Today, in collaboration with Dave Lutz and Jeff Hurt over at Velvet Chainsaw, we’re releasing a report on the use of professional and industry speakers by trade and professional associations. We’ve dubbed it simply The Speaker Report, and it’s based on a survey Tagoras and Velvet Chainsaw did earlier this year in which 247 organization’s participated. Additional comments follow, but first I’ll cut to the chase and give you the download link:

Download The Speaker Report for Free

As many readers here know, we normally charge for our more in-depth reports like this (though we also give a lot away through our resources center and our research community list). In this case, however, Dave, Jeff, Celisa, and I felt it was important to get this information out as broadly as possible, and we also felt it was a way to give back to the community. Hopefully you will find the information in the report of value, and if so, we encourage you to share it with others.

Here is a brief guide to some areas of the report that I find of particular interest:

• Top Take-Aways
  Starting on Page 8 you will find a brief discussion of eight key points from the report. I won’t spoil your reading by enumerating them here, but I will highlight the first one, which is close to my heart: Education deserves some respect.

• Professional Speakers and Learning
  Speaking of education, on page 14 in the section on professional speakers, we highlight that “Organizations that measure whether learning occurs at their meetings are more likely to have a larger professional speaker budget than those that don’t.” Something for speakers to keep in mind. We also cover average speaker budgets, sponsorships, and other details of hiring and paying for speakers in this section.

• Decision Making for Speakers
  As far as hiring professional speakers go, on page 20 we point out that final decisions for professional speakers are most frequently made not by the education or professional development department but by the head of the organization (25.8 percent) or a board or volunteer committee (20.2 percent). Hmm.

• 15 Ways Professional Speakers Really Annoy
  Rightly or wrongly, this list on page 25 seems sure to be a popular part of the report. Here we categorize and catalog some of the feedback we got from survey respondents. The word “prima donna” came up more than a few times.

• 7 Changes to Come
  By page 26, we’re into the section of the report on industry speakers and one of the topics we hit on is changes organizations are making in the number of sessions or speakers at their meetings. For starters, it looks like neither number will be growing.

• Call for Proposals
  I’ve already mentioned this one – as have Dave and Jeff – in previous writings: page 28 is where we talk about the fact that most organizations shut down their calls for proposals 8 months or more in advance of their meetings. Not exactly a recipe for timeliness.

• Measuring Educational Impact
  While nearly all organizations collect evaluations for their meetings and/or speakers, we report on page 32 that well under half are measuring educational impact. Seems like it may be time for that to change.

There is plenty more to the report, but I’ll stop there. Again, you can download the whole thing for free. (If for any reason that link isn’t working, just paste http://bit.ly/speaker-report into your browser.)

It was a pleasure working with Dave and Jeff over at Velvet Chainsaw on this one – I view them as the definitive experts in the world of meetings. Celisa also deserves huge props on this one, as she did the vast majority of the work to pull all of the data together and shape it into the report it is. Again, we hope you enjoy it – and please spread the word.

Jeff

P.S. – Note, also, that all of our other reports are currently a third off of their normal price.

I thought I’d point out that ASAE’s Associations Now has recently run a couple of items that many readers here would find interesting.

The first, Current and Future Trends in E-learning, offers various data (such as that in the image above) from our Association Learning + Technology report. This will give you an idea of how associations are currently making use of e-learning. You can find it online at:

• http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=135909

The second, What to Look for in Learning Management Systems, takes a look at how learning management systems are evolving and how associations are using them. You can find this one at:

• http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=137300

Enjoy,

Jeff

One way to get access to good data is to contribute to the effort of gathering data. We provide a lot of opportunities for that at Tagoras, and we have just launched a new one – a survey on how/whether membership organizations are using digital and virtual events (e.g., online conferences and trade shows, hybrid events, etc.):

• https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KB62H62

As usual, if you give, you get: survey respondents can request a copy of the summary data and also enter into a drawing for one of two $199 Amazon.com certificates (enough for a Kindle Fire).

Note: Even if your organization has never offered and has no plans to offer a virtual event of any sort, your input is important

This is actually the second time we are running this survey. The last round of the survey showed significant interest in digital and virtual events and potential for quite a bit of growth. With this second survey, we’ll start getting a clearer idea of exactly how big the trend is. So, please get on over to:

• https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KB62H62

I also encourage you to spread the word about the survey to the association community. If you blog, tweet, have an e-mail newsletter that goes out to membership organizations – whatever – please give the survey a mention. We have not yet set a close date yet, but it will be open until at least the first of December.

