Associations

What is Public Affairs and Why It is Really Important

August 6, 2023 By Patrick L. Burns 27 Comments

The term “public affairs” is commonplace on the news and in government meetings, but what exactly is public affairs and what does it involve? Not to be confused with public relations, public affairs is defined by the Public Affairs Council as an organization’s efforts to monitor and manage its business environment. It combines strategies for government relations, communications, issues management and corporate citizenship. Public affairs aims to influence public policy, build and maintain strong relationships with elected officials such as legislators, and engage with and monitor stakeholders. Those who specialize in public affairs act as lobbyists on behalf of their organizations, and they interact with groups who are interested in lobbying the government for legislation regarding particular issues.

How Does Public Affairs Work?

Public affairs tend to deal with noncorporate entities, such as government agencies, nonprofits, and trade associations. Some roles involved with public affairs include lobbyist, policy analyst, community affairs manager, and policy program coordinator. Advocacy plays a major part in public affairs. Government and public advocacy are key aspects to a successful public affairs strategy. Creating and maintaining relationships that will benefit your industry or cause is vital to influencing laws and actions.

Lobbyists, whose purpose is to take part in an organized attempt to influence legislators, are professional advocates for individuals and organizations. The advocacy a lobbyist takes part in can help shape laws and regulations and help introduce new legislation that will support the organization’s cause. They also fight back against any policies or legislation that would cause harm to their organization or industry.

The Difference Between Public Affairs and Public Relations

One common misconception is that public affairs is the same as public relations. While they have similarities, such as both involving interaction with the public, they are different in that public affairs involves matters that directly affect the public, such as legislation, whereas public relations build a connection between the public and a specific organization. Public affairs tend to focus on public policy while public relations deals more with commercial goals. This is the main difference between the two.

With public relations focusing mostly on marketing and improving a company’s image, the strategies are different from those found in a public affairs campaign. In public relations you may use some of the following strategies:

Drafting Press Releases.
Sending pitches to journalists.
Reaching out to media contacts.
Social media strategy
Creating content.
Launching PR campaigns.
Writing speeches.

Public affairs services are used by companies to help align business interests and public policies. Some of the strategies used to achieve this are:

Lobbying for and against legislation or regulations at the local, state, or federal level.
Establishing contact and maintaining ongoing relationships with politicians, political advisors, and government regulators.
Maintaining a strong relationship with company stakeholders.
Monitor policy proceedings that pertain to an industry.
Leveraging power of words to influence public policy.
Coalition Building
Data Analysis
Grassroots Mobilization
Surveys, Public Opinion Polling

Public affairs and public relations can both use the media to help their cause, so reaching out to journalists and media outlets to form relationships is a strategy found in both areas. Sometimes you may use some public relations strategies with public affairs, and vice versa.

Our Public Affairs Experience

During these tumultuous times of an ever changing political, legislative and regulatory landscape in which government is having a huge impact on industries and organizations, having a strong public affairs program is vital.

The Arc 3 Communications’ public affairs team is an effective advocate on behalf of business and a leader in shaping public policy issues. We offer experienced, talented, well-connected and spirited advocacy at the intersection of government, business, media, and the community.

We are “campaign people” who are driven by the understanding that there will be an “election day” and that we’ll have to deliver results.

Do you need help with your public affairs efforts and strategies? We would love to hear from you! Contact us here.

How to Secure Your Association’s Place as a Thought Leader with Your Content

June 18, 2023 By Patrick L. Burns 28 Comments

The term “thought leadership” tends to be used loosely these days to describe any content that has to do with an industry, regardless if it has any real value to the reader or not. In truth, With so much online noise fighting for your member’s attention, your association must step up and provide quality content that benefits and provides real value to your audience.

What is Thought Leadership Content?

Thought leadership is not necessarily just a type of content, but a type of content marketing. According to Marketing Insider Group, this type of content marketing involves tapping into the experience and knowledge of your industry or business to answer the biggest questions on the minds of your audience on a particular topic. When it comes to thought leadership, your audience is usually looking for the best answer to a question.

In order to provide the best answers to your members, you need to be an expert on the topics you are discussing. As an association, you may have contacts in your network that can help with this; or you can take it upon yourself to do thorough research to develop content that has accurate and detailed information to ensure that you establish credibility and protect your reputation. Often members will look to the association for answers or support; and having this type of content available not only helps them, but also shows potential members that you truly understand the industry you represent.

