certain people have.  We think of Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Einstein, and others… which just leads most of us to think we don’t have that special “gene”.  While there are some people who are exceptionally gifted to innovate and think outside the box, there’s also a process that all of us can use to solve problems and innovate toward a better solution.  

In the past several decades, several pioneers have navigated a path to build processes that have helped countless people work through an innovation process.  This largely began with David Kelley, the founder of IDEO.  Since those early years, others have adopted the process, changed pieces, and renamed things (ex: Stanford University, Google, etc.), but all the while continued the legacy of leading innovation.

Key Principle: Innovation is far more a process than a personal gifting.

So what does that mean for me on a practical level?  Do you ever find yourself working on a project feeling stuck?  Do you ever feel like a project should have more input from others?  Do you have projects that just feel so epic that you’re intimidated by them?  If yes for any of those questions then there’s a good chance an innovation can help you.  Look at this process as a good friend who is going to help you navigate a path to a better solution.  And the amazing part of running an innovation… you’re basically guaranteed a better solution on the other side of the process.  So let’s take a moment to talk through the stages of the innovation process.

Scope

The first stage is setting the foundations for your project.  You start by building your scope which includes things like your problem statement, defined WIN, the team to participate, how long of an innovation, what Discovery voices to invite, and general logistics.  Strong scope development helps set up the innovation event for success.  

Discovery

The innovation session begins with what we call Discovery.  This is where you look outside the world of what’s common for you and your team.  Here you explore what others are doing that are outside your industry but who have enough crossover to make you scratch your head and consider ideas from outside.

Brainstorming

Here we move to more internal thoughts and perspectives on how to address the core problem/project.  This stage walks a group through 12+ “buckets” of strategic thought that are helping to equip the working group to help solve the problem.  This interactive stage allows for mass contribution to specific points of your future plan.

Sketching

Next we move into a phase where you allow each participant to sketch out a few models for how they would see solving this project.  We’re always working toward tangible models and visual representations of the strategy.  This stage allows individuals to express and share ideas and then presents an opportunity for group members to vote on which bring the most clarity and direction to the project.  

Prototyping

The final major stage is where the whole group is broken into two core teams to build prototype projects.  Think arts and crafts projects with supplies from Hobby Lobby and Office Depot… seriously.  The goal here is to create some solution to the core problem that’s a creative approach to the problem statement.  

Presentations

Once prototypes are complete, the two teams give a short presentation of their prototype and field questions from the other team.  This phase helps flush out the two proposed solutions and gives the innovation owner two working models that could be used to solve their core problem (the owner leaves the innovation with the task to compile those two models and create the blended solution that meets their core problem).  

And that’s it… it’s really that simple!  Now there are all sorts of nuances to the process and how to facilitate these sessions well but this is the basic construct for what an innovation looks like.  These sessions are excellent to help you dig into those more complex problems, seek the council of others, and come up with solutions better than you probably could construct on your own… or at the least, put a lot more “meat on the bones” of what you’ve already created.

Cause Machine Solutions

Cause Machine is a platform created to help you better engage your audience.  We share blog posts like this to encourage community leaders to work through processes like an innovation to discover how better to engage community members.  One of our core principles at Cause Machine is that your strategy should always drive your technology.  Our hope is that you have great rhythms to better engage your audience, like hosting innovation sessions.  And then we would love to see you bring those engagement plans to life on Cause Machine.   Schedule a demo today!

So why do we innovate?

I believe we innovate because it’s part of our design and in some ways, why we were created.  Now, I don’t know where you land on the origin of man, but I believe there is an undeniable divine imprint on all of us.  And that divine imprint is from a Creator who has instilled the same characteristics in each of us.  That’s my reason for believing we should all create and innovate.  What’s yours?  We all need our reasons for why we exist and why we engage as we do.  

1. We innovate to make things better

There is nothing around us that couldn’t use to be bettered in some way.  Regardless if you see yourself as a creative or innovative person, we all believe and see that things have this mandate to get better as time moves along… health, healthcare, technology, mechanics, transportation, and so much more.  Innovation helps make things better and creates an intentional process and/or time to seek to make things better.

2. We innovate to try new things

Many times innovations fail… that’s okay.  It’s the trial and effort that count the most.  Innovation is a means to try new things, test them, adjust, and retest.  Have you seen any of the stories of SpaceX and how they built rockets?  While Boeing was spending multiple times the expense of SpaceX to run computer simulations, SpaceX was testing real rockets over and over… with many failures.  In the end, SpaceX created the rocket faster, spent less money, and sent people to space.  Innovation is all about trying new things.

3. We innovate because it’s a burn within us

There’s a burn within almost all of us to innovate, try new things, or at least, consume new things.  Yes, there’s that whole bell curve of product consumption, but for the most part, most people have a burn within them for “the new”.  That burn is just part of who we are and part of what sets humans apart… the sleepless nights spent thinking about what could be.  This is true of products, experiences, programs, and much more.