Jeff

We’ve recently launched a new survey, in collaboration with Velvet Chainsaw, on how organizations are using industry and professional speakers, including how they select them, what they expect from them, and how educational impact is measured.

The focus is on organizations that use both professional and industry speakers and/or have a least one meeting annually with 500 or more attendees. It’s a substantive survey that will yield data not available anywhere else. As usual, participants get a free synopsis of the key data and will also get the chance to win one of five $50 gift cards.

I’m truly grateful to anyone who can find 10 minutes or so to participate on behalf of your organization.We also really need people to help us spread the word. So, if you have a mailing list, a blog, a Twitter following – whatever – please share the link below.

Find our more and take the survey (which closes August 26) at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6PPPZCB

We ran a survey earlier this year to gauge the extent to which associations are or are not incorporating social media into their continuing education and professional development programs – not for marketing purposes, but as part of the actual educational experience. We didn’t get quite the level of response we would have liked, so we are running it again (with a few tweaks). Participate and you will get a copy of the data and be entered for a chance to win a $120 Amazon.com certificate (enough to buy a Kindle).

Note: Your participation is important even if your organization does not currently use any social media in its education programs.

Here’s the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X9XF7SR

The survey takes anywhere from a couple of minutes to 7 or 8 minutes, depending on your responses. It closes at 5:00 PT this coming Tuesday (August 2) because I plan to talk about the data in a presentation at the ASAE annual conference, which starts on August 6. I’ll also discuss results at our upcoming Leading Learning (http://leadinglearning0811.eventbrite.com/) event with Tony Bingham, author of The New Social Learning.

Please help spread the word!

Jeff

I promised to highlight other sites that offer up thoughts on the recent Association Learning + Technology report. The latest are:

SocialFish: The State of Association E-learning
Not surprisingly, Maddie focuses in on our findings about use of social media in association online education initiatives. Check out her comments as well as SocialFish’s ThinkTank – a great example of social learning at work.

http://www.socialfish.org/2011/07/the-state-of-association-e-learning.html

aLearning: Secrets to Successful eLearning Revealed!
Over on the aLearning blog, Ellen focuses in on our data about e-learning success – and the traits that characterize successful organizations. As always, she offers great insights. And be sure to check out her recent collection of Quick Clicks.

http://alearning.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/secrets-to-successful-elearning-revealed/

Thanks Ellen and Maddie!

Jeff

Recently we closed down a survey on Association Technology usage.  We ended up with 203 responses and got some great information about how associations are using various types of technology – including AMSes, social media, mobile, and various learning technologies. I plan to put together some highlights and eventually will do some more in-depth analysis on the data, but in the meantime, I wanted to go ahead and share it.

• Association Technology Survey Summary Results

If you would like to be alerted when we do more with this, please subscribe to the blog. Also, if you are interested in learning technologies in particular, I encourage you to subscribe to our learning technology e-newsletter.

Update 06/23/10 – Here are some highlights from the summary data:

65 percent of participating organizations indicated that they have
implemented an AMS. Aside from membership management (96.7%), some of the
most popular uses for the AMS were events management (78.7%), committee
management (69.4%), and e-commerce (61.5%).

Among organizations indicating they have not implemented an AMS, the
technologies most commonly implemented were: a content management system
(63.5%), marketing-related software (53.8%), and finance and accounting
software (51.9%).

Among other types of software implemented by organizations (regardless of
AMS usage), the most common by far were Webinar software (63.5%) and event
registration software (46.3%).

The most common services offered by organizations on their Web sites were:
registration for events (87.6%), a member-only resource area (79.3%), and
the ability for members to update their own profiles (60.9%).

The great majority of respondents indicated that they offer an electronic
newsletter either in addition to (51.2%) or in place of (43%) a print
newsletter.

Only 7.1 percent of respondents indicated that their entire Web site is
available in a mobile version, and 12.4 percent indicated that some parts
of their Web site is available in a mobile version.

Data back-up and recovery (74.1%) and network security (70.5%) topped the
list of “very important” technology issues. Social media policies were in
a distance last place with 17.1 percent.