How to Create Valuable Thought Leadership Content

Thought leadership content can come in many forms, and be distributed across many mediums. Blogs, essays, videos, presentations, webinars, research studies and any other form of media that can provide your members and potential members with useful, enlightening, and valuable information are considered thought leadership content pieces. This content is commonly available for free or in exchange for a registration of a name, email, and other contact information.

One of the key aspects to thought leadership content is that it is not a membership sales pitch. While critical to audience engagement, it should be kept enlightening, interesting, and informational. Your call to action at the end of the piece can be your pitch for your readers to take actions such as signing up for your newsletter.

A recent study by Edelman and LinkedIn shows there is an oversaturation of “thought leadership” content online. This makes it essential to come up with content that stands out from the rest. This can include original research and insights by your association with information that pertains specifically to your industry.

Whether you create content in-house or outsource for it, be sure to create, upload, and share content across channels including your website, e-newsletter and social media accounts.

Why is Thought Leader Content Important?

In this day and age, standing out by creating original content that resonates and solidifies your association as a trusted thought leader in your space is important. According to an article from Association’s Now, successful thought leadership content can raise your association’s platform. The recent Edelman and LinkedIn study showed 64 percent of the respondents say that thought leadership is used when deciding to trust an organization’s capabilities.

Having strong thought leadership content goes a long way in increasing awareness, bringing leads, establishing relationships, providing value, and recruiting new members to your association. It also drives SEO and your online visibility, making it more likely your association’s content appears first to people who are looking for information related to your industry. Doing your own research and creating original and high-quality thought leadership content will go a long way in securing your association as the overall thought leader for your members and potential members.

For help with your Association’s content marketing efforts or for more information, visit our website at www.arc3communications.com or contact us at info@arc3communications.com.

Why Advocacy at the Local Level is Crucial to Your Association’s Success

March 22, 2023 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

Local government is very important to associations when it comes to the municipalities in which their industry members have a presence. Legislation that affects economic development, employment, operations, taxes, and more are decided at the local level. There is often important legislation that impacts how an industry can operate within a municipality in which it is located, and these can either benefit or hinder the marketplace for their industry and their members’ success.

When it comes to advocacy and policy issues, many think the most important action takes place at the state and federal levels. This is not always the case; some of the most important and influential work happens at the local level; in fact, many are saying in the age of COVID 19 that local is becoming the new state. The municipal and county level is often the starting point for policy ideas and from there they then expand to the state and federal levels. To be successful, your advocacy efforts must be comprehensive, and include strategies for the local level as well as for the state and federal levels.

Associations have started to shift advocacy resources and efforts to the local level to keep track of the issues important to them and their members. Whether it is a local ordinance that supports an association’s goals or threatens them, it is important to have strategies in place to either fight or support local legislation.

Writing letters, calling, and scheduling meetings with your local elected officials are a few grassroots level things you can do to advocate. Even in the age of COVID-19, you can still make a big impact by setting up Zoom meetings with a Mayor or City Councilman to discuss matters that are important to your association.

Grassroots efforts are very important for any association. Making sure you stay in the loop regarding local ordinances and issues that may affect your members is vital to keeping members happy and making sure your industry is successful in the municipalities it operates in. State and federal level advocacy garners headlines and attention, but the local level is closest to the people and where the most impact can occur. With many issues beginning at the local level, it is imperative to have a strong comprehensive strategy and action plan.

For help with your association’s advocacy efforts, contact us at https://arc3communications.com/contact-us/.

Top 4 Tips to Best Represent Your Association at In-Person Events

October 27, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

As in-person meetings begin to make a comeback, it is time to dust off your association’s trade show materials and be sure you are ready to put your best foot forward as you return to the in-person world of trade shows and annual conferences. We all became familiar with virtual platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams during COVID and may have even attended virtual conferences on behalf of your association during this time. As many can probably attest, virtual conferences and meetings do not have the same effect as face to face does. Below are four tips for making sure you represent your association well as the world returns to in person events.

Be Aware of COVID-19 Precautions and Rules

One thing that will be new as your association returns to in person events is that many if not all of these will have COVID-19 rules and precautions. These can usually be found on the website for the conference or event or will be emailed out by the host and they can differ depending on location. It is important that you are aware and follow these rules as you attend the show as it is respectful of others and also reflects well on your association.

