An Effective Type of Social Professional Network
In working with business-to-business professionals, I am becoming convinced the most valuable professional type of “social” network is where there is a true professional membership or affiliation. To differentiate it from the myriad of online networks, let’s simply call it “Membership Media”.
This is definitely not a new concept except for this platform called the world wide web (you may have heard of it?) and committed smart people that make it a valued experience. Members can access peers, smart people and timely resources via a private, gated web site, as well as connect and continue their conversations both online and in their own professional circles. Some memberships are paid and some are qualified. In all cases you have to be member and advertising and sales pitches are not allowed, adding even more value to its collective members. We jokingly refer to this as a “no fly zone” – a term picked up from one of the members of our CIO network. And, for B2B professional members, all of this can be done without the risk and worry of violating corporate governance guidelines or having 96 salespeople or consultants trying to “link” or “friend” you ( note – I am big fan of Linkedin, Facebook and such – Membership Media is a different application of online networks).
Across TechWeb’s online networks and working with our tech marketing clients, we have spent countless hours and many thousands of dollars experimenting with all kinds of social media platforms, tools, techniques, and approaches with mixed results. We are still trying to figure out as organizers and users of professional networks how we provide the maximum value to the most users and still make money as a business.
Here are 2 examples of approaches to “Membership Media” that are core part of the professional markets we all serve – Marketing and IT:
- www.thecmoclub.com– I pay to be a member of a group of nearly 1,000 CMOs. You have to qualify to be a member and you gain excellent access to both practical best practices and big ideas from CMOs and marketing experts, including local media dinners and events. All on my time.
- www.smartenterpriseexchange.com– This is for senior IT executives across the globe. CIOs and VPs must qualify to be a member and receive exclusive access to 3rd party, high value content and exchanges with CIO peers are held live and online, around the globe. This network is growing steadily and like any network is getting exponentially more active with unique contributions across vertical markets and regions of the globe.
Check them out, and let us know what you are doing and seeing in Membership Media and your work on social and online professional networking.
