Marketing, Membership and the Internet
Presented by:
Bryan Gillis
Business Manager – Internet Marketing Services
Copyright 2009 MembersFirst, Inc. Not to be duplicated, shared, disseminated or forwarded without the expressed, written consent of MembersFirst, Inc.
A few facts…
•
There are more Web users ages 55 and older (38 million) than
there are between the ages of 18 and 34 (33 million) –
Nielsen
Online
•
Just 26% of 70‐75 year olds were online in 2005, 45% of that age
group is currently online, and doing more activities online ‐
Pew
Internet
•
74% of internet users age 64 and older send and receive email
•
35% of adult Internet users now have a profile on at least one social
networking site ‐
Pew Internet
•
Facebook's greatest growth has come from 35‐49 year‐olds, and it
has added twice as many 50‐64 year‐olds as those under 18 –
Nielsen Online
•
There are over 350 million people on Facebook and over 55 million
on LinkedIn
It’s Time to Invest
Top 10 ways clubs are growing revenue
10. Player development programs‐‐21%
9. Trial memberships‐‐23%
8. Discounted initiation fees‐‐31%
7. Improvements to recreational facilities‐‐31%
6. Improvements to clubhouse‐‐37%
Source: 2009 Private Club Operations Report, National Club Association
Top 10 ways clubs are growing revenue 5. Expanded programs for juniors‐‐40%
4. Expanded programs for families‐‐44%
3. Special financial offers‐‐50%
2. Greater focus on member retention‐‐60%
1. Increased membership marketing‐‐69%
Source: 2009 Private Club Operations Report, National Club Association
"It comes to a certain point when you simply need to invest
in your club and the marketing of it.“
Glenn Smickley, COO Robert Trent Jones Golf Club
Leveraging the Internet
•
Website
•
E‐Mail Marketing
•
Search Engine Optimization
•
Social Networking
You don’t need a website**You need an online community for your members
and a sales & marketing tool for your club
Sales & Marketing‐ SEO
Member engagement‐
Targeted
communication
Retention ‐
Fresh, compelling
content
Your face to the worldThis
is your club…
‐ First impression‐ Does it represent the “live”
experience‐
Provide members and guests with an
understanding of the club’s values and
history.‐A virtual extension of the club’s
property and culture.‐ Does it make me want to belong?
A clear call to actionActionable…‐ Can I find what I’m looking for?‐ Are you driving me toward an action?‐ Does it entice and intrigue me?‐ Is it intuitive to my interests?
Deep…‐ Rich, interactive content‐ Place me virtually in the experience‐ Clear call to action‐
Professional imagery, photographs and
video‐ Detailed, well‐written descriptions
Participate…‐
Promote event participation and online
registration‐ Cross‐market events‐
“Teach”
members that “it’s on the
website”‐ Keep it fresh, compelling and relevant
Engage…‐
Leverage the knowledge and expertise
across the club‐
Interact with members and build
community
Targeted communication
Promote…‐ Integrated communication‐
Drives participation, registration and
website traffic‐ Snippets, not everything‐ Promotes brand‐ Environmentally sound‐ Saves $$$ (up to $40,000/year)
Search, seek and sell…
What is SEO?
If you’ve ever done a search on Google, Yahoo or Bing, you’ve experienced Search Engine Optimization
(SEO) first hand.
SEO is the process of increasing the amount of website visitors by ranking high in the search engine
results pages (SERPS) based on searches users perform.
The higher a site ranks, the more traffic it gets.
Organic
Paid
Organic
Paid
Non‐Profit Status and SEO
•
Is it okay to optimize my website?
YESOptimizing a website simply makes an
inefficient site efficient. It’s not advertising.
Yes!
No!
Non‐profit club?
Seven steps to smart SEO…
#1 Focus‐
Establish goals and objectives for your
website including page selection and
layout. ‐
Create individual pages for your events
business vs. lumping them all on one
events page. ‐ Search engines want relevancy.
#2 Keywords‐ Select the right ones‐Mile deep, inch wide‐ Evaluate competition‐
Leverage your strengths and unique
value and experiences
Keyword ResearchSelecting the right keywords
#3 Copywriting‐
Good copy keeps site visitors
interested and search engines happy. ‐
Work the keywords you are targeting
into your copy and make it compelling.‐
Read the copy on your own website. If
it doesn’t grab you, it probably won’t
grab your visitors either.
#4 Title tag + description‐Title and description tags help the
search engines learn what your web
pages are all about. ‐
Create title & description tags that
accurately capture the theme of each
web page.
#5 Alt tags + images‐
Alternate text associated with a web
page graphic that gets displayed when
the Internet user hovers the mouse over
the graphic. ‐
Name your alt tags based on the
keywords you are targeting on the web
page.
#6 Sitemap‐
Provide the search engines an easy
way to navigate your site.‐ Google’s roadmap to your website
#7 Back links‐
Back links are links from other sites to
your website. ‐
The internet version of a popularity
contest. ‐The more links coming back to your
site, the more important the search
engines think you are.‐
Videos, articles and press releases are
great ways to get back links.
Video back linking
Measure the impact‐
If you perform even a few of the SEO
tips just shown, you’ll greatly increase
your chances of ranking higher in the
search engines and driving more traffic
to your website.‐
Track of all this new traffic via a Google
Analytics account.
Sm (a.k.a. Social Media)
•
What is social media–
100% user‐created content
–
Interactive, not passive
–
Sharing and interacting based on common
interests
–
An opportunity to engage your market as a peer•
Engage market in conversations
•
Establish “expert”
position
•
Define your brand
•
What you didn’t know about social networking:–
Over 35% of adult Internet users have a profile on a social
networking site, up from 8% in 2005, according to the Pew
Internet & American Life Project.
–
Adults make up a larger portion of the US population than
teens, which is why the 35% number represents a larger
number of users than the 65% of online teens who also
use online social networks.
Social Media Pro• 100% user generated content
Social Media Con• 100% user generated content
Questions?