Are you looking for a member engagement strategy for your fraternal order? If so, you have come to the right place. Having engaged members is vital to most fraternal organizations in the United States. Let’s explore what a member engagement strategy is and why it’s important for fraternal orders. We’ll share member engagement ideas, including why The Comedian Company views comedy as a great way to connect with members.
What Is a Member Engagement Strategy?
A member engagement strategy is a multichannel approach to encourage members to actively participate, remain loyal, and stay connected. A member engagement strategy can include digital forums, chats, unique member portals, conferences, DIY escape rooms at the Lodge, team-building events, or any other way to bring value to your members and make them feel connected.
Why Does Member Engagement Matter to Fraternal Orders?
Member engagement is essential for fraternal orders because engaged members bring in new members and participate more in volunteer events, ultimately helping your organization grow and thrive in your local community.
Additionally, most fraternal orders require active member participation to perform rituals, mentor new members, and volunteer at events. A quorum of members is also needed to pass votes, so passive members are not desirable.
To attract active members to your fraternal order, you need to ensure they are engaged and connected between meetings.
Member Engagement Strategies to Focus On
Let’s take a look at some ideas for member engagement opportunities that you can work on for your organization.
Building and Fostering Community
To engage your members and keep them feeling connected, you need to build and foster a sense of community within your organization.
Host In-Person Events
If you want your fraternal organization venue to grow and keep members engaged, host fun events like comedy nights or magician shows that members will look forward to outside regular meetings.
Offer Members-Only Online Forums or Special Groups
Let’s face it: the digital age is here, and organizations that don’t keep up will lose out. Create forums, groups, chats, and special member portals for your members to engage with one another and stay up to date on announcements.
It can be as simple as a Discord or MeWe group or as elaborate as a Kajabi, Memberful, or another membership portal. You can provide information about members’ interests, special learning videos, chats, and even virtual personal development opportunities just for members.
Host Special Fundraisers
Fundraisers are a good way to keep members engaged and build community. You can even recognize members by holding a small silent auction for them, making them feel valued and increasing member satisfaction. The Comedian Company has comedians who rock comedy nights at fundraisers, helping you raise money and giving everyone a good laugh.
Networking Events
You can throw networking events to connect with similar organizations from other areas and states. Members will feel more engaged when they can mingle with like-minded member segments from other places.
Recognize Achievements and Participation
Another great member engagement strategy is to recognize achievements and participation within your organization, making members feel appreciated and motivated to renew their membership. These strategies will help you keep your membership trends on the right track and encourage growth!
Offer Certificates and Badges
One way to recognize achievements within your organization and keep members engaged is to offer certificates and badges. You can even offer digital versions, such as Credly or Accredible, that can be shown off on social media platforms.
Provide Volunteer Opportunities
Provide volunteer opportunities for your members to feel engaged. When members work together toward a common community goal, they develop a shared sense of purpose. It also allows members to show off their strengths while staying active in the community.
Use Games to Make It Fun
Some members, especially long-lasting members, may get bored with the same old stuff year after year, so why not switch things up with some fun games! You could host a Family Feud-style game like our Friendly Feud, hosted by a hilarious comedian. You can even come up with some questions that only your organization would know and appreciate. Organize a game night and get every member involved.
Make Onboarding a Big Deal
One of the best member engagement strategies is to make onboarding a “big deal”. Studies show that 89% of employees who experienced effective onboardings are more engaged at work. So it’s fair to say that fraternal order members will likely feel more engaged if they have a good onboarding experience. Increase retention rate with personalized onboarding.
Why Comedy Boosts Engagement in Fraternal Orders
Now, let’s dive into why comedy is the way to boost engagement and renewal rates in fraternal orders and brotherhoods.
Shared Laughter Builds Trust and Camaraderie
Studies show that shared laughter builds trust and rapport. What a great way to help newer members feel welcome and for existing members to connect: have a comedian perform at your next event. Event attendance may increase as well when there’s a comedian expected to perform.
Improves Teamwork
Hiring a comedian for your next fraternal order venue event is a good idea to help improve teamwork. Studies show that laughter increases group cohesion, which ultimately improves teamwork.
When members feel closer, they work better together. You can bring them closer with a good, funny comedian. Most comedians can tailor their content to fit your audience, ensuring everyone has a good time.
Helps to Bring In New Members
You could have an event that is open to the public and attract some new members if you have a comedian performing at your fraternal order venue. You can promote the event on social media, and people may come to see the comedian but leave interested in becoming a part of your group. Your current members could bring friends in to see the comedy show, and then they may get interested in joining too.
Helps to Improve Association Membership Retention
While traditions and ceremonies are a very important aspect of most fraternal orders, sometimes a fun and different extra event can be a fantastic method for improving member retention.
Some members may get used to the routine meetings, but adding an extra event and using a comedian can really keep your current members in “active participation mode”. A comedy show can be a good way of saying thanks to the members of your group and one of the best retention strategies.
Hire a Comedian With the Comedian Company for Your Next Fraternal Order Event
If you are looking to book a comedian for your next fraternal order event, book with The Comedian Company. We have over 20 years of experience connecting organizations and groups with the perfect comedian for their event. Call us at (586) 218-8745 or fill out our form, let us know when your event is and what your group is like, and we will send you some preview videos so you can choose the best comedian for your event.