One example of these new rules is one that involves wearing a certain color based on your social comfort level during COVID. At a recent in-person event, the hosts gave attendees different colored bracelets; green, yellow, and red. Green meant you are open to handshakes and high-fives, yellow meant you are open to elbow bumps only, and red meant you do not want any physical contact and would like social distance.

Many events also continue to have mask requirements, and some are requiring proof of vaccination before allowing attendance. Be sure you are aware of these types of requirements before attending an event to avoid not being permitted to attend. There may also be new rules for exhibitors and presenters, so if your association is participating in this type of role, be sure you review any such rules beforehand so all attendees with your association can be prepared.

Make Sure You are Up to Date

It has been nearly two years since many large in-person events were last held. For some, a lot has changed in that period of time. From personal items like your business card to association related items like information hand-outs at exhibit halls, it is important to ensure all information is current and relevant to show that you and your association are credible. The last thing you want to do is to give hundreds of people outdated information regarding your association’s industry; that would not do well for your credibility or reputation.

Your business card is your personal identification. Potential new members or current members may use it to get in contact with you. That is why you must be sure to have the right address, telephone number, email, association position and any other information you might include be up to date and current. It may sound simple, but it also may have been a while since you’ve given out your information outside of an email or a zoom message. Again, it reflects well on you and on the association that you represent.

Let People Know You’re There

An important part of conference and in-person events for your association is the networking. Whether it is an event your association is hosting or whether you are attending on your association’s behalf, networking is a big part of these events. Why not get a head start prior to attending the event and let people know you are going to be there? This is especially important if you are exhibiting in an exhibit hall or presenting at an important panel.

Social media pages, both personal and your association’s page are a great way to announce your presence and even where you will be within the conference so that people can find you. If the conference or host has an event app with an announcement feature, you can post on that. Check also if the conference you are attending has a twitter handle or a hashtag as a way to tag and announce updates. This will bring people to your exhibit or presentation and ensure you get the turnout you want.

Be Prepared

Again, it has been nearly two years since you may have attended an in-person conference. Be sure you have everything you need, and if you need to take time to get everything together, be sure to do so in advance to prevent rushing and forgetting something important. If you are presenting, be sure you have your notes, any handouts, and most importantly, a back-up of your presentation! If you are exhibiting, be positive you have brought your banners, décor, information, hand-outs, and if you give out pens, candy, or other freebies, remember to bring them.

You want everything to look great and run smoothly so that your association not only stands out but looks good doing so. Make sure you are ready for any inquiries about the association you may get from members or potential members. It is always good to be prepared and it reflects well on your association and how you run things.

As we come together once again face to face and readjust to large group events, be prepared to put your best image forward back in person representing your association and industry. This will help generate leads during these networking opportunities and will help grow your membership. It will also let the current members know you are credible, responsible and that you represent the industry and your members professionally. Stay safe and before you know it, attending conferences and events will feel like second nature again.

Key Tips for Ensuring Your Association’s Digital Marketing Efforts Are Compliant

July 21, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

In today’s world, much of the interaction we do with each other is through digital means. From social media to email, blogs to newsletters, many of your association’s marketing efforts are most likely digital. Both communicating with and providing value for your members, while also bringing in new members is achieved through digital marketing efforts. Ensuring your association’s digital efforts are compliant with laws and regulations regarding privacy rights and data is vital to protecting your association’s reputation and also your members.

In recent years, privacy rights and data protection have become key issues in the United States and globally. In 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was passed that “gives consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them.” In 2016, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became law in Europe. Like the CCPA, this regulation aims to give consumers more control or personal information, but also addresses the transfer of personal information outside of the European Union and European Economic Areas (EEA).

Being informed of privacy laws and regulations and making sure your digital efforts are compliant will not only help avoid legal issues but will protect relationships and trust with your members. While there are many requirements within these regulations, we have featured below a couple of key areas to be aware of when it comes to making sure your digital marketing efforts are compliant.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a major part of what associations do to provide news and information while also recruiting new members. One thing to be aware of when it comes to email is that there are strict anti-spam laws in the United States that you must follow to avoid hefty fines and a damaged reputation. The U.S. CAN-SPAM act, according to the Federal Trade Commission, is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

This law can easily be followed by only including people on your email lists who have opted into your email program. A few more factors to this law are that you are honest with your headers and subject lines, tell the recipients where you’re located, and if the email is an advertisement that you make that clear. As before mentioned, offering a clear and easy opt-out is also required and once that action is taken, emails must promptly cease.

