Forj Survey of Virtual Event Attendees Reveals Actionable Priorities for Associations and Event Managers to Accelerate Post-Pandemic Transformation

MILWAUKEE, July 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Forj, a leading virtual events and member experience platform for associations and professional community organizations, today released its spring 2021 State of Member Experience survey of nearly 4,000 virtual event attendees. The survey provides important insights for associations and event marketers to improve the quality of both physical and virtual events, as well as association member experience and member recruitment. These insights include:

• 56% of association members are somewhat or significantly more engaged with their association than before COVID-19. Association leaders must learn from their pandemic content and engagement strategies to continue increasing engagement and member retention.
• 95-96% of association members and non-members rely on digital channels for their industry knowledge and professional networking, rather than in-person events. A digital-first engagement strategy is critical to the increasing the reach of professional associations that typically rely on one big annual event as their primary engagement vehicle.
• 66% of respondents will attend even more virtual events than they did in 2020. 72% of respondents plan to return to in-person events this year. This indicates that virtual events are here to stay and that offering both virtual and physical event options is a winning strategy.

"The economic and social upheaval of the past year had a significant impact on thousands of professional associations and millions of their members, and we're confident the insights in this report will help them design their post-pandemic transformation," said Kristen Wright, CMO of Forj. "Understanding where to invest resources will help achieve greater member recruitment, engagement and retention."

Association leaders and professional event managers can download the full report to access more data-driven insights from the survey that will help improve their events and member engagement.

About the Survey Data
The Forj Spring 2021 survey was conducted in April and May of 2021. A total of 3,772 virtual event attendees from the United States and Canada were surveyed, including 1,779 who are members of professional associations. In addition, the survey report includes data from a separate survey of 200 community managers conducted by Forj in February and March of 2021.

About Forj
Forj is the leading virtual events and member experience platform for professional associations and membership groups. The company's platform, data intelligence, and client success team enable community success by attracting more members and sponsors and deepening their commitment. Forj connects communities for the common good. Every voice is heard, everyone learns, bonds are strengthened, and long-lasting relationships are forged. It's where empathy and belonging meets good business sense. For more information, visit www.forj.ai.

SOURCE Forj

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