question mark 2110767 640

One thing that marketers don’t get recognized enough for is the amount of time we spend testing things — testing new messages, new platforms and new algorithms to find that perfect balance of how best to reach our target audiences. This is extremely evident when it comes to trying to engage association members on social media.One thing that marketers don’t get recognized enough for is the amount of time we spend testing things — testing new messages, new platforms and new algorithms to find that perfect balance of how best to reach our target audiences. This is extremely evident when it comes to trying to engage association members on social media.

Which platforms should you use? What kind of messages do you put out there? What time of day should you post? All of these questions seem to be on every association marketer’s mind. And the answers are different for every association out there. There seems to be one pattern, however, that I’ve observed works for just about any association, in every industry, on every platform.

Start asking questions
That’s right. It’s as simple as posting questions for your membership to get them to interact. Enable your followers, likes and subscribers to create content for you by providing guided questions that are popular or hot topics within your industry. It sounds pretty basic, but I can honestly say through ten years of doing marketing and social media for all kinds of organizations that this is by far the most consistently effective method for engaging your community. There are a few tips and tricks to asking questions on social media that make these posts more successful:Be thoughtful of the types of questions you postYou might be wondering which types of questions you should be asking. One of the best ways to come up with questions is to keep your finger on the pulse of hot topics in the industry and what I call “passion propositions.” In every industry, there are three or four topics that everyone seems to be passionate about. Think about the tools people use in your industry or daily tasks someone in your industry typically performs. Creating discussion platforms for things your members have in common is a very effective strategy.

Catch their eye
To help engage readers, accompany the questions with high quality images. Take the time to include a professional looking image that will make your post stick out among the rest of the timeline. A good resource for these images is Pixabay, a free image and video community that has a lot of options to choose from.

Use built-In tools
Make sure you are using tools that are built in to the various social media channels to provide a unique experience. As most marketers know, in order to engage as many members as possible, you have to do a good job setting yourself apart from the rest of their timeline. For instance, don’t be afraid to ask simple questions using Twitter Polls. They look very nice in-stream and create the “fear of missing out” that we all know people hate. If they see 100 people have voted, they’ll vote too because they want to see where they stand with the rest of the industry.