Despite a drop in membership and some financial challenges over the last 10 years, the STC brand remains strong. How can STC maintain (or improve) its brand to reach new people who are entering the profession, especially outside the U.S.?

Hi Larry,
You've posed a timely and important question for the future of STC. As members, I think we're often too close to the organization to appreciate its brand presence in the industry. Here are some preliminary thoughts:

I think students are the key here, so I'm going to focus primarily on how we might reach new practitioners, especially recent and future graduates of techcomm-related programs. I think we could see a good return on investment from targeting university departments/instructors whose students would be interested in techcomm as a career. We might consider offering a reduced membership rate to faculty to raise their awareness of STC and to maybe provide incentives for enrolling students into formal or informal mentoring programs, whether virtual or sponsored by a local professional community.

Another venue is academic and student conferences. STC has been given the opportunity to provide a booth and speak to students about careers in techcomm at the upcoming Sigma Tau Delta convention (www.englishconvention.org/sigmatd/conv/workshops.html).

Another possibility would be to offer a free webinar series on careers in technical communication and market the webinars to universities and colleges (and perhaps to local job networking groups). I'd also like to see continued leverage of social media in order to reach students and new practitioners. We need to take our message to where they are.

I believe the same strategies may be usable to reach students and new practitioners outside the USA. I also recognize that we need to localise the tactics to fit specific cultures.

It's important that we talk to the "new generation" of techcomm professionals and students, both members and non-members of STC, to learn why they joined STC (or haven't joined) and what they expect the organization to provide them. We need data on which to make sound strategic decisions.

Thanks again for asking the question!
Ben

It's hard to follow up such a thorough and thoughtful response as Ben's, but I'll give it a shot.

I agree with Ben's recommendations. I'd also argue that, despite a steep drop in chapter membership, our communities (regional and virtual) are still the face of STC to many members and prospective members. One way to promote the STC brand might be to equip our communities with member recruitment and retention training, marketing materials, branded email templates, a welcome package for new members, etc. These materials may vary from region to region.

If a prospective member attends a local chapter meeting and is not greeted or receives no information on member benefits, he or she may not return.

Our communities are our boots on the ground. They are familiar with the needs of members in a particular locale or within a particular specialization. They are familiar with the local employers and educational programs and are better equipped to engage local technical communicators. As an association, we need to foster and aid our communities in their membership efforts in ways that we haven't for ten years.

Strengthening our communities, by the way, will help STC strengthen its international presence. We'll attract more members internationally if we have chapters that address their local needs.

Member recruitment and retention starts at the local level, and helping local leaders with their efforts is something STC can do through training, outreach, branded material, and incentives. Volunteer recognition is one path that STC has been following with its conference incentive for chapter leaders.

Michael is right about the need for STC to support communities with their membership development efforts: in the past, chapters have had member drives with discounted dues and other benefits for current members. Perhaps this is something we could do again without too much trouble. Having a member drive builds community as members reflect on their careers and how STC has helped them.

Ben also brings up an excellent point: students are the future of our profession, and we need to make sure STC is recognized as the standard for technical communication. By offering discounts and other incentives to instructors who involve their student communities in STC membership, STC can boost its academic presence. Local practitioners can speak to student groups, describing how STC has helped them throughout their career.

Another possibility for attracting new members is through professional development activities. STC competitions and training (for example, workshops and web-based seminars) opportunities could be marketed to area businesses and schools. STC can help local leaders reach these audiences with consistent, branded content for company and department newsletters, business journals, and emails.