Follow these rules, act in an ethical and respectful way, and your email program will reflect your association’s values.

Member Privacy and Data

A big issue in today’s society is that of privacy and data. Who has the right to your data and what do those who get access to your data do with that information? These questions have been at the forefront of everyone’s mind with the rise of social media platforms and Google. Whereas you as an association may not have access to that level of personal data; members do entrust you with sensitive information such as their names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, credit card information, and more. Protecting this data also protects your association’s reputation and will lead to trusting relationships and increased membership.

One way you can ensure member data is protected is to make sure you have a secure website. According to Hosting Tribunal, nearly 33 percent of websites have inadequate security. An easy way to tell if your website is secure is to look at your URL in the address bar, if your website is an HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) website as opposed to an HTTP website, your website is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS). Other factors play into website security such as regular website maintenance, updating plug ins, and ensuring your hosting company has good security offerings.

You should never share, sell, or make public any sensitive member information. This will not only put you in hot water with your members, but also with the law. Overall, ensuring you have a secure website and that you treat member data responsibly, you will protect your reputation and your member’s well-being while building lasting relationships.

Compliance is Key

Compliance with privacy and data laws is vital to a successful digital marketing strategy and also to protecting your members privacy and your association’s credibility and reputation. While we have not discussed all compliance requirements, these are a couple of key areas to be aware of. Government websites are a reliable source for reading up on these laws, especially those applicable to your geographic location, and checking to make sure your association is fully compliant.

For help with your association’s digital efforts contact us here. For more information regarding our content, digital, and advocacy services for associations, visit our website.

Should Associations Spend All of their Advertising Dollars on Facebook?

May 27, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

In the recent U.S. Elections, Facebook decided to pull the plug on political advertising. During this moratorium, an issue arose when it came to what constitutes as political advertising and what is in fact simply news. News story posts that mentioned politics or issues were being blocked and placed in the same category as paid political advertising when, in fact, they weren’t. This raised the question “Is Facebook a media outlet that can decide what it wants to support and censor or are they the free platform they claim to be?”

Facebook has been called out in the past for archiving promoted news stories that cover politics or issues as political advertising. This brought push back from many journalism and news associations. It also raised the question of how much regulation can Facebook enforce on policy issues and associations it may disagree with. For example, if Facebook supports the Go Green initiative, could it eventually censor ads from associations that may represent things it deems harmful to the environment? This then causes one to ask, should associations put all their advertising assets into Facebook?

While Facebook ads can be a good way to spend association ad dollars, it is good to know your options in case policies change or they decide to censor issues important to your association. Google Ads are a viable option for reaching members and policy allies and allows you to tailor your ads to display to a specific audience or audiences. Some are shifting away from Facebook due to privacy and effectiveness issues. A recent survey by Inc. reported that 32 percent of CEO and senior-level executives surveyed said they are now getting less for their marketing dollars with Facebook than they used to, while 27 percent said they mistrust Facebook’s use of their business data.

With increasing advertising costs, noise, and fear of censorship from Facebook, it could be worth looking into alternate ways to spend your association’s marketing dollars. Putting resources into search engine optimization efforts and content marketing can be very effective means to attracting new members, and as before stated, Google Ads is another option for advertising. This isn’t to say you should completely cut Facebook advertising out of your marketing strategy if it works for your association; but it is always wise not to put all your advertising eggs in one basket.

Need help diversifying your digital strategy for your association? Contact us here.

Website Development Case Study: North Carolina Aggregates Association

May 14, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns 27 Comments

The North Carolina Aggregates Association (NCAA) is the leading advocate for the aggregate industry in the state of North Carolina. It is a non-profit, member-driven association that has both producer and associate members. The mission of the NCAA is “promoting the environmentally sound, responsible and economically viable extraction of crushed stone, sand and gravel for use in all types of construction for public benefit and for positive statewide economic development.” North Carolina is one of the largest crushed stone producers in the United States.

The NCAA is a non-profit trade association incorporated in 1964. During the past 60 years, consumption of aggregates per capita has increased from 3.5 metric tons per year to over 10 tons annually. Companies engaged in the production and/or sale of crushed stone, sand and gravel in North Carolina make up the association. Environmental programs in legislation; marketing and public relations; technical specifications, safety and health, air, and water quality; mining and reclamation; transportation and research are all services offered to member companies, specifiers, and users of aggregate products.

