Member communication is more than just a newsletter for associations today — it’s the heartbeat of a robust engagement strategy. That includes everything from blogs and social posts to events, ad campaigns, magazines, and much more. (And, of course, newsletters, too.)
Whether you’re global in scope or a regional organization, having an association management system goes a long way toward creating, distributing, and tracking your outreach efforts.
With the iMIS Engagement Management System (EMS), associations have easy access to tools that can streamline messaging, automate workflows, and deliver meaningful experiences. But to truly unlock the system’s value, you need to use these tools properly.
Through iMIS tutorials, strategy development, and hands-on implementation, enSYNC helps associations find the long-term engagement that association members need.
How iMIS Tools Can Help Associations Engage Members
The engagement management system isn’t just a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. It’s a comprehensive platform that supports:
- Personalized communication with members and stakeholders
- Data-informed decision-making
- Automated member journeys
- Real-time analytics for campaigns and events
- Scalable member engagement workflows
After all, people who are engaged in your resources are much more likely to retain their membership.
1. Mastering iMIS Communication Features
One of the biggest advantages of iMIS is its communication module, which offers a variety of ways to engage your members with personalized and automated communications. Below we’ll focus on simplifying how the tools work and share some simple ways you can maximize their use for your member or trade association.
Smart Segmentation
Segmentation tools in iMIS are built so you can deliver the right message to the right member at the right time — without intensive hands-on management. These capabilities streamline your communication workflows and segment management to maximize your engagement.
Key Segmentation Feature:
- Automatically segment members based on participation, membership status, or custom fields
- Deliver targeted email campaigns based on interest or engagement level
- Send follow-up messages based on previous interactions (event registration, lapsed membership, etc.)
Engagement Paths
Engagement paths allow your team to set up automated, communication workflows based on a variety of factors like member signup, engagement and participation. Your engagement paths work in conjunction with the data in the AMS to send targeted and relevant communication.
Engagement Path Examples
- Trigger welcome emails for new members
- Schedule renewal reminders in advance, based on member sign-up timelines (i.e. 1-year, 2-year etc)
- Build “drip” campaigns that nurture engagement throughout the year based on member interests, committee involvement and more
Member Interactions Log
Interaction logs allow your team to track engagement with members and use that data to improve communications and to inform segmentation and engagement path plans.
Interaction Log Metrics and Uses
- Monitor open rates, click-throughs, and behavior in real time to determine the best way to engage members
- Get a view into which messages resonate with specific segments or members
- Adjust messaging strategies, segments and engagement paths accordingly
2. Boosting Engagement with Built-in Tools
The iMIS engagement management system offers features designed to track and create engagement. Let’s review these features and how they can be used for actionable strategies and improved member engagement.
Each of the tools below can be used individually, and together, to create automated workflows designed to enhance member experience, and streamline team involvement.
Member Portals: Enhancing Member Experience
Member portals enable self-service and community connection by allowing members to be hands-on with their membership experience.
- Strategic Example: Use the member portal to easily provide shared resources, access to update account preferences, and provide announcements and opportunities relevant to each member segment.
Event Modules: Improving Member Involvement
Event modules in iMIS manage RSVPs, payments, and attendance analytics all in one place. Not only does this improve operations for events internally, it makes sign up and participation easier, and more customizable for members.
- Strategic Example: You can create personalized agendas for attendees, monitor continuing education credits, and get instant feedback on sessions via polling and session handouts.
Survey and Polling Tools: Getting to Know Members Preferences
Survey and polling tools are natively available in iMIS to help streamline gathering valuable member feedback. Surveys and polls can even be tied to events and educational programs to get actionable insights from members.
- Strategic Examples:
- Understand what new members expect, want, and need by creating an engagement path that automatically sends a “new member” survey 6-months after sign up.
- Schedule post-event surveys to measure satisfaction. Not only is this work automated, but the data you receive can help create better future events and lead to even greater future engagement.
3. Turning Data Into Communication and Engagement Strategies
You’re likely already sitting on a treasure trove of member data. With the iMIS membership management system, you can leverage that information to drive smarter engagement decisions by leaning on data-driven features such as real-time dashboards, custom reports, and predictive engagement scoring.
iMIS Predictive Engagement Scoring assigns numerical values to member activity to help associations understand and improve engagement efficiently.
With predictive scoring, you can use the tool to identify the people most engaged with your association, so you can find and develop future association members. On the flipside, this tool also helps to identify disengaged members easily. What’s causing their lack of involvement? How can you better reach them?
Maybe they aren’t opening their emails because they registered with an outdated address. Maybe they don’t know about a specific branch of continuing education suited to their needs. Regardless of the reason, iMIS tools can analyze their activity and even enroll them in a targeted campaign to encourage greater participation. Knowing and interpreting the characteristics of at-risk members can help prevent future attrition.
4. Content That Converts: Campaign Services
Great software means little without great content. enSYNC’s consulting can help guide users in that development, including by supporting:
- Campaign planning and execution
- Email copywriting and design tailored to iMIS templates
- A/B testing and optimization
- Landing pages integrated with your iMIS workflows
Final Tips for Maximizing iMIS with enSYNC Partner Guidance
enSYNC’s experience working specifically with associations and trade organizations creates an understanding of the nuances of association audiences and board-level reporting requirements. It means an understanding that associations don’t just want engagement — they want measurable impact, increased retention, and better ROI on technology investments.
A partner like enSYNC can help you get the most out of your tools, but below are some simple tips to get you on the right path with iMIS:
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Start with strategy. Don’t jump into tools without a communications roadmap.
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Take advantage of department-specific iMIS training led by enSYNC. Your events, membership and accounting teams will use iMIS in specific ways for their needs, so personalized training for each department will help align your teams and your system with your overall mission. enSYNC is also available for troubleshooting specific iMIS issues and operations.
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Align communications with your member journey — from recruitment through renewal.
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Lean into automation. If you’re doing it manually more than once, there’s probably a better way through iMIS tools.
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Measure everything. Use the iMIS analytics tools to refine and improve.
Ready to Elevate Your Communication Engagement with iMIS?
If your association is ready to move beyond mass emails and toward a dynamic, data-driven engagement strategy, enSYNC can help you transform your iMIS system into an engine of growth.
Contact our team to schedule a consultation or reach out to our team directly for iMIS assistance. Let’s build a smarter engagement system together.