Public social networks (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn) topped the list of
social media tools used by the organizations that responded (49.1%),
followed by microblogging tools like Twitter (47.4%), then discussion
forums (39.2%). Facebook (87%), Twitter (74%), and LinkedIn (70.2%) were
by far the most popular tools among organizations using social media.

58.9 percent of respondents indicated their organization is already using
social media and their use will be greater in 2010. 14.6 percent indicated
no plans to use social media tools in 2010.

Only 19.4 percent of respondents indicated that their organization has
created a formal social media strategy.

58.9 percent of respondents indicated that they have never surveyed their
members about technology use. 22.7 percent have surveyed them within the
past 12 months.

Only 41.4 percent of respondents indicated that their organization has a
strategic technology plan or a part of their general strategic plan
dedicated to technology.

53.5 percent of respondents indicated their spending on technology will
increase in 2010. 37.4 percent said it will stay the same. 9 percent said
it will decrease.

A few weeks ago we closed down the survey we had been running on Webinar marketing – i.e., both the marketing of Webinars and the use of Webinars as a marketing tool. We ended up with 146 responses. Eventually we hope to do some more in-depth analysis on the data. If you would like to make sure you receive word of that, please subscribe to the blog. In the meantime, you can download the most recent data at the following link:

• Webinar Marketing Survey Summary Data

Jeff

P.S. – For more current data and perspectives on association online education, you may want to check out our 2011 Association Learning + Technology: State of the Sector report.

We’ve been running a survey on association technology for the past few weeks and at the end of the day on Friday, we’ll be shutting it down. If your organization hasn’t participated yet, you can find the survey at:

• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tech-survey

The survey covers a range of topics, including:

• AMS usage
• Web site services offered
• Social media
• Mobile usage
• Technology strategy/planning
• Budgeting

We’ve already gotten a pretty good response rate, and all organizations that respond will get a free summary of the data collected. To encourage participation, respondents will also have the chance to enter into a drawing for one of five $50 Amazon.com gift certificates will be giving away to Tagoras research participants during the month of April.

All survey submission are anonymous and we’re asking that only one person per organization respond. If you represent a trade or professional association, we encourage you or the appropriate person from your organization to complete the survey as soon as possible.

Again, you can find the link for the survey at:

• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/tech-survey

If you represent a state society and would be willing to send the link out to your members, we’d be really grateful. Also, if you tweet, blog, etc. we’d be grateful for a mention.

The survey will close at 8PM eastern/5PM pacific this Friday, April 30.

Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Jeff

We’re in the final week of running our Webinar marketing survey – it will close down this Friday evening. We’ve gotten a pretty good number of responses so far, but are hoping to boost the numbers significantly this week. If your organization (a) sells Webinars or Webcasts, (b) uses them for lead generation, or (c) offers them as a member or customer benefit, this survey is for you. You can find it at:

• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8X6R9M3

Aside from the fact that you can get a copy of the summary data and be entered in to a drawing to win one of five $50 Amazon.com certificates, here are 10 other reasons you should consider participating today!

1. You can find out how organizations that sell Webinars and Webcasts are pricing them

2. You can find out how much sponsors are typically paying to sponsor a Webinar or Webcast

3. You can learn what benefits sponsors typically receive

4. You can learn how many organizations are outsourcing vs. doing Webinars on their own

5. You can find out how organizations are determining topics for their Webinars

6. You can learn how long most Webinars are

7. You can learn more about how organizations are using Webinars – i.e., for lead generation, continuing education, customer training, etc.

8. You can find out many people organizations are reaching with their Webinars

9. You can find out about which methods are most used for promoting Webinars

10. You can find out how successful organizations feel their Webinars are

A few related bits of info:

• This survey is intended for organizations that are already offering Webinars or Webcasts to members or customers (it covers both nonprofit and commercial organizations).
• It should be completed by the person in your organization who knows the most about your Webinars. If at all possible, only one person in your organization should submit a survey.
• It is a relatively substantial survey designed to collect substantive information. So, don’t expect to just find 3 or 4 questions when you go to the link. That said, we have designed it so that it should not take more than 8 to 12 minutes to complete.

The link, again is:

• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8X6R9M3

If you blog, tweet, post on Facebook, or otherwise network with other people who might want to know about the survey, we’d be really grateful if you would give it a mention sometime in the next couple of days.

Thanks!

Jeff