Best Practices to Promote your Chapter
by Crystal Groves, Regional Director
Announce New Members
When a new member joins your chapter, a good post to make on social media is to announce the new member, including their logo, contact information, and what category they fill. Of course, always mention they will now be your exclusive agent for their category and receive all referrals for anyone looking for those types of services from each member and their circle of influence.
Show People and Events on Social Media
When you have events, even just your weekly meeting, post pictures showing people involved and activity within the chapter. People like seeing people rather than just text or just graphics because it allows them to see the realness behind the networking and the involvement and investment of real people.
Educational Articles about Each Category
If a member posts a blog article they wrote about their business that’s educational or of interest to others, post about it on social media. Maybe create a graphic for it and share it. This allows people to see the knowledge each member brings to the chapter to help each other build up their businesses and be a resource for them.
Sponsorship Opportunities
As we know we have a set number of funds we can have at the end of each fiscal year. One way to use this money for the benefit of the group is through sponsorships. Find events you where you can vend. Find organizations you can sponsor, events you can sponsor that will help get the word out about your chapter and how much it benefits the community and businesses in your area.
Discounted Rates for Guest Day Joining
On Guest Day, a good promotion to get people to come or even apply on the spot is to offer a discount off chapter dues. This also helps motivate members to do the inviting needed for a successful event. It’s a good thing to promote on social media as well.
Evening Mixer with Other Business Owners
Do an evening mixer outside of your normal weekly meeting. Light catering, some music in the background and a condensed program allow people to see how the group works together in a more relaxed environment.
Promoting Your Chapter
Weekly Posts On Social Media Highlighting Wins
When a chapter member wins an accolade like “best in the county”, highlight this information on social media to show the quality of the people and the growth they are achieving. Also, post about their satisfied service as well as member testimonials for joining PRE. All members are encouraged to write a testimonial about PRE if they’ve benefited from membership because it provides trust, insight, and example to people on the fence about joining.
Create Events Regularly On Facebook And Meetup
Both of these platforms announce when a new event is starting. It’s free advertising.
Email Followup
Your Area Director and the President should always send an email follow-up from someone who visited a chapter event. Keep them in your marketing emails, which you should send out once a month letting them know about chapter events and successes.
Consider A Monthly Newsletter
Making use of the Chapter monthly referral report to piggyback chapter news creates higher awareness of chapter activity. News to use includes sales promotions, awards given to members, special events such as Open Houses, Mixers and the like. This is a great opportunity to recognize life events in members’ personal lives as well such as birthdays, anniversaries, family additions and more.
Join Business Advertising Groups
There are many groups on Facebook with regional reach which allow businesses to advertise. If you follow each group rule, you can regularly get free exposure by promoting your chapter in these groups.
Encourage Members To Share Posts And RSVP
Each member should be sharing posts your publicity chair puts out. Whether it’s promoting another member or an event, your business Facebook page could benefit by sharing it. Also, be sure to RSVP because people don’t like to attend events with a low RSVP count.