In today’s wired world, AMA Chapters are quickly recognizing that unless they get connected to social media, they’ll short-circuit their success in recruiting and retaining members.
Logging on to social communities is a great way to network, create valuable connections and recruit new members.
While many professional and collegiate chapters maintain their own groups on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, AMA Boston is one chapter that has gone the extra social mile by hosting its own robust online community,
Connect amaboston.org.
John Cass, 2005-06 President of AMA Boston and Director of Marketing for IdeaLaunch, a Boston-based content marketing services company, explained that the chapter has implemented a multi-channel approach to social media to engage its marketer members. Founded in 1940, AMA Boston now boasts 800 members.
“We currently use two social media sites,” Cass explained. The chapter’s connect amaboston.org site integrates a social network within the main chapter website. AMA Boston also maintains an active AMA Marketers group on LinkedIn.com. 
Launched in mid-2008, Cass noted connect.amaboston.org developed out of a planning session for the new AMA Boston site that took place more than two years ago.
Cass explained that he and several AMA Boston chapter board members including Steve Halling, Cecil Dorman, Myles Bristowe and Donnie Baker met to discuss the design of the new AMA Boston website with integrated social media. “AMA Boston regularly holds planning meeting on weekends,” he said. “The meetings are open to AMA members and volunteers to discuss one topic specifically about an AMA committee or project.”
The result of that planning session was a new design for amaboston.org, a new content management system, a new blog on wordpress and eventually a new Ning social network.
Cass recommended to Bristowe who served as Vice President of Internet Services that the chapter could use Ning as a good white label “software as a service” application.
“Once you sign up for Ning as a member, you can access all of their social networks,” Cass explained. “A lot of the content on Ning sites is available for public view, although you need to join the social network in order to post.”
He added, “Founded by Marc Andreesen of Netscape fame, Ning has grown organically over the last two years since its launch. Myles checked out Ning for AMA Boston and determined it could be integrated into the chapter’s graphics template. We launched the new Connect amaboston site in late June 2008.”
The new social network is helping to increase exposure and membership for AMA Boston, and is made possible through the efforts of the chapter’s many volunteers. “We currently have over 700 members on the site, 20 different special interest groups, over 50 events listed, and over 70 blog posts,” Cass reported.
Cass, who authored the 2007 book, “Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging” and currently maintains a blog on corporate blogging and social media, also noted that the chapter launched an AMA Marketers LinkedIn Group in October 2007 which now boasts over 1,100 members, including both AMA members and non-members. “We moderate the site,” he stressed, “restricting discussions to marketing related topics.”
“Both the LinkedIn Group and Connect.amaboston.org is helping to increase the chapter's exposure in the Boston and New England marketing community because we have opened both sites up to all marketers in the region,” Cass said. “We do have some restricted content in several special interest groups on the connect.amaboston.org site. But open communications with the whole marketing community is helping to increase attendance at AMA Boston events. In fact, recently many events have been sold out. The communities also help to increase member retention and acquisition.”
Learn more tips on how to effectively plan an online community for your AMA chapter.
How is your chapter using social media? We want to hear about your ideas and success stories. Send your feedback to npekala@ama.org. Don’t forget to join the AMA’s national online communities. Participate in the AMA’s Online Communities on MarketingPower, or join our communities on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.