Content marketing is the backbone of association marketing, driving member engagement, industry influence, and sustained growth. From in-depth industry reports to regular webinars, compelling content keeps your association relevant and valuable. . However, creating a successful content strategy takes more than just posting a few blogs or social media updates—it requires a clear plan and consistent effort.

A robust content strategy includes:

  • Clear goals and purpose (why are you doing this?)
  • Tying it all back to your association’s vision, mission, and values
  • Knowing your audience with detailed member personas
  • Defining your voice and tone so you sound like you
  • Planning content types, frequency, and themes (content pillars)
  • Crafting key messages and calls to action
  • Distribution strategy (channels)
  • Figuring out how repurpose content (work smarter, not harder!)
  • Funnel strategies to grow, convert, and retain members
  • SEO magic to make sure your content gets found
  • Having the right tools, team, and metrics to measure success

Are you confident in your current strategy, or could it use a little fine-tuning? That’s where our Association Content Marketing Planning Quiz comes in. You might be just starting out or refining a well-established strategy—the quiz offers clear insights and actionable steps to take your content marketing to the next level.

In this article, we’ll guide you through how associations can effectively plan, create, improve, and measure their content marketing to achieve impactful results.

Step 1: Plan with Purpose

Every successful content marketing strategy starts with a plan. Without one, you’re likely to produce content that feels random or disconnected from your goals. Here’s how to start:

What do you want your content to achieve? From increasing event registrations to growing your membership base to improving engagement, having clear objectives will guide your strategy.

Understand your members’ needs and challenges. Create member personas that reflect different segments of your audience so you can tailor content specifically to them.

What’s working? What isn’t? Reviewing your past efforts will help you identify gaps and opportunities.

Instead of trying to be everywhere at once, focus on where your members already spend their time. Are they active on LinkedIn? Do they engage more through email newsletters or your online community? Spreading your resources too thin across multiple platforms can lead to burnout without delivering real impact. Prioritise a few key channels and optimize them for maximum reach and engagement.

Plan your content in advance. Align topics with important dates, such as events or awareness days relevant to your industry.

Don’t know what to post? We’ve created a Canva Template solely for associations to make content planning easier!

Step 2: Find the Right Tools

No matter how great your content strategy is, the right tools can make all the difference in executing it smoothly and efficiently. From planning to creation, distribution, and measurement, the right technology can save your team time, reduce stress, and amplify your impact. Here’s how to make the most of them:

Start with tools that help you organise your strategy. Use project management platforms like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com to map out your content calendar, assign tasks, and keep everyone on the same page.

Invest in tools that make content creation easier and more professional. Platforms like Canva for design, Grammarly for editing, and Adobe Creative Cloud for advanced visuals ensure your content stands out.

Use social media scheduling tools such as Buffer, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social to plan and automate posts across multiple channels. Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp can help you engage directly with your audience.

Measuring the performance of your content is essential. Google Analytics, social media insights, and tools like SEMrush provide valuable data on what’s working and where you can improve.

Consider platforms tailored for associations, such as Higher Logic for community engagement. These tools can help you better align your content strategy with your association’s goals.

By using the right tools, your association can ensure that content is not only well-planned but also efficiently executed and continuously optimised. The key is to choose solutions that align with your specific needs and budget while allowing room for growth as your strategy evolves.

Step 3: Create Content That Resonates

Once you have a plan, it’s time to create content that connects with your audience. Remember, your members want value—not just another sales pitch.

Focus on topics that address your members’ pain points or provide solutions. For example, if your members are small business owners, share tips on navigating economic challenges or managing teams.

Mix it up with blogs, videos, podcasts, infographics, and social media posts. Different people consume content in different ways, so variety is key.

Highlight real-life examples, such as member success stories or testimonials. Authenticity builds trust and fosters stronger connections with your audience.

Post regularly and maintain a consistent tone and style across all channels. This reinforces your association’s brand and keeps you top-of-mind for members.

Step 4: Improve Your Content Marketing Game

Good content marketing is never “one and done.” There’s always room for improvement. Here’s how to take things up a notch:

Ask your members what they want to see more of. Use surveys, polls, or even informal social media posts to gather ideas.

Look at what’s performing well. Are certain topics getting more clicks, shares, or comments? Focus on creating more of that type of content.

Turn a popular webinar into a blog, or compile social media posts into a newsletter. Repurposing saves time and keeps your content fresh.

Step 5: Measure and Learn

To know if your content is working, you need to measure its performance. Metrics give you valuable insights into what’s resonating with your audience—and what needs tweaking.

Focus on metrics that align with your goals, such as website traffic, social media engagement, or webinar registrations.

 

Use past performance to set realistic goals and measure progress over time.

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Test different types of content, headlines, or posting times to see what gets the best results.

 

Use the data you collect to refine your content marketing efforts. This iterative process ensures continuous improvement.

Ready to Take Your Content Marketing to the Next Level?

Creating a successful content marketing strategy isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about building meaningful connections, delivering real value, and driving results for your association.

It’s time to stop guessing and start planning with purpose. Let the quiz be your first step toward creating content that engages your members, grows your audience, and showcases the unique value of your association.

Need expert guidance? MemberBoat is here to help! Whether you need a content strategy overhaul or just some fine-tuning, we can work with you to create a plan that aligns with your goals.

MemberBoat is a digital marketing agency dedicated to helping professional associations, industry bodies and other membership organisations embrace emerging digital marketing tools, create a more commercial mindset and simplify their journey to digital transformation.