The Akron Legal News

Trade groups try to attract millennials to boost membership

BRANDON KLEIN
Special to the Legal News
Published: October 5, 2017

In terms of membership, Ohio's trade association industry has leveled out from the decline it experienced during the Great Recession, according to industry officials.

"(But) we're still trying to get that millennial segment more engaged," said Jarrod Clabaugh, executive director of the Ohio Society of Association Executives.

Clabaugh's discussions with chief executive officers on a daily basis has led him to learn that connecting with that generation is a challenge.

As a result, the Society of Association Executives and its members have adjusted their outreach methods, using social media to complement traditional outlets such as print publications.

But associations as a whole need to "talk in a way that targets each demographic the way they want to be reach," Clabaugh said.

In addition, millennials want to know how their respective associations help their communities as the generation is more "cause-drive," he added.

But associations can connect with millennials on that level because education is the root of their existence, says Clabaugh.

Associations with clearer missions or with community service operations in place, such as donating to a local food bank, are more likely to get millennials on board, Clabaugh said.

On the other hand, central Ohio is experiencing another wave of young professional groups, said Derek Grosso, chief executive officer of the Columbus Young Professionals Club.

Since he founded the Club in 2005, it's membership is more than 20,000 members that includes young entrepreneurs, executives, students, artists and teachers in central Ohio.

It coordinates networking, social, volunteer and athletic events.

But Grosso said he connects some members with trade associations and other industry groups when their needs become niche-focused.

"Our goal is to create a sense of community," he said.

Clabaugh said young professional groups serve a different need for millennials by building their soft skills, while connecting with a trade association connects them with their industry such as education.

Some associations see the importance to engage with millennials as baby boomers start to retire and the smaller Generation X lacking a large enough workforce to fill in the void.

The situation is more dire for the agriculture industry because people from Generation X didn't enter the industry because it wasn't prosperous, said Chris Henney, president and chief executive officer of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association, which represents more than 240 member companies.

"There's definitely a leadership gap," said Henney.

With more than half of its workforce set to retire in the next decade, the AgriBusiness Association started a leadership program to fast-track key emerging leaders from the industry's millennial generation.

The Ohio Pork Council has made headway into social media with more 300,000 followers on its Facebook page, said Emily Bir, its communications director.

The OPC represents more than 2,500 members, with its older population outweighing its millennials.

"It's been a challnege in the respect that we changed the way we ommunicate with our members," Bir said.

For example, the OPC's monthly magazine became quarterly as some members preferred to get their association news online.

"Meshing the two age groupings is a challenge," she said.

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