Hey Missouri FCCLA! When looking forward to the upcoming year, many chapters aim to gain more members and keep them engaged. If that is you, keep reading to discover how you can use social media to recruit, retain, and recognize members!
With social media becoming a huge part of our lives, it is important to use it to your advantage. One of the hardest obstacles many chapters face is recruiting members. Traditionally, chapters relied on physical advertisements, in-person events, and even word of mouth to recruit new members. Nowadays, social media helps us recruit members by reaching an even wider audience. It allows us to reach out to members who couldn’t be reached through more traditional approaches. Another way social media helps us recruit members is by gaining knowledge about FCCLA. Many people do not know what FCCLA is or what we do, but by posting on social media potential members can become more informed and persuaded to join FCCLA. My tip to you is to create a post at the beginning of each school year, explaining what it is and why you should join. Finally, the last way social media can help recruit members is by attracting them. You can utilize social media to publish content showing all the benefits FCCLA has to offer.
While recruiting members is essential, retaining them is even more important. One way to keep members is to make sure they are engaged. A tip is to post diverse content, whether that is upcoming events, highlighting specific members, or important deadlines. It is a well-known fact that once people see the same thing so many times, they start to lose interest in it. By creating diverse content, members won’t become bored as easily. Another way to retain members is to make sure they are coming to events. By posting reminders days in advance, people are less likely to forget about the event. It also helps build excitement for the event. Finally, my last piece of advice for you is to connect with your audience. One way to do this is to post what they want to see. Maybe for you, that means making a fun post every week that is unique to your school or community. Another way to connect with your audience is to respond to their comments, questions, and concerns. By doing this, members feel heard and are more likely to stay.
In addition to using social media to recruit and retain members, it is also a fabulous way to recognize members who go above and beyond for FCCLA. Recognition not only motivates individuals to continue their involvement in FCCLA but also creates a sense of pride among members. One way to recognize members on social media is to create dedicated posts or stories highlighting their accomplishments. By using social media to recognize members, their achievements can be shared with a wider audience, allowing them to be appreciated by people who otherwise would not know of their amazing efforts.
Social media is an amazing tool that everyone can use to grow their chapter and keep their members’s attention. By posting on social media, members can see the benefits of FCCLA, build excitement for events, and appreciate each other’s hard work. I challenge everyone to use social media to their advantage this school year and try to have active, diverse accounts.
I can’t wait to see how every chapter utilizes social media to their advantage this year. Good luck to a successful 2024-2025 school year!
Megan Gabelsberger
Vice President of Public Relations
