1. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 1 Member communications

2. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 2 Overview of proposed changes This proposal aims to increase the effectiveness of regional email marketing. By giving each region a monthly newsletter, their event promotion will be streamlined and made consistent with the rest of the Institution’s promotional activity. This transition will be managed by Michelle Wheeler from the Marketing department, with support from the Member Engagement department.

3. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 3 Overview of proposed changes Newsletters sit alongside word of mouth promotion, Near You, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, posters and emails at workplaces and universities, flyers etc. Keeping events updated on Near You (with venue changes, for instance) will allow people to register and to see up to date information at all times.

4. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 4 Digital user survey What our members want to hear about 25% are interested in events 51% in industry updates 70% in IMechE news Email preferences of our Members 87% want one email per week or less 13% more than one email per week 56% would prefer a combined digest of all topics 27% separate digests of each topic 16% individual emails

5. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 5 Member comms – the solution Industry update emails - Highlights of news, events, training information and library resources from each industry, in separate monthly updates. Sent to all members in each industry. Specialist event updates - Bi-monthly focus on a larger list of upcoming events organised by Institution Groups. Sent to all members in each group. Regional digests – A monthly summary of all regional activity, including events from areas, divisional centres and young member panels. Sent to all members within each region. Profile update campaign – Ongoing campaign to encourage all members to update their profile information and communication preferences online.

6. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 6 Proposed Regional Newsletter

7. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 7 FAQ / comments When is this process starting? The newsletters will be trialled in two regions, with newsletters to be sent in May and June. Regions are encouraged to volunteer for this today! The Lyris List Server WILL NOT be switched off and can still be used by the other Regions, to be run in parallel with this trial. After this we will analyse how the process worked and iron out difficulties before hopefully rolling out to all 16 UK regions later in 2012.

8. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 8 FAQ / comments How will we ensure members receive relevant information and they are signed up to the right lists? We are running a ‘profile update’ campaign, which encourages members to update their contact preferences. Email is really important to our event promotion and we’re worried that fewer members will attend. If a member lives and works in different areas in the same region, they will see upcoming events in more places. Your area events will be advertised to thousands more members.

9. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 9 FAQ / comments We are concerned about weaknesses with the Near You website, particularly that members do not currently access it. As the newsletters will only have space for a short event description, committees can use Near You to explain more about the event. Each event in the newsletter will have a link to further information and this will increase traffic to Near You. Kevin Manning will be running a course on Near You at the Volunteer Conference in June.

10. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 10 FAQ / comments It sounds like hard work and why are we changing the system? The proposal is based on findings from the 2011 digital survey, which had 5,000 respondents. We think that the proposal is the most effective way to communicate with regional members. To make the process easier, we will need to identify key contacts to lead on this and liaise with the editor each month. The plan is it should look better, makes things easier for volunteers and reduce time wasted.

11. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 11 FAQ / comments Can we split larger regions into smaller areas, as not all of the information is relevant to my area? We still plan to have just one newsletter per UK region. They will however be structured to allow easy navigation, for example, Yorkshire Eastern, Yorkshire Northern, with events then listed in date order. It’s also important to note that members frequently tell us that they would like to be on more than one area list as they travel within regions, or work and live in separate places but at this time there is no option available for this.

12. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 12 FAQ / comments What if I have a last minute event that needs to be sent out or I want to send a reminder? More spontaneous events can be advertised in other ways e.g. social media, word of mouth networks, university networks etc. In cases of extreme need or short notice, contact Kevin Manning, who can help with this, direct from HQ.

13. Improving the world through engineeringwww.imeche.orgImproving the world through engineering 13 Other forms of communication How else can we contact members and what training will be available? If you have any concerns about how to use any tools (e.g. Imechenetwork emails, Near You, social media sites, poster templates) or to know if you’re missing out on any kinds of support, talk to the member engagement team. Support and resources can also be found online at www.imeche.org/vrc. www.imeche.org/vrc