Chambers of Commerce

I was recently made fun of for saying "Google Analytics is cool!" I guess I could see someone saying that, but I could easily say the same thing about people who think hockey is cool. People tend be scared, and ridicule, what they don't understand and I don't know a thing about hockey - with the exception that David Beckham is the best player in the league, right?

Understanding your website is not only cool, it’s really smart.

If you're looking for way to uncover value from your association...

Managing your website analytics is already difficult, but when you don’t understand the traffic metrics, then it’s just about impossible.  Bounce rate is a commonly misunderstood metric.

What is a Bounce?

A bounce is a visitor who arrives on your site, views one page, and immediately leaves your website. By this definition, the bounce rate is the total number of visits with only one page view divided by the total number of visits to your site.

The key word in the definition is “page”.  Most people...

By Bryan Long, Relationship Manager

Is your chamber of commerce or business association website doing all it can to promote your members? Could you be improving member retention, generating more leads for members, producing more revenue, or even increasing event attendance with a more powerful website and online membership directory?

The single biggest reason businesses join your organization is to gain more business.  Through networking, professional learning opportunities and the exposure gained...

WebLink recently launched a brand new iPad app designed for associations and chambers of commerce using the WebLink Connect membership management system to conduct mobile commerce by accepting credit card payments for new memberships, current member invoices and event registrations when away from your office. The WebLink iPad app has only been out a few days, but the feedback has been amazing!

By streamlining the interface and workflow, we've created a intuitive tool for sales teams, events staff...

By Chad Bouslog, Membership Management Specialist

About 45 days ago, I was just like a lot of you reading this blog today. In fact, today, I’m probably similar to a lot of you as well, being human and all. But 45 days ago, I was introduced to WebLink International.  I wasn’t actively seeking new employment opportunities, so I probably wouldn’t have considered myself as a “hot lead” for the sales world.

Just the same, not every association or Chamber of Commerce that comes into contact with WebLink...

By Matthew Bugnacki, Membership Management Specialist

The What:

Recently my family and I were invited to a friend's house for breakfast. One of them asked if I would be writing another blog post for WebLink. I mentioned I would be writing one on dashboarding…silence…blank stares...I decided more information was needed. As I paused and searched for the best way to explain what I was writing about I asked myself whether or not this even applied to him; he’s a professional photographer. It did. In...

What is the one thing your Chamber of Commerce website can't do? Lose a prospective member of course!

If your website is the 24/7/365 salesperson it's supposed to be, you need to make sure there is no chance a prospect is going to walk away because they can't find your join button. This button will lead your site visitor to your defined target page to be a member. The resulting page can also serve as a sales pitch to why they should become a member and what the ROI is for membership.  Here is an...

By now, you're probably sick and tired of PSY's Gangnam Style video. But after watching this video become the first in history to hit 1 billion views in December 2012, it's hard not to take notice of the explosion of online video. While your Chamber probably won't aspire to go viral on this scale, online video can have a tremendous impact on new member sales, member retention, and member engagement in your Chamber.

A recent infographic from SundaySky and research from comScore showcase the video...

Recently, my son was helping me with his homework (yes, you read that correctly!) and it made me think about ways that business associations and chambers of commerce can solve problems with their data.

His 5th grade class is learning pre-algebra using tokens and dice to represent the Xs and the Ys to help them "break down" the equations into manageable chunks and ultimately lead to the solution.  Being in my mid 40s, it took me a while to grasp the concepts, but once I did, it made understanding...

By Chris Landis, Vice President, Finance and Operations

As a decision maker in any organization, one of the most important decisions you make for the health and success of your association is related to the tools and technology in which to invest. Whether you are leading a Fortune 500 business, a professional association or a local Chamber of Commerce, the choice you make will have lasting implications on your staff, your budget, and the way you run your organization.

As an association management...

By Terry Dwyer, CEO

As 2013 begins, it is the perfect time to assess your association, set new goals and plans to lead your team, as well as your members, to success in the new year.  I use this time of year to quietly think through where I, as CEO, can have the greatest impact. This effort can take real discipline since, if you are like me, you might want to make sure “all the important items are included.”  Most of us will lean toward making this list too long and, as a result, find ourselves...

By Joe Scaggs, National Sales Manager for WebLink Digital Media

Recently, The Schapiro Group, an Atlanta-based strategic consulting firm, released a national survey of 2,000 adults that indicated significant benefits for businesses active in their local Chamber of Commerce. The full results of the survey can be viewed on the ACCE website, but I’ll try to be helpful and cover a few of the highlights for small businesses.   

When a small business is active in a Chamber of Commerce:

• Consumers are 49%...

At WebLink, we've long said that Chambers of Commerce were the original social networking platform and involvement in the business social scene is crucial for your organization.  As the pinnacle of your local business community, your Chamber should always look for additional ways to engage your audience and measure your results. This list features super helpful social tools that make the most efficient use of your time communicating and engaging the businesses in your community.

While engaging...

Business associations and chambers of commerce spend precious time and money recruiting new members and trying to retain existing members.

But some members are naturally more inclined to renew based on how they feel about your association BEFORE they join.  You'll create greater chances for success at renewing these members if you can identify them before they join so you can:

1. Capture details needed to demonstrate value in your membership management database
2. Try to "convert" them to a type of...

By Joseph Loria, Vice President, Advisory Services

In the financial world, investments are expected to return profit and pay dividends. Do you feel the same about your member management software?  Likely not.  More disturbing, research from Forrester Group  shows that only about 33% of customer relationship management (CRM) system implementations are deemed a success. So, why do so many fail? Surprisingly, only a third of the failures are due to the technology itself. The majority is related to...

By Beth Gannett, Membership Management Specialist

At the ASAE Membership Marketing Conference last month, at a session based upon association website design, they took an informal survey.  The question was posed to the room asking when the last time each organization had redesigned their website.  Most of the associations in the room said they hadn’t made a significant design change to their site in five years or more! If it’s time for your association to think about a new website design, here...

Each year, the WebLink Summit brings together business association and chamber of commerce executives from around the country to discuss ways they can use technology to improve their organizations.

This year's WebLink Summit will be May 30-June 1 at the brand-new JW Marriott in Indianapolis. The WebLink Summit is far more than a software user’s meeting – it’s a unique marketing, technology and social media conference designed to help associations and chambers of commerce use technology to market...

If you're like most business associations and chambers of commerce, you're using a Facebook page to broaden your communications and engage your audience where they already are - on social media.

The average user in the U.S. spends about 8 hours/month on Facebook. As Facebook continues to become THE place where people learn about news and find information about companies, it is reasonable to think that your audience may someday visit your Facebook page to learn more about your association - maybe...

Your association database is the single most important asset your organization owns.

Many associations and chambers of commerce don't hold patents, produce products or create proprietary information, such as extensive research projects or detailed industry reports.  However, the collection of data in your membership database IS a propriety asset.

This data is unique and extremely valuable to your organization.

Your membership database software should contain everything you need to manage your...