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Many associations have started handing out their conference material on DVDs or USB sticks; some have even stopped distributing hard copy handouts altogether. They are also holding webinars, and have year-round conference websites where members can do everything from register for an event to download an audio recording of a presentation. During the event itself, they are making use of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep connected to attendees and other members, and to help members connect with each other.

In short, technology is being used to better communicate with members, capture more content, and pass on information in a more meaningful way.

“The main driver for us was to create a better product for our members, and to give them the same technology they have in their own industries,” says Frank Colantonio, director, continuing education, at Chartered Accountants of Canada (CICA), which puts on 50 different events each year. “We’re moving forward with technology and we want to be ahead of the curve.”

Trial and Error

While it would be useful to have a step-by-step guide on what exactly a not-for-profit association should be doing to ‘stay ahead of the curve,’ it’s not quite that simple. Technology changes so rapidly, that sometimes new things are sampled before they’ve been proven to work well with an association’s membership base.

And each association has a different membership base. What works for a tech-savvy audience is not necessarily going to get off the ground with a more conservative business group. Even within the same organization, there may be those members more eager to get their material on a USB stick – or even insist on it – while others balk at the thought. “Some audiences are less receptive to the idea, and others more,” says Colantonio, “Some just want their binder.”

But if groups don’t jump on the technology bandwagon, they run the risk of alienating their more tech-savvy members. They also lose out on an opportunity for more robust communication. So many are learning what works and what doesn’t as they go along.

“It’s a learning curve,” says Gail McHardy, director, conference and events, at the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE). “I don’t think there is a right way and a wrong way. You have to look at your audience and figure out what they are up for, their age and stage, and everything else. Who is using (that technology) and who do you want to get it to. Then you take it from there.”

Last year, for instance, the CSAE did a blog tied to their annual conference, which they soon discovered generated little interest. So they will not be doing it this year. A conference page on the social media site LinkedIn, on the other hand, fared much better, as did making use of Twitter during the actual conference. Attendees at a particularly interesting session would ‘tweet’ about it to others, urging them to get themselves to the session as well.

The association’s first attempt to stop handing out hardcopy programs also met with a bit of resistance when they tried that out two years ago. As a result, last year CSAE took a multi-pronged approach. They put the program online in advance, provided it on a USB key to conference attendees, and also printed up a limited number of hard copies of each session, which they made available at the back area of the session halls. Through trial and error, CSAE was able to learn what was a winner and a keeper, and what was not.

Event Websites

There are other ways not-for-profit groups are also making use of technology. Both CSAE and CICA work closely with Content Management Corporation to capture conference content and make it available to association members on their year-round conference websites, both as audio recordings and synchronized power points.

“Because we have a number of concurrent sessions going on at one time and people can’t clone themselves, we offer a one-day or full conference online package to attendees,” says McHardy, Attendees can access one day of conference sessions on a complimentary basis; all others must be purchased

The conference website, says McHardy, is where “we do just about everything and anything we can online. (On the site) you can see a YouTube slideshow of the highlights of last year’s conference, registration can be done online, and the whole tradeshow process is online – from the exhibitor prospectus, to all the forms the exhibitors have to fill out. We have sponsorship information online as well and links right to the conference hotel.”

This approach has helped CSAE meet their strategic goal, which is ultimately to add value to their members. “We want to reach our audience in a variety of ways,” explains McHardy. “So this is just another way of getting information out to either members or people who have potential interest. It is value added. It allows them to go to a place where they know they can go at their leisure as opposed to when I decide to send out a brochure or an e-blast. It’s another form of service.”

Rather than providing information in just one format, CSAE looks at all the ways that they can communicate with members, which serves to strengthen the overall message. An onsite strategic planning session, for example, could be accompanied by a book, a webinar and a workshop to get a stronger message across.

Gradual Approach

At CICA, the use of event-based technology has grown rapidly over the years. The association had an early start, in the 1990s, when it first started handing out diskettes at its conferences containing power points of sessions. Eventually, they switched to CDs, and now they are experimenting with electronic-only information dissemination, uploading everything to their online event sites, much of it in advance.

“There are a lot of benefits to members,” says Colantonio. “You have access to materials earlier, you can make decisions on which sessions you want to attend. You can start creating your personal itinerary ahead of time…. And we can incorporate post-conference changes or add-ons very easily.” Like the CSAE, there are also packages of sessions that users can purchase, or they can download them individually for a fee.

Conference websites also allow associations to stay connected to their members long after the event is over, and this too presents many benefits. Thanks to these web ‘communities,’ an association can keep people engaged between one conference year and the next. The group can also post related information and links that members can access time and again to get more information on a topic of interest to them. Eventually, Colantonio would like to have virtual ‘bookshelves’ on the CICA site where users can store all the material they have purchased and downloaded over the years, be it conference sessions or industry-specific publications.

Aside from the communication advantages, there are also some financial benefits to moving to the electronic age. Printing costs, clearly, go down dramatically. However, at the same time, moving to electronic formats raises some new challenges. Staff need to be trained with new skills and competencies, and conference venues need to be able to handle the electronic devices that attendees are now more regularly taking into session halls.

There may by power drops, for instance, or extensive computer usage may turn into an irritation for other attendees. It may reach the stage where associations need to determine how much usage they want to allow during and outside of sessions. “I’m starting to think we may need to have a ‘laptop free zone’ so you’re not hearing this click, click, click, click,” says Colantonio. “There are lots of things to think about.”

For those associations thinking about expanding their use of event-related technology, Colantonio strongly advises working with a third party specialist to put a plan in place and to handle the technical side of things. Working with Content Management Corporation has helped CICA navigate their way in the hi-tech world. Not-for-profit groups, reminds Colantonio, should remember that they are not in the technology business and this is not their area of expertise.

“My biggest tip would be to find a partner, because if you’re an association delivering continuing education, then that is your core competency,” he says. “Your core competency is not creating electronic content, it is developing and marketing the right programs. Which is why you need to find somebody to do (the electronics) for you.”

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