Google Alerts have been around for a number of years, but they are still a great way for membership organisations to search and monitor news information.

What is a Google Alert?

A Google Alert is a search that is performed by Google based on search criteria you have set and the results are then emailed to you. They typically search news sites and blogs. The search uses Boolean (eg using search terms like AND, OR) which enables you to hone your search down to the relevant information.

How can membership organisations use them?

1. Tracking key members. If you have important or high profile members that you want to follow, create alerts for them. You can add any intelligence gathered to their member record on your database. Or you can contact them to congratulate them on the reason they are in the news.

2. Finding potential members. If you have key potential members, creating alerts for them enables you to track their job movements and also any notable activities. You can mention these to them when you are encouraging them to join.

3. Monitoring news about your organisation. It is always worth ensuring that you pick up any news stories about your organisation. If you have a regional network or volunteers that carry out activities on your behalf you might also find stories about regional groups and activities.

4. Following news about your “competitors”. Alerts can also help you keep abreast of what your “competitors” or organisations that serve your audience are doing.

5. Monitoring news about policy issues. Finally, your policy work can be helped by using Alerts to collect information about areas of policy interest.

How to set up a Google Alert

Google Alerts are really easy to set up. Just visit – http://www.google.co.uk/alerts and start creating them. There are advanced options like exporting them etc. It is worth noting that they daily digest emails come through at the time of day that you set up the alert, so if you want them to arrive first thing, set up the alert then.

Do you use Google Alerts?

Do you Google Alerts? What for? Do you have any suggestions for others looking to use them? Do post a comment below or contact me.

As you may know ‘content marketing’ is a buzz phrase at the moment. For a number of years marketing focused on communicating with typically “one voice”. With the growth of social media, there are now more channels to deliver our marketing messages, and those channels typically require different messages and tone of voice.

Having recently read ‘Managing Content Marketing’ by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi, I thought I’d share with you some of their insights and how it can be applied to a membership organisation.

What is content so important?
Content is a key way to engage with your members. If you can provide interesting, relevant and targeted content (through a variety of channels such as your website, e-news, hard copy publications, social media) to your members, they are more likely to engage and then stay engaged with your organisation.

Why do you need a content marketing plan?

1. Multiple communicators
   With the growth in social media, it is likely that a variety of people (beyond the membership and marketing team(s)) are now producing content in your organisation’s name. In your organisation you might have; the CEO’s blog, a number of staff who have Twitter accounts, and a regional branch with a LinkedIn group. Clearly bringing together these content streams into a central plan will help you manage and ensure the quality of the output and to manage the member experience.
   
2. Filtering content for members
   As a membership body, you can play an important role in filtering volumes of information that is out there into relevant and digestible content for your members. You can remove the need for them searching for information about your sector, you can deliver it directly to them.
   
3. Extending your reach
   Great content is likely to be shared, potentially beyond your network so it can help you reach potential members.
   
4. Competition
   With the growth in content marketing, there is the possibility that your members’ attention will be grabbed by another organisation. Whether or not they are a direct competitor, they could be courting your members for their spending power.

Creating a simple channel plan
The book has a number of steps and processes to go through, however I felt two were the most useful and are best conveyed through examples.

The first is the channel plan, this is where you decide which channels you should use. Then you decide what sort of messages you will push out through the chosen channels.

Below is a simple example of what a channel plan for a membership organisation:

Editorial calendar

And the second  second is an editorial calendar to manage your newly identified and organised channels. I have prepared another example here:

It is worth noting that some versions of editorial calendars also include information about who is writing the piece and the deadline too.

Conclusion
I think the overall message from the book is that content marketing is here to stay, so you should take notice and start organising your marketing communications in this way. Managing Content Marketing book is  a straight-forward read which offers some helpful tools. I’d recommend it as a good starting point for your content marketing strategy.

You can find out more from the Content Management Institute in the US, which is run by Joe Pulizzi one of the authors.

What do you think?
Do you already manage your content like this at your membership organisation? Have you seen an improvement on retention rates? Do leave a comment below or contact me.