I received a lot of great comments on my post What should be in your association's social media plan. One comment from my friend Henri Makembe inspired this post.

Henri said...

Lindy,

Great post. At what point would you determine whether or not the association needs/should invest into social media? Or do you believe all associations could take advantage of social media given the right plan and resources?

Every association should invest in social media.
Wait...hear me out. I'm not suggesting we all go blow our entire budget on the latest gadgets and gizmos for our website. But I firmly believe that every association can benefit from spending time getting to know social spaces all over the web, listening to the conversations that are happening in those spaces, and eventually, helping to guide those conversations as leaders in your industry or profession.

The investment that every association should make is time, not money. In the long run, the time you put into getting really good at this will bring you closer to your members, your market and the issues that matter in your industry.

And if you find that your audience is actively participating in the social web, well, then it's time to ramp up your skills and take a hard look at creating a social media plan that is in line with your group's mission and objectives. And yes, it's probably worth spending some money. But now you'll have a much stronger case based on the value you've already created for free.

Originally posted @ Association Marketing Springboard