If I had to bet, your member benefits are listed prominently on your website. They may clearly define all the great details and perks that come with being a member and belonging to your organization. You point prospects there when they have a question about benefits. You do your best to ensure it’s thorough, but still, you have the hunch that it’s not enough.

Not surprising then, according to a latest industry report, one of the top two membership challenges is the ability to effectively communicate member benefits — more than three in five associations actually identify with this challenge.

So What Can Associations Do?

To get the message through, you can overhaul your benefits page, perhaps move it to a different part of your website, put links in newsletters and even feature them in other platform, such as your member magazine. But, will this really be enough to draw prospects in?

To truly engage, potential members want to hear stories about how member benefits have impacted others, they want to visualize what it’s like to be a member, and the most effective way to do this is with content marketing and compelling stories.

When creating content, there are four core areas that associations can focus on and weave into their editorial calendars to combat the statistic that we mention above. If you incorporate benefits into a border story, prospects will be more likely to notice, members will be effectively reminded of the great work you’re doing, and you’ll integrate your core offerings into content versus just listing it out and hoping that everyone takes notice.

Without being overly promotional, here are four areas on which to focus content creation efforts to generate excitement around your offerings.

Events

By far, associations indicate that their annual event is one of their greatest member benefits, but year after year, they still aim to grow attendance and reach more people. Incorporating event-centered content into your strategy year-round is a great way to keep you event top of mind and communicate the value in attending.

Content Examples

• Ask speakers to write articles about their sessions, or similar topics, in advance. This will give members insights into how helpful the content is at the event and give them a reason to attend to learn more.

• Interview members about their experience at your event and highlight some of their biggest takeaways, or ask them why they keep coming back year after year.

• Do in-depth interviews or profile keynote speakers to create excitement about their speaking engagement.

• Leverage content after the event in the form of annual workbooks and summaries.

• Interview associate members about a big product release and how it’s going to impact the industry.

Career Centers

Many associations offer career centers that they pour a lot of resources into, but they often find them underutilized even though they bring a lot of value to the table. Weaving in career-centered content around into your content program is a great way to shamelessly promote your career center and help both job-seekers and organizations find what they’re looking for.

Content Examples

• Profile organizations on the latest skill they’re looking for in some of the most common jobs available.

• Do an in-depth article on the changing face of the workforce and how workers are getting ahead in the industry.

• Create a video series for young professionals on the ins and outs of interviewing in the industry and what it takes to land their dream job.

• Create an infographic on the statistics that surround your career center, including how many hires, connections and jobs have been secured in the past year.

• Interview a job seeker on their biggest challenges and wins when searching for a job in your industry.

Certifications

Those who engage in certification are the movers and shakers in your industry, but you know you could reach so many more if they knew the impact certification would have on their career. They need a compelling reason to finally get certified or to renew year after year.

Content Examples

• Create a series on profiling members who pursued certification, and tell a story about what they get out of it.

• Do an in-depth review of what it means to be certified, what goes into it, how to prepare for success both before and after certification.

• Outline the content covered in certification programming so members and prospects get a glance into the key areas of focus and what they’ll learn.

• Interview an industry organization that hires those in your industry and speak to the benefits of hiring those who are certified vs. those who aren’t.

Exclusive Discounts and Programs

You may offer exclusive programs and discounts for members, but oftentimes, these just get lost in the big picture. Perhaps there’s programs for insurance coverage, discounts with suppliers or financial programs that offer lower interest rates for borrowers. But these exclusive perks can sit underutilized, which does nobody any good.

Content Examples

• Create a series around these exclusive programs and how members are utilizing them.

• Ask vendors to provide a compelling story — a case study — for their offering and the impact that doing business with them can have on members.

• Create an infographic on the amount of money saved by members year after year to showcase the impact that these programs have on the larger picture.

Show vs. Tell

In order to really reach members with the great resources your association offers, you’ll have to incorporate content around these offerings into everything you do — and do it in a way that resonates.

Instead of telling members and prospects about benefits, It’s important to showcase compelling stories that are engaging, helpful and provide value so they’re not just another pitch, but actually inspiring members and prospects to utilize them.

It all comes down to the basic principle of showing, not telling. That’s how you can capture their attention and keep your association’s benefits top of mind.