Small World Labs

If you are in technology sales and marketing, you've heard association and non-profit IT staff grumble about the slow technology adoption rates of their organizations. Many factors play into this morass surrounding new technology including tighter budgets and a general aversion to risk. When it comes to adopting social media, however, we're seeing a rising tide of interest from associations and non-profits in the last few months and here's why:

1) In tight economic times, associations and non-profits need to justify the value of membership. Online communities serve this purpose in two important ways.

First, online communities are powerful visual reminders of the networking benefits afforded through membership. Not only does a member get access to group of like-minded individuals but they also can see the fruits of shared knowledge from the membership base via online discussions and other forms of content.

Second, due to the nature of the two-way communication enabled by an online community, associations and non-profits allow members a greater sense of transparency over how the organization is being run. By being open to ongoing conversations with their members, organizations instill trust that membership fees are being properly spent. Ultimately, that trust translates into higher retention rates for existing members.

2) Over the next 5 years, most professional associations will see a dramatic shift in their membership demographics. As a large portion of the population prepares for retirement, organizations must cast an eye to how they will remain relevant to the wave of potential members that have grown up as "digital natives". This population is comfortable with social networking technology and wary of organizations that don't employ the tools that they consider integral. To capture the interest of younger professionals entering the workplace, associations are turning to online communities to compete with the ad hoc groups springing up on sites such as Facebook.

Personally, I think that these factors, when combined, are compelling associations and non-profits to move a little faster than usual to adopt these new technologies.