With the aggregate industry experiencing renewed optimism, the NCAA wanted to reflect this by updating their communications with a redesigned website. They wanted the new site to be mobile friendly and present content to their members in a way that made information easy to find while being aesthetically pleasing as well. Arc 3 Communications worked hand in hand with NCAA to create a website that represented their brand and gave them a strong new visual identity. Many features such as a slider of member logos, an interactive calendar of events, easy to navigate menu, and membership sign-up were incorporated to create a successful and informative user experience.

The North Carolina Aggregates Association’s new website resulted in substantial growth in unique visitors and page views to the site. NCAA’s website has provided a new strong visual brand identity for the association that stands out and represents them well. Most importantly, NCAA’s new website has resulted in an increase in member engagement, greater awareness about the aggregate industry among key partners, state legislators, and civic leaders; and more associate membership leads.

How to Tell the Difference Between Real and Fake News Online (Infographic)

May 10, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

In this day and age of unlimited information at our fingertips, readers need to take time and do a little research to verify the news they are reading and sharing with others is, in fact, real news from a credible source. Below are a few steps you can take to make sure the information you are receiving and sending is reliable and true.

How to Increase Association Members’ Value with a Strong Content Strategy

March 19, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

Content strategy is vital for your trade association, not only to bring in new members, but also to provide your current members with value for their membership. Just like other aspects of your organization, having a detailed and planned content strategy allows you to develop and put out content in a way that will draw the attention of your audience; attract new members; and provide your current members with valuable resources and information. Creating and releasing content without a strategy makes it difficult to track success; and also makes it difficult for your members to follow your content schedule, or lack thereof.

Below we will discuss ways to put together a content strategy that will allow you to test methods and see results. This will help you plan, create, and track your content marketing efforts and make tweaks where needed to reach your goals.

Planning and Goal Setting

First things first, you have to work with your team to pinpoint the ultimate goals you are trying to reach with your trade association’s content marketing efforts. Whether you are trying to bring in new members, raise awareness, provide value, promote an event, or a mixture of things; having them laid out allows you to plan your content efforts with these goals in mind. This lends purpose to your content creation and distribution strategy, instead of just posting content to get it out there.

Part of this process is identifying your audience. Consider the age range, background, profession, industry, and any other contributing factors that may affect the type of content you produce. These attributes may also influence the channels you choose to use to distribute your content. Researching information such as this Pew Research Center study on social media use and demographics, can help you decide the appropriate channels to reach your specific audience.

Content Types and the Popularity of Video

When it comes to the types of content you create and distribute, you may need to experiment to
find out what works for your audience. While blogs and e-newsletters are good staples of content marketing for everyone to have, other content forms such as infographics, videos, photos, live-streams, webinars and more can help diversify and give your content strategy what it needs to cut through the noise. With so much content competing for your audience’s attention, the more you can stand out and draw members’ attention to you, the better. You may have to test multiple content types to gauge what gets the best results.

One of the most popular content forms now is video. According to Small Business Trends, 93% of marketers say video has brought new customers. With current video recording technology, it is possible to make professional looking videos straight from your cellphone. There are a number of different ways you can take advantage of video such as vlogs, behind-the-scenes, interviews, Q&A sessions, how-to videos, and many more. No matter the content path you choose to take, video is a good choice to have on your list.

Content Schedules, Calendars, and Consistency

As you create content, it is important to create a schedule for releases and posts. A good tip is to create and implement a content calendar that keeps track of what content is being posted, on what channel, and on what day. This helps you further strategize by allowing you to plan in advance what content you’d like to share. For example, if you have an upcoming virtual event, you will want to plan content regarding that event strategically leading up to it in order to recruit attendees.

Content buckets are a helpful strategy for organizing your content. Content buckets (remove link) refer to sharing certain subject matter on specific days of the week and can also be planned and tracked through your content calendar. For example, you can decide to always share association news on Monday’s, employee stories on Tuesday’s, industry how-to videos on Wednesday’s and so on. This way your audience will know when to look for the content that is most important to them. Your content buckets can also be tested and changed depending on performance. Always try to have a reason behind your strategic decisions to get the most ROI for your content efforts.

