The Beginner’s Guide to Member Engagement Platforms

According to a 2024 study, members who view their organization as an early adopter of technology are 81% more satisfied with their membership, and 53% of members feel more connected when their associations are tech-forward. This means it’s the perfect time to invest in a member engagement platform—innovative association technology designed to help you provide additional value and retain more members.

In this guide, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about these must-have solutions, including:

• What is a Member Engagement Platform?
• Member Engagement Software Benefits for Associations
• Core Features of a Good Member Engagement Solution
• Exploring the #1 Member Engagement Platform: Higher Logic Thrive
• Other Member Engagement Software Options

With the right platform, you’ll be able to easily identify and tap into members’ interests to deliver better experiences. Let’s start with the basics so you can find the best solution for your needs.

What is a Member Engagement Platform?

Member engagement platforms are software solutions that power member-to-member communications, interactions, and communities to increase the value of association membership. 

These platforms provide the tools needed to build and manage an online member community—an interactive space where members can talk to each other, discuss ideas, find information, and increase their involvement in accessible ways. While engagement features vary across platforms, the primary goal is to bring your members together.

Member Engagement Software vs. Association Management Software (AMS)

You’ll likely run into several association management software (AMS) providers in your search for a member engagement platform. These platforms may have some overlapping features, but they’re not interchangeable.

Here’s a quick breakdown of their core differences:

• Member engagement platforms provide personalized, valuable member experiences through online member communities and other resources. They enable you to track and analyze engagement data while facilitating member-to-member communications.
• AMS solutions help you manage day-to-day operations, collect member dues and forms, and house member data. They may include some engagement features, but their core focus is operational support.

Many organizations have both an AMS and a member engagement solution, while others feel satisfied with the few member-focused features their AMS provides.

However, if you want to provide more opportunities for your members to interact with each other and your association, you should prioritize a specialized member engagement platform that integrates with your existing AMS. With integrated solutions, you can more easily track member data and use it to improve their experiences with your organization.

Member Engagement Software Benefits for Associations

Investing in member engagement software unlocks new possibilities for relationship-building, data insights, renewal efforts, and more. In particular, adding the right platform to your member engagement strategy provides the following benefits:

Centralized Communications

Member engagement platforms allow you to house all member interactions and communications in one place: your online community. Your association can easily track conversations and identify the most popular discussion topics, while members can find forums, direct messages, announcements, updates, and newsletters in one user-friendly portal.

The best platforms also include targeted communication features designed to engage members further. Segmentation and AI-powered personalization allow you to easily send messages tailored to members’ individual behavior and interests.

Better Member Experience

According to our 2024 report, the benefits that members value most include email digests and newsletters, private online communities, and education opportunities—all of which you can facilitate with the right member engagement platform. Plus, 71% of members said that personalized member experiences are important to them, making it even more important to choose the right engagement solution.

Quality member engagement software allows you to improve the member experience with:

• Exclusive, high-value online communities
• Easy opportunities for connection and networking
• Interactive discussion forums and Q&As
• Accessible resource libraries
• Personalized recommendations for content, events, and volunteer opportunities
• Fun incentives like badges, ribbons, and leaderboards
• Dynamic, automated association newsletters

To see what this looks like in action, read our Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) case study. By investing in our streamlined member engagement platform, ACC was able to boost community logins by 25% and get a 4.065/5 rating from users on the new experience. Here’s what ACC had to say about their results:

“We came up with a phrase for our strategic plan, which was, ‘Our members are our North Star.’ And Higher Logic Thrive is all about putting the member first. It’s member-experience focused. We knew what our members wanted and how we could accomplish our goals, and Higher Logic Thrive is a great tool to do that.”

Increased Satisfaction and Retention

Ultimately, centralized communications and improved member experiences lead to greater overall satisfaction with your association and increased renewal rates. Just by providing a new, valuable experience with an engagement platform, you’ll inspire members to stick around longer.

However, that’s not all that member engagement platforms offer. Online communities also provide a more detailed view of members’ activities, opinions, and preferences. With this insight, you’ll be able to create and promote relevant offerings that resonate with members.

Core Features of a Good Member Engagement Solution

Now that you understand the importance of member engagement platforms, what exactly should you look for in a solution? When evaluating your options, make sure they offer a few core features:

Online Community

The most essential feature of good member engagement platforms is the ability to design, host, and manage an online member community. Your software should provide prebuilt communities and plenty of customization options so you can get started quickly while still making it your own.

Your online community must be user-friendly and easy to navigate, whether members access it from their laptop, via email, or a mobile device. Check that any platforms you consider include communities with:

• Member profiles
• Resource libraries
• A member directory
• Discussion forums and Q&As
• Gamification badges
• Event registration and ticketing
• Personalized suggestions

Higher Logic Thrive Community comes pre-built with all of these features and more. Check out our customer showcase to see what they look like and read about the results we’ve achieved for associations like yours.

Personalized Communications

Your platform should include targeted communication features and in-community messaging capabilities. Look for marketing automation tools that streamline email segmentation, personalization, and sending.