4. We innovate because things become stale

Let’s face it… things get old.  They always do.  It’s like gravity… as soon as something is created, it’s getting old.  I heard something say one time about technology if you wait to launch until it’s perfect you’ve launched too late.  It’s true… and we need to be focused well on how and when to cycle out the old and bring in the new.  Now, a caveat here, is that make sure that the foundational principles remain the same… it’s the methodologies that change.  Read more about this principle here.

5. We innovate because it allows us to work together

Innovation is a collective/collaborative process that allows us to work together to build better solutions.  Innovation brings us together and allows us giftings to sing in harmony with each other to see a solution created that no individual could create on their own.  It’s a magical way to see a group bond together around a common goal and challenge.  

There are countless reasons why we innovate.  What are your reasons?
 

Cause Machine Solutions

Innovation is in our DNA at Cause Machine.  We are continually refining our platform and working to design innovative solutions for you and your community engagement.  Schedule a demo today!

When it comes to online membership management software, there are a lot of things to consider. Let’s look at five key things to think through. 

First, we’ll examine the key tools you might need. Second, we’ll look at how you will evaluate the software—what will be your most important features. Then, we’ll look at integrations you will use most of the time. After that, I’ll point you to thoughts on whether you can manage an all-in-one vs. cobbled together and some pros and cons. Finally, I’ll ask you to consider the sun in your ecosystem. What is “the thing” you are known for or the thing for which most of your brand should point to. Let get after it.  

Here are five (5) things to consider with online membership management software: 

#1 Examine the key tools you will need.

To start this whole process. I find it most helpful to review the key tools I love and the tools I actually use the most in my arsenal. Once you know that, you’ll be less likely to get interested in the bells and whistles of features that you won’t ever use. 

For example, these are a few of the key tools I’ve found useful in dealing with many clients: 

• Member Directory - directory of members to connect with each other

• Member Management - dive into member details and history

• Direct Messaging - means for members to engage with each other

• Member Stories - ways for members to share personal stories with a community

• Payment Processing - managing membership payments and discounts

• Access Restrictions - limiting access to membership levels

• Privacy Management - ability to set personal profile privacy and access

• Comment Management - tools to allow members to comment on content

• Discussion Boards - ongoing conversations around key topics

#2 Consider how you will evaluate the software.

When it comes to picking a member management software. Consider what features you need most? Are there features you simply can’t live without? Make sure you note these things so you don’t lose sight of them in your research.

For example, if how a membership software integrates with your other systems is a priority, write that down—and ask those questions early and often. Trust me, it will save you a ton of time in the process. You won’t waste time on things that look great—but actually aren’t a good fit for you. 

#3 Consider integrations you will use most. 

Many membership management software will say they integrate with everything. But, it's easy to jump to the next step and miss this. Integrations are helpful but there must be a balance. Your membership management software should carry a lot of the heavy lifting and already bundle a number of key features together. There likely isn’t a one-stop-shop solution for your needs but you can mitigate the number of integrated tools.

For instance, I've written before on plugin alternatives to WordPress. So, as you review this list, understand it's vital to come at this with a list of your own, much-needed integration questions.    

Here are a few of the most common integrations to consider:

1. Salesforce - moving member data into a CRM system like Salesforce 

2. WooCommerce - housing sales from product to orders is vital

3. WordPress - migration and connecting blog and website is crucial

4. ActiveCampaign - connecting member data to automated marketing systems

5. MailChimp - sync with an email management system

6. Twilio - leverage text messaging to reach out to members

#4 Consider whether you can manage an all-in-one vs. cobbled together software.

What’s your budget and what do you really want to spend your time doing? There may not be one perfect solution for your needs but you can get at this better by thinking through a few things at the start. My opinion is, try to minimize cobbling together as much as possible. 

In an ideal world, you have as few logins and connections as possible. Maybe you have a member management software, CRM and/or automated marketing, and a text notification system. Now, if that’s all you need, your budget may thank you. 

But, the more you grow your followers, the more your budget starts to grow. Each strategy has its benefits and challenges. Here’s how I find it helpful to think about it: 

• Highly cobbled allows you to have more features per individual technology but you may need an engineer to build the integration for you and there’s the chance of integrations breaking as each technology changes.

• All-in-one allows you one or fewer key platforms to manage but you may have fewer features. Here you also have fewer systems to learn, log into, update, and manage. Most people don’t use all the robust features of each platform and would prefer to reduce the stress of having a lot of things working together and those complications.  

#5 Consider the sun in your ecosystem. 

Maybe it’s been a while since your last science class. That’s okay. I’m here to help! Everything revolves around the sun. At least most people agree with that last sentence! : ) It’s no different when it comes to your community. 

Every community technology plan has some central “sun” or the thing everything else spins around. Do you know what that thing is? It might be your CRM, folks attending your events, email, blog, or memberships. If memberships are a core part of your strategy then I recommend that your membership software be the key epicenter to your strategy.

