What a membership directory can do for your association

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Offer a well-built online membership directory.  

If you’re like many association professionals, increasing membership and improving member engagement are top priorities. In the 2022 Association Trends Study by Community Brands, association professionals list “developing or improving engagement opportunities for members” and “increasing membership” among their top five most important goals. 

One simple and effective way to make progress toward these goals is to offer a modern, easy-to-use online membership directory. 

What is a membership directory? 

An online membership directory is simply a directory of your association’s individual and organizational members. It can include basic member information – such as company name, individual name, and contact information (including phone numbers and email addresses). It can also include more detailed information – such as a photo, company logo, company website link, specialty, region, affiliated organizations, and interests. The directory can be private or public facing.  

Why is it important for your association to offer a membership directory? 

An online, searchable membership directory offers a clear benefit for your members. It allows them to easily search for and connect with other members in your organization. This facilitates networking, which the 2022 Association Trends Study shows is among the top reason members join an association and one of the top ongoing benefits for members.  

Your members can use your membership directory to connect with others in your industry or profession to build relationships that can lead to mentorship opportunities, job leads, sharing of information, and exchanges of advice and inspiration. By offering this type of benefit, you can attract more members and encourage continuous member engagement. 

If your membership directory is public facing, it can also help you boost your online presence. With a public membership directory, the search of a members’ name or affiliation can bring up your organization, thereby increasing website traffic and potential interest in your organization. It can also connect non-members with organizational members in your association who offer products or services that the individuals might need. 

How can your association offer a membership directory? 

YourMembership association management software (AMS) makes it easy to set up an attractive, well-built membership directory for your association using YourMembership Directory functionality.  

YourMembership Directory allows you to give members (and/or the public) the ability to make better connections. The sleek visual display of members and their profiles help to ensure your members can connect with each other for networking or services while your organization boosts member value and drives engagement.  

Individuals can connect with colleagues in your organization’s industry by entering user-friendly search terms to filter the membership directory and view results based on their needs. You can customize your organization’s membership directory by chapters, industry, or other fields in your database to offer the specific membership directory that meets your organization’s needs. 

Learn more 

YourMembership AMS offers affordable, easy-to-use, all-in-one membership software for small to mid-sized organizations. It includes membership management and directory functionality and an online community platform to help you manage member activities while providing members with an easy, everyday way to connect, share, and learn. Learn more about why YourMembership AMS is the ideal solution for small and growing associations: Explore YourMembership. 

By Kyela Bishop, YourMembership Marketing Coordinator, Community Brands