MEMBERSHIP &

SOCIAL MEDIARetaining and building the network

As presented at Southwest Assembly, Collie, on 18 May 2014

About me I’m Kero President of E-WA Rotary Membership Director & Social Media

Adviser for District 9465 I’m a community developer I believe in the future of the Rotary

experience

The 300lb Gorilla: Retention

Retention is absolute top membership priority Rotary has lost & gained a million members in

10 years June 30th is the high risk date Who is at risk in your club? DG Erwin has declared May & June 2014 as

Rotary Retention Months Our biggest challenge now is retaining the

ones we’ll lose on June 30th THIS year. (i.e. less than 2 months from now)

Think Community We need to build club communities, not just recruit members: Consider who your key stakeholders are How can you develop the relationship? Use your social media and bulletin to

communicate with your community Make the bulk of your communications

relevant to them

Let’s Stop the Cringe…We’ve developed an unfortunate sensitivity relative to age. Young recruits are great, but… Don’t disregard older recruits There are lots of excellent potential

Rotarians out there in their 60s, 70s and older

Recruit them!

Give New Members a Chance Opportunities to serve and open up new

projects and audiences for your club Encourage new members to nominate a

project they’re passionate about for club support (and funding)

Give your new member the lead on their project and support them

Invest in Your Members Passions

Invest your $$$$$ in projects where people interact with Rotarians and see the Rotary brand

Avoid becoming a “wholesaler” of funds to other charities.

Membership Tools Associate memberships Family connections & access Friends of Rotary Satellite clubs Alternate Rotary experiences Club visioning Membership surveys

Associate Membership Associate members – try before you buy Offer your community the opportunity to

try life with your club, free For general use, restrict the associate

option to 12 months – there has to be a decision point

Two for the Price of One Two for the price of one: how do you

cater for partners? Consider offering a free partner/family

associate membership to extend your club community

The aim is to encourage partners and family to participate

Having a defined associate option for partners improves participation

Friends of Rotary Friends of Rotary – your community Keep them informed of what you’re doing Engage with your stakeholders Who are your most important

stakeholders?

Communication Building and making better use of the

D9465 media network (Facebook, Twitter, bulletins)

Hold events for your club friends and community

Using enhanced club bulletins to connect with extended club communities and stakeholders

Collaborative Membership Page

Starting a new collaborative Facebook page

Idea is to share membership successes, ideas and challenges

All interested membership directors to get content creator rights on the new page

Extension Underway in D9465 E-WA Rotary (eclub) is in operation New under-40s club is a possibility Cockburn Central is favoured as a

geographical club location Keeping networks together – creating

new Rotary clubs from existing Rotaractor networks is a possibility

Satellite club option is available

Extension in D9465 Extension is a lost art in our district 16 years since our last traditional club

extension Lots of potential locations for new clubs Cockburn Central is currently favoured as

a geographical location for a new club We need sponsor clubs to make things

happen

Satellite Clubs The satellite club option is available Create or retain small geographic or

common interest groups Build on the club within a club option

E-WA Rotary E-WA Rotary is in operation Our first e-club in WA It’s a REAL club – same financial

obligations & requirement for service/interaction hours

Online interaction with optional monthly get-together

Utilising a satellite club structure with Southern Districts Rotary until charter

A Final Observation: Members as Customers

If we treat members as customers, we improve our chance of retention. Basic principles: Your members should be your customers.

Are they? Members don’t belong to clubs – clubs

belong to members Providing our customers with

opportunities: finding a best fit for members in Rotary

Membership & Community Questions?