They say free digital marketing doesn’t exist anymore.
And it’s true that search engine and social media algorithms have become more complicated and expensive over time. But there are still some tips and tricks on how to promote your brand online for free.
In this article, we’re sharing our seven favourite tools that associations and membership communities can use to save their marketing budgets and get more exposure online.
Table of Contents
1. Tell the story
Associations have lots of stories to tell! Whether it’s sharing interviews with members, photos from past events, or success stories on how your association represents the industry – your stories are an invaluable asset for your marketing team.
In our fast-paced modern world, people love a personal story. So why not leverage it into a powerful marketing tool for your association?
Sharing stories is important because it:
- Helps you connect with your target audience
- Builds trust and lasting loyalty with people, fostering a sense of community
- Allows you to capture your audience’s attention for longer periods of time and make a more memorable impression
- Generates highly shareable content
What’s more, people remember stories 22 times more than facts! (J. Aaker, 2013).
Want to create an effective narrative for your next marketing campaign? Here’s an industry example to inspire your content:
2. Encourage your members to share your content
What we often forget is that our community can be amplified by our members’ networks! Remeber to use this resource by encouraging your members to share your news, articles, and events.
When you run an event or promote any of your association’s initiatives, don’t forget to create accessible templates, banners, and email examples to make it as easy as possible for your members to share your content to their networks.
For example, the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) has created a member referral program and landing page where members can easily find and download AMI membership marketing materials. The page includes clear instructions on how members can share AMI’s content, which in turn works as free promotion for AMI.
3. Recycle, repurpose and refresh your content
Do you have an exciting and successful webinar from the last few months that you could now convert into an article or podcast episode? What about a case study or how-to guide that you could update and use again to reflect any changes that might have occurred since it was originally published? Or even a popular blog post or white paper with quality information that could be broken up into bite-sized pieces of content to share on social media?
Much of the content you’ve already invested time and effort into creating could be recycled, repurposed and refreshed to continue working for you and potentially generate more leads along the way.
4. Use free digital marketing tools
There are many free digital marketing tools available on the market, so use them as much as you can! Our favourites include:
Use this free online graphic design tool to create professional looking visual content for your association’s website, blog, and social media posts. If you’re happy to upgrade to a pro account, don’t forget that Canva has special rates for not-for-profit organisations
This social media management platform’s free plan allows you to sync three social media profiles, meaning you can quickly respond and post across all your social profiles in one easy-to-use dashboard.
Turn people who find you on Google Search and Maps into new members with a free Business Profile.
Comment below to share your favourite free marketing tool!
5. Optimise your business presence
Your online business presence (social media profiles, website, Google Business account) needs to be optimised and up-to-date to work as free promotion for your association.
Updating your online profiles and listings is important because customers will visit these platforms to search for information about your association.
Having a relevant, up-to-date online business presence will:
- Amplify overall visibility
- Enhance performance on search engines
- Provide plenty of opportunity for inbound links that direct people to your main website
If you aren’t taking advantage of these, you’ll miss out on reaching potential, high-intent customers, as well as the greater return on investment that follows.
Ensure you fill out your main social profile pages front-to-back, and that you keep it consistent on every platform.
Be sure to include:
- A high quality profile photo
- What kind of company you are
- What your company does
- Your story and values
- Relevant keywords
- A trackable link to your website to direct people to learn more about your business
This will make your association easy for your audience to find and let them know all about you!
Platforms you may need to update include:
- All social media profiles and groups
- Wikipedia page
- Google Business Profile (Google Maps and other applications)
Haven’t updated your social media profiles or online listings in a while? Is it time to tidy up your digital presence?
Check out our Digital Clean Up Challenge, a 4-week project with actionable guidelines and tasks dedicated to each week. It will help you declutter, systemise, and fine-tune your digital assets, and ensure your members can easily navigate your space! Read more
6. Choose the right media
When it comes to using your marketing resources wisely, it’s always important to choose the right media to distribute your content.
So, what social media platform works best for associations?
Let’s compare two: Facebook and LinkedIn.
It varies greatly from industry to industry, but for many professional associations and industry bodies, LinkedIn is a better social media choice, especially for organic interactions (not paid).
Not only is LinkedIn a B2B platform, but its algorithm is not as strict as Facebook’s for content exposure and engagement. It’s a well known fact that Facebook’s algorithm restricts the number of people who can see your business page posts, whereas LinkedIn allows you to tag connections and organisations in your posts to boost your exposure to their networks.
Below is case study with one of our clients:
Still considering Facebook? No problem!
If you would like to use Facebook for your member engagement, we highly recommend exploring Facebook Groups.
At the moment (end of 2022) Facebook algorithm favours groups posts, placing Groups content at the top of your news feed, providing maximum exposure.
When running a Facebook Group, don’t forget to think about the keywords and phrases your members might use when searching for your group. Incorporate these keywords in your title and description to help bolster your group’s standing in Facebook search results.
7. Create a podcast
Podcasts are another great way to build your audience, and you can pretty much set up your own podcast for free at home using a phone, microphone, and laptop.
A podcast is a powerful tool that can help you acquire new audiences, build awareness around your association, and potentially convert your listeners into future members!
Moreover, they go beyond just gaining exposure by making members feel a deeper and more personal connection to the association.
By putting a voice to the values and content you’ve been sharing through other channels, you can easily showcase the character of your association and thus organically attract more people to join your membership.
Some examples of topics that your podcast may offer are:
- Run member interviews
- Provide industry tips
- Repurpose a blog post into a podcast (or vice versa!)
- Association Transformation Podcast
- Successful Associations Today
- Australian Chiropractors Association Podcast
Undertaking these tools will help your association reach new audiences and convert them into loyal members without blasting your marketing budget.
We’d love to hear if you implement any of these activities, and your experience with them. So let us know by commenting down below!
Itching to share some of your own free marketing tips and tricks? Leave a comment below and we’ll check it out!
