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At a recent Q&A, an association executive expressed shock and alarm upon discovering that one of her most influential groups had formed an unofficial network on LinkedIn. Here we look at why associations need to act now on social networking – or risk becoming museum pieces.
The Buggy Whip company gets whipped
A staple of MBA programs is the story of the Buggy Whip company, which enjoyed market dominance but made the mistake, when the motor car arrived, of deciding to “wait and see”.
Smith Corona goes from pre-eminence to obsolescence
Smith Corona was one of the world’s largest and most respected makers of typewriters but when the word processor arrived, they concluded it wasn’t something they should rush into.
Cadillac Cars – The harder they fall
GM’s website still boasts that they were the “#1 Selling Vehicle Manufacturer in the World for 76 Consecutive Years”. Now in bankruptcy, they saw sub-compact cars like the Buggy Whip company viewed the Model T – as a passing fad.
History says playing it safe is anything but
When a new technology arrives, the conservative approach is to “wait and see”. However, as these examples show, “conservative” should not be confused with “safe” or “sensible”. On the contrary, the cautious approach has condemned many of the world’s most successful companies to the scrapheap – and the rapidity of their decline has been truly breathtaking. There is a salutary lesson here for associations.
“Conservative association” is a tautology
Associations are, by their nature, conservative organisations. Even those with a radical agenda tend not to be very nimble on their feet because before they can act they generally need the approval of the majority. So it’s not surprising that associations have been slow to catch the social networking wave. But, if they don’t act soon, they could go the way of the Buggy Whip.
Why social networks are a threat to associations
We have explored the threat that social networks represent to associations in some detail. But fundamentally it’s because social networks let people do things they used to get from an association – just a whole lot more cheaply and quickly. Our research says 91% of professionals are interested in social networking. And, in the absence of any action from their associations, they are taking matters into their own hands.
No association social network? We’ll start our own
Members of your association are almost certain on Facebook and/or LinkedIn. That won’t surprise you. But what might shock you is that some of them have created professional networks on those sites – possibly even using your association’s name. This might offend you but, to be honest, can you really blame them? They have seen a technology that could greatly enhance their professional lives and they have snapped it up. The question is, can you win them back or have you lost them forever?
Lose them now and they might be gone forever
A lot of associations have been thinking that once a majority of their members were using sites like LinkedIn, they’d create their own. That sounds like a reasonable strategy. The only problem is, it might not work. Once they have built up their network on another site, many of them won’t want to have to go through the process of recreating those details and contacts on your Johnny Come-Lately social network. You need to face the prospect that if they form their own group on a social networking site, you might have lost them forever.
Research shows associations are losing the young
Dennis McDonald has done research in the US that shows that young people aren’t joining associations because they feel the can achieve their career ambitions more easily on a social network. Associations need to throw the younger generation a bone – and soon – or begin composing their epitaph on a Smith Corona.
You need to act – and you need to act now
“Wait and see” sounds sensible but history shows the comfort is often illusory and that massive corporations have foundered on those conservative shoals.
Your members want social networking and if you don't provide an official, association-sanctioned network, they’ll do it off their own bat.
What’s more you don’t need to build your own network from scratch. You can pay a modest subscription and use a network like issociate.
Where social networking is concerned, the safe, sensible option at this point would seem to be to act now. Those that continue to wait and see could be risking the very future of their associations.
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