It’s not necessarily a new topic: the average age of association members (and therefore trade show participants) is increasing. Organizations have been focused for years on recruiting more Millennials, which can mean a more secure future for their conferences and trade shows. But those younger professionals still aren’t joining in huge numbers.
This recent article from Wild Apricot (a company that provides member management tools for associations) proposes that it’s not necessarily due to Facebook, LinkedIn or other online tools used for making connections and learning about their industry. It’s really more basic than that.
The real reason is they don’t see the value in joining an industry association – or attending the annual conference and expo.
It’s our job as trade show and meeting professionals to make sure that investment of time and money is worth it to attendees of all ages. If you’d like to learn more about attracting and engaging a younger audience, Wild Apricot is kicking off their Membership Growth Summit next week with a session on how to do just that. Here’s the link where you can learn more and get registered for the Summit. (And no, they didn’t ask me to promote, nor am I receiving anything for promoting their Summit.)
 Audience Look Like in 20 Years?){kind=link}