I’ll admit it. I still love to read and receive magazines in the mail, including Entertainment Weekly, Signature, Consumer Reports, FORUM, Rolling Stone, The Economist, and Associations Now, just to name a few. Print publications provide a chance for me to escape – to relax and unwind at the end of the day.

However, as much as I enjoy print publications, I also thrive on electronic publications (websites, blogs, wikis, social media, and mobile applications). What would I do if I couldn’t watch the YouTube video everyone is talking about? Or plan my Santa Barbara wine-tasting tour by accessing a wide variety of websites? Or get the 411 from Facebook and Twitter on my iPhone?

There’s a plethora of ways for us to receive content and the best part is we can decide how we want to receive the content. We can utilize different tools to our preferences. What does this mean for our association? Do our members want these options too?

With the state of the economy and the new, almost daily, technology advancements, the publishing industry is quickly evolving. This evolution is not temporary, nor cyclical, it’s structural. The way information is created, published, and conveyed has changed and thus, the terms and conditions of how we engage with members has changed forever. Here’s some tips to navigate through the whirlwind:

Customer Driven

Despite the allure of the latest publishing technology trends, an understanding of your members’ preferences is the key to using new media effectively. It’s important to slow down and take the time up front to research how members want to receive information before transitioning content to a new technology—no matter how much time and money you might save or how hip you think the technology will make your association look.

Why? Because once you’ve killed that print magazine and moved on to digital, it’s really, really hard to go back. And if your members don’t like what you’ve done—or simply, how you did it—you might lose their loyalty along the way.

On the flip side, what if print is less important to your members than you originally thought? Perhaps mobile content is your members’ first preference… Are you ready to take those steps toward change?

“If content is king, ease-of-use is queen.”

These days content comes our way in a wide variety of formats. The good news is that integrated content through a variety of media (print, online, digital, mobile, and electronic) provides associations with the flexibility to reach a myriad of audiences. Content is king and will continue to be, but needs to be packaged in new ways, allowing readers to access content whenever and wherever they need it.

Streamline the Association's Array of Publications

Usually associations just add more and more and don't think about how they're competing with themselves. Just as your magazine or scholarly journal has a mission and value proposition, so too should your website, blog, wiki, mobile application, and social media dynamics. These mission statements will help you decide the best delivery mechanism for the content you want to distribute.

“Innovation doesn’t wait for the next board meeting.”

Keep a fresh perspective and utilize the newest publishing tools to distribute your content. Regardless of whether it’s print, mobile, online or electronic, association publications will continue to serve as the centerpiece of your organization. Your content is often the most tangible, valuable, and recognized benefit by members. It’s what the members can directly relate to and perhaps why the member justifies the membership.

Don’t Re-Invent the Wheel

And let’s not forget that these wonderful technologies are really just a stepping stone to the excitement of the in-person meeting. After tweeting someone for weeks or months, reading their blog, or listening to a podcast, it’s stimulating to finally meet that person face-to-face. Immediately the connection is established, and the conversation just flows. That’s why Association Media & Publishing continues to offer opportunities to interact and engage in a supportive atmosphere of camaraderie through the Annual Meeting, roundtables, and regional programs. Capitalize on what you’ve been doing since the organization was founded and use the in-person meetings to extend your content.

The connections begun through technology and cemented face-to-face are long lasting.

Take advantage of new media – make a strong effort to grasp the tools and resources available and analyze through research how they can help you better serve your members.

Associations are learning to adapt the ever-changing content consumption preferences and expectations of their members, their industries, and the public. By using a 360-degree approach—combining print, media, and events—associations are able to do what they do best, which is deliver and fulfill the needs of members. After all, there’s nothing better than an association that’s successful at giving members what they want.