Fall Planning - Now's the Time to Rethink Your Engagement Strategy

There's something about fall that makes you think about what's next.

For many organizations, it's planning season. Budgets are being finalized. Leadership teams are mapping out priorities for the next fiscal year. There's energy around what's coming, what could be different, and what might be possible in the new year.

I've been noticing something in these conversations, though.

Most of the planning focuses on addition. New programs. More content. Additional initiatives. 

Organizations are asking, "What should we do next year?" 

But I don't hear many asking, "What should we do differently?"

And I think that might be the more important question.

Because if your current member engagement strategy isn't working—if newsletter open rates are low, if social posts get ignored, if members feel disconnected—doing more of the same next year won't solve the problem.

I see this pattern across professional associations, member-based, and purpose-driven organizations. When something isn't working, the default is to try again and do more of it. 

But often the issue isn't volume. It's the approach.

The organizations making real progress? They're using this planning window to get honest about what's actually connecting with members.

They're asking:

💭What are we investing in that members aren't engaging with?

💭Are we measuring real attention or just vanity metrics?

💭What would it look like to show up where members already have space to engage?

💭What would it mean to communicate differently, not just more?

This is the time to make those shifts. Before the plans are locked and budgets are set. Before you commit to another year of strategies and channels that just aren't connecting with members.

The fall season gives you a chance to pause and reassess. To think strategically about where members actually are where they have capacity to engage. Then you can start to plan out how to connect with them best. 

So as you're looking ahead and planning for next year, what's one thing about your member engagement approach that you're rethinking?