You shouldn’t have to manually input members’ names or create campaign lists by hand. The right solution will provide pre-built and customizable email templates and design tools that auto-fill with personal details—or, better yet, use AI to automatically tailor message content to each user’s activity and preferences.

Resource Hubs

Any member engagement platform you consider should come with resource hosting abilities. Private, online resource hubs make it easy for members to access the information they need at any time, from anywhere. Make sure you can upload, organize, and publish members-only content, whether it’s a PDF, image, video, or other file format. For better content management, your solution should also include intuitive tagging and search features.

Reporting Dashboards

Online communities are goldmines of member data, so it’s vital that your engagement software has reporting and analytics tools. Through intuitive dashboards and custom reports, you can unlock valuable insights into your members’ habits and use them to offer a better experience.

AI-Powered Capabilities

The best solutions take advantage of innovations like artificial intelligence (AI), putting them to work in truly helpful ways so you don’t have to. Look for a platform with AI-powered search, chatbots, sentiment analysis, dynamic content, and more.

For instance, Higher Logic Thrive includes an AI Assistant to streamline searches and help users get information faster:

In the example above, a member chats with the AI Assistant to find resources and receives an immediate response based on your documentation and member discussions, complete with citations. If they want more information, the member has options to dig deeper with AI or auto-generate a discussion question to ask their fellow members.

Exploring the #1 Member Engagement Platform: Higher Logic Thrive

Our #1 recommended member engagement platform, Higher Logic Thrive, was built to bring people together and foster valuable connections for associations like yours. Our team has nearly 20 years of industry experience, so we know how important it is to engage members—and we know what works.

Member engagement is at the heart of our powerful community platform, which combines technological innovation with thoughtful human insight to drive real, lasting connections.

Higher Logic Thrive has everything you need to strengthen your engagement strategy and give members the experience they deserve, including:

• Full-featured, branded online communities: Create a vibrant online community using one of our prebuilt templates, complete with discussion boards, resource libraries, event management, and more. Customize it with your branding and preferred widgets, or scale your community with added functionality from integrations.
• Personalized communications: Use email templates and automated campaigns, then tailor them to individual members with dynamic content and list creation. Explore prebuilt designs for events, renewals, and win-back campaigns, or build your own with our easy-to-use email designer.
• Reporting and analytics: Get detailed insight into members’ engagement with your online community and individual communications. Our reporting dashboards track activity trends, popular discussion topics, searches, and more, so you can pinpoint exactly what your members care about.
• AI-driven newsletters: Send dynamic, automated email newsletters that use AI to tailor content to individual members’ community activity. Your newsletters get smarter over time with no manual customization needed.
• AI Assistant and Suggested Tags: Additional AI-powered features ensure you’re offering members the latest and greatest in technology. They can find quick answers from our generative AI Assistant, and your staff can improve content discoverability with AI Suggested Tags.
• AMS integrations: Higher Logic Thrive integrates with popular AMSs like iMIS, Salesforce, re:Members, NeonOne, and Protech to help you boost efficiency and make the most of your data. Plus, we offer integrations with learning management systems (LMSs), career hubs, grant management tools, credentialing software, and more.

Trusted by thousands of organizations across the globe, Higher Logic Thrive has been proven to get results for all types of associations. According to our customer, Joey M. from SHAPE America, “There aren’t many things specifically tailored for associations, but Higher Logic Thrive is really a full-service association tool. Working within that one platform that has everything is so much better and easier for us.” 

Other Member Engagement Software Options

Want to compare other solutions to Higher Logic Thrive? Here’s how a few common providers stack up.

Hivebrite

Hivebrite is a strong community platform for alumni organizations looking to engage members, but it lacks specialization and scalability. This solution was built with niche communities in mind, so it doesn’t offer the association-specific features you might need to engage members long-term. Hivebrite has a sleek, modern design without extensive functionality.

Mighty Networks

If you’re looking for a social media-like platform that focuses on easy connection for members, Mighty Networks could be a good option. However, it’s also not built for associations, meaning you won’t find features like prebuilt renewal campaigns or exclusive resource hubs. Plus, users say that the Mighty Networks interface is more clunky than other options.

Tradewing

Tradewing is an engagement platform focused on trade associations, so it includes more specialized features than other solutions. You won’t find many user reviews, though, so you’ll have to rely more on demos and the provider’s information to determine if it’s right for your organization.

Building Lasting Relationships with Your Member Engagement Platform

When you invest in a member engagement solution, be prepared for a transition period as your team and members get used to the new experience. Our team of association community experts will guide your onboarding strategy and can even help long-term. Plus, all Higher Logic customers get access to HUG, the Higher Logic Users Group, where their peers and Higher Logic staff share tips and tricks for success.

Want more insight into all things member engagement? Check out these additional resources from our team:

• 15 Standout Online Community Software Solutions This Year. If you’re excited to launch a member community, check out this guide. Explore the top online community software options and how to choose the right fit for you.
• How to Get More Engagement in Your Online Community. Once you’ve launched a community with your member engagement platform, use these tips to inspire more active participation.
• 13 Member Engagement Ideas to Improve Your Strategy. What else can you do to engage members long-term? Discover proven strategies and ideas in this guide.