Consistency is key to a successful content strategy. As a trade association, you want your members to get as much value for their membership as possible. You also want potential new members to see that you are the leading authority for your association’s industry. In order for this to be possible, you have to consistently provide new and quality content on a regular basis. If you have an active blog that you post to once a week, try to find what day and time gets the highest traffic, and consistently post your new blog every week on that day and at that time. Again, this allows your members and the rest of your audience to know when to check back for new content.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

When it comes to content strategy for your trade association, there is not a one size fits all strategy that works for everyone. If you need help creating and implementing a content strategy that works for your association and would like to learn about our content marketing services, contact us here.

How to Get Your Trade Association’s Content in Google’s Search Position Zero

February 22, 2021 By Patrick L. Burns Leave a Comment

In recent years, Google has been trying to find ways to get people the answers they are looking for without having to leave the Google search engine results page (SERP). One way they use to achieve this is the featured snippet. These can appear with traditional Google searches or voice searches which are growing in popularity. Featured snippets are boxes of text that answer a query and appear above the coveted top three results on the SERP. This has come to be known as “position zero”. These featured snippets pull the answer to the query from a content piece on a website and post the “snippet” along with a link to the full piece in a box at the top of the page. This allows people to get the answers they are looking for quickly without having to go to any website, but if they wish to know more, they can follow the link to the full piece.

While there is no exact science to getting your association’s content into featured snippets, there are things you can do to greatly improve your chances.

Understanding What a Featured Snippet Is

Before you can begin to think about trying to earn a featured snippet, you should know a few things about them. Featured snippets are usually answers to who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Google ranks websites and content based on the reputation and factualness of the content and from there pulls answers to feature in the snippet. For example:

If you search “Why join a trade association?”

You will see this featured snippet appeared at the top of the page. This particular snippet was pulled from www.americanbusinessmag.com and features a basic answer to the question “Why Join a Trade Association?”. It also gives the user the chance to follow the link to learn more, thus increasing chances of someone visiting your website.

Snippets can appear in different forms including paragraph snippets like the one above, numbered or bulleted lists, and tables. Which snippet type that your content is featured in will depend on the type of content you create.

How to “Own” the Featured Snippet

As previously stated, there is not an exact science to winning the featured snippet, but there are steps you can take with your association’s content to increase your chances.

Find out what people want to know

For this first step, you really have to think like your audience; this could be existing members or potential members. Think of the questions you receive and try to focus strong content around answering those questions. Again, featured snippets are answers to who, what, when, where, why, and how questions. Keep this in mind when brainstorming potential audience questions. A good resource for finding what people are asking is www.answerthepublic.comwhere you can search specific terms and see what people are searching for regarding that term.

We searched “trade associations” and you can see a part of the wheel we got as a result. This image includes the who and how results. One popular question is “what do trade associations do?” so that may be a good topic for content for you to focus on.

Research Snippets in Your Industry

A good way to find opportunities for snippets for your association is to go to Google and begin typing the questions that you came up with. This will allow you to see if there are existing snippets or if there is an open opportunity for you to own the snippet. Even if there are existing snippets, if you tailor you content right, you can still take control of that snippet. Also be sure to pay attention to the “People also ask” section that appears further down the SERP. Below is the “People also ask” box that appears when we entered the question “What is a trade association?”

This section also pulls from existing content online so there is also potential to have your content featured as an answer here as well.

Strong Website, Strong Content, Strong SEO

One of the most important factors in having your association’s content chosen for the featured snippet is making sure your website is optimized, easy to navigate, and functioning well. This is one of the first things Google looks at when determining whether your page should appear on the first page of the SERP or in the featured snippet. If your website is slow and not user friendly by Google’s terms, even if your content is outstanding, you may be overlooked when it comes to the featured snippet. Not only that, but your website will get pushed further back on the SERP making it hard to find and less likely to be visited.

Also, devoting time to keyword research and using popular keywords in your content will help not only win the featured snippet, but also rank you higher on the Google SERP. Using backlinks, cross-linking, and releasing content consistently and regularly can also go far to increase your ranking and raising you up on the search engine results page (SERP).

You Can Do It

It takes work, but you can earn the featured snippets and even improve your position on Google’s search engine results page at the same time. There are many other factors that improve your chances for securing snippets and improving your SEO. If you would like further information or help with your association’s website or content marketing, contact us here.