Integrating a membership site into another website or platform can cause user confusion and frustration—both for the user and for you. If this is part of your strategy, you want to create and offer a seamless, great experience for your members.

As you can no doubt see, when it comes to online membership management software, there are a ton of things to think through. These are just five things—whew! We looked at key tools you might need, how you might evaluate the software, what your most important features are, vital integrations, whether you should manage things in an all-in-one package versus cobbled together, and finally, we looked at what the sun in your ecosystem is.

Now that you have a good grasp on what you should consider in thinking through your membership software, you’re well on your way to getting more done—and faster. 

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.

Event management isn’t easy. Event management software can be even more difficult to grasp. Things change so much and so often. I want to give you a look behind the curtain of event management software for this post. 

When it comes to event management and software, there are seven secrets I want you to be aware of. I think knowing these seven secrets will give you the advantage you need to thrive with your ministry or business. 

7 secrets behind the curtain of event management software 

Secret #1: Ask the right questions. 

You no doubt have lots of questions when it comes to event management and software. Let I talked about recently when it comes to online membership management software, asking the right questions for you and your ministry or business is important. Asking the right questions early and often can set you on the right course for success—and have you not get on the wrong track to start with!

Here are just a few questions you should be asking:

• What do I need my event software to do most?

• What experience do I want an event attendee to have?

• Who all is involved in my event—from attendee to manager to post-event?

• What is each person (or group) at my event looking for?

• How is my event different from other events?

• What tools do I need for my exhibitors?

• What tools do I need for my speakers?

Secret #2: Know the features that matter to you. 

With so many unique features to look for, what should you look for and what features are the things you might consider as part of your event strategy? 

I have a few ideas of some features that are both important and what features that might matter to you: 

• Turning event attendees into members (memberships)

• Keeping them engaged after the event in a group

• Ability to recommend content, exhibitors, and other attendees to participants

Secret #3: Know the tools that get the job done.

There are so many tools. Depending on which software you’re using, it’s tough to know what’s most important. Here are a few tools I’d consider to be core event module tools that are worth your time to review:

• Analytics and Reporting

• Financial Management

• Attendee Registrations

• Exhibitor Registrations

• Speaker Management

• Volunteer Management

• Email and Communication

• Live or Virtual Facilitation

Secret #4 It’s about your attendee's experience.

From the start of marketing your event, through the actual event, and on to post-event experience for your attendees, there are many things that are a must for your attendees when it comes to the event experience. 

It’s important you know what type of experience you’re hoping to deliver to your attendees. Here’s teh way to frame your attendee’s experience. I think of the experience in three stages: 

1. Preparing people well before the event

2. Creating a great live/virtual experience

3. Following up well after the event

Secret #5 Have the bigger picture in mind.

This is big! Is what you’re planning just an event or are you inviting people into more? I asked this to a 20,000 person event a few years back—one that has a global legacy—and they said they were simply an event and not a movement. Sadly, I think most events think the same way.  

But if your event is leaving a lasting impression and building a tribe then you certainly might have a movement on your hands. It’s all a matter of perspective. Is your event only about getting the most people to attend that you can? Is an event a one-and-done experience for people or some obligation or is your event a stepping stone to what’s next? Challenge yourself to consider shaping your events for the purpose of creating a movement. What do you have to lose?

Secret #6 Integrations are important. 

Integrating data is important. I’ve listed here a few vital questions worth your time at this state. 

What data do you need to bring over from your events to systems like CRM or automated marketing tools?

How is that data going to move from the event to the other system?

A few examples of what you might use are as follows:

• API

• Zapier

• Manual export and import

What data is actually needed? Seriously, ask yourself what you’re going to do with each and every piece of data before building any integrations. Unless the data is useful, you can get in trouble and spend lots of money and not have useful insights.

What best practices will you want to follow -- that will need integrations?

• Email automation: Create attendee drip campaigns once registered

• Contact information: Logging attendee data in your CRM system

• Text: Sending attendees text messages

• Event to CRM: Adding attendee to general marketing communications

Secret #7 Know your budget. 

I saved the best for last! Setting a budget is the best thing people forget to start with when it comes to event management software. Don’t start shopping before you have a handle on your budget. Keep that figure close in your pocket. 

Every event platform is different in how they charge, some things to consider:

1. Subscription costs - monthly, quarterly, annually -- many cases -- the longer you subscribe the lower the expense. 

2. Contract lengths

3. Per ticket charges

4. Exhibitor lead capture charges

5. Number of contacts expense

6. API charges

7. Zapier charges

So, we’ve covered a ton in this post. Did these secrets spur you to think? Trust me, if you start with asking the right questions, if you know the features that matter most to you, if you know the tools that fit your needs if you make things about your attendees' experience, if you start and keep the bigger picture in mind, if you understand the importance of integrations, and you keep your budget in front of you, you will thrive knowing you have done your due diligence when it comes to event management software. 

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.