Forj, a leading virtual events and member experience platform for associations and professional community organizations, released its spring 2021 State of Member Experience survey of nearly 4,000 virtual event attendees. The survey provides important insights for associations and event marketers to improve the quality of both physical and virtual events, as well as association member experience and member recruitment. These insights include:

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• 56% of association members are somewhat or significantly more engaged with their association than before COVID-19. Association leaders must learn from their pandemic content and engagement strategies to continue increasing engagement and member retention.
• 95-96% of association members and non-members rely on digital channels for their industry knowledge and professional networking, rather than in-person events. A digital-first engagement strategy is critical to the increasing the reach of professional associations that typically rely on one big annual event as their primary engagement vehicle.
• 66% of respondents will attend even more virtual events than they did in 2020. 72% of respondents plan to return to in-person events this year. This indicates that virtual events are here to stay and that offering both virtual and physical event options is a winning strategy.

“The economic and social upheaval of the past year had a significant impact on thousands of professional associations and millions of their members, and we’re confident the insights in this report will help them design their post-pandemic transformation,” said Kristen Wright, CMO of Forj. “Understanding where to invest resources will help achieve greater member recruitment, engagement and retention.”

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