Let me be blunt: if your AI strategy is focused on writing blog posts faster, generating social captions, or drafting catchier emails, you’re thinking too small.

Yes, AI can absolutely help with those things. And yes, it can save your team time, but that’s not where the real value is. The real opportunity lies in using AI to rethink how your association operates: how you engage members, how you drive revenue, how you design experiences, and how you make decisions.

That’s the shift from tactical AI to strategic AI. And for associations, it’s a big one!

Tactical AI Improves Output. Strategic AI Is Transformational.

Right now, most organizations are applying AI at the end of the process. They’re using it to write an email, draft a blog post, summarize a report, or clean up meeting notes. There’s nothing wrong with that; those are useful applications, and they can save time.

But when you use AI at the beginning of the process, you start improving the strategy itself. Instead of asking AI to write a renewal email, you can ask it to help you rethink your renewal strategy. You can explore which members are most at risk, when outreach should happen, which messages are likely to connect, and which channels are most effective. You can look at the full member journey and ask where friction exists and where intervention could make a difference.

That’s a very different use of AI. At that point, you’re not just improving the content, you’re improving the entire content strategy.

From Reporting to Intelligence

Most associations are rich in data, but poor in insight. They have no shortage of reports about renewal rates, meeting registrations, email performance, website traffic, and course attendance. The problem is that most of those reports tell you what already happened and stop there, when what you need to know is what’s likely to happen next. 

That’s where AI can be especially useful. It can help associations move from reporting to intelligence by identifying patterns, surfacing risk, and helping teams act earlier. For example, AI can support:

• Renewal risk scoring, so staff can prioritize the members who may need attention now, before it’s too late
• Engagement trend analysis, so early signs of disengagement don’t go unnoticed
• Event attendance prediction, so planning decisions are based on likely behavior rather than instinct
• Signal detection, so staff can spot changes in member behavior before those changes show up in a year-end report

That’s where the conversation gets more strategic. If you knew three months earlier that a member was at risk, what would you do differently?

From One-Size-Fits-All to Personalized Experiences

For years, many associations have delivered broad, generalized experiences because personalization felt too difficult or too expensive. Everyone got the same onboarding. Everyone saw the same website content. Everyone received roughly the same messaging. That’s not really a member experience; that’s just content distribution. 

AI makes it easier to tailor the experience based on what members care about, how they behave, and where they are in their professional journey. That could mean:

• Personalized content recommendations on your website
• New member onboarding journeys based on job role, title, industry experience, and so much more
• Tailored messaging, based on your generation cohort (i.e., talk to GenZ differently from GenX), interests, and engagement history

Imagine a member logging in and seeing content that actually reflects what they care about. That’s not a future-state idea. That’s achievable now. 

From Mass Messaging to Smarter Communication

Mass emails are now remarkably easy to draft and send out. But just because content is easier to produce with AI, doesn’t mean that you should be messaging more. Quite the opposite, actually. The more messages we send, especially the ones that aren’t highly tailored or personalized, the more ineffective they become. 

What AI can do, when used well, is help your team communicate more intentionally by improving segmentation, timing, and relevance. AI can help staff:

• Identify disengaged members and trigger re-engagement
• Surface topic interest and follow up with relevant content
• Flag highly engaged members who may be ready for volunteer leadership, committee outreach, or a more personal touch from leadership.

That’s a much better use of AI than simply flooding your members with more emails! 

From Staff Tool to Member Value

Most organizations are still thinking about AI as an internal productivity tool. That’s a good start, but what if AI became part of your member value proposition?

Here are some of the things Matrix Group clients are working on in this area:

• An AI-powered knowledge assistant
• A compliance or standards guide
• A career pathway tool
• A skills gap analyzer

For many organizations, this is the next step. Not just using AI behind the scenes, but building it into the member experience in a way that strengthens your association’s value proposition.

If time and budget weren’t constraints, what would you build for your members?

One More Shift: From Publishing Content to Owning Answers

Associations also need to think about how AI is changing the way people discover information. People are no longer searching and clicking through pages of links to find the answer they’re looking for. They’re asking a question in Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, or even your site search and expecting a direct response in a succinct, complete narrative, not a list of links. 

That shift has real implications. It means your content can’t just exist. It has to be structured in a way that makes your expertise easy to find, easy to interpret, and easy for answer engines to cite.

So here’s the question: when someone asks an answer engine about your industry or profession, does your association show up in the answer?

AI answer engines like Gemini, Claude, and ChatGPT prioritize:

• Clear questions and answers
• Structured content
• Plain language
• Accessible expertise

This is where AEO and GEO come into play. Is your content structured to provide the AI answer engines with the answers that people are looking for? What content should be public and what content should be members-only?

So Where Do You Start?

This can feel like a lot, because it is.

Moving from tactical to strategic use of AI isn’t about adding one more tool to your stack. It’s about rethinking how your association works: across membership, marketing, education, research, volunteer management, and so much more.

The good news? You don’t have to do everything at once. Start with one area:

• Membership renewals
• New member onboarding
• Event engagement
• Content strategy

Pick an area where better intelligence, better personalization, or better decision-making could improve results for your organization, then ask a better question. Not “How can we use AI?” but “How could we redesign this process, this experience, or this strategy so it works better for members and for the organization?”

At Matrix Group, this is exactly the work we’re doing with associations every day. Not just helping teams use AI to move faster—but helping them:

• Rethink member journeys
• Identify opportunities for personalization
• Connect systems to enable smarter experiences
• Uncover new ways to deliver value and drive revenue

We know that for associations, the goal isn’t just efficiency. The goal is a stronger, more relevant, more valuable association. And AI, used strategically, can help you get there.

So I’ll leave you with one final question: 

Are you using AI to do what you’ve always done, just faster?
Or are you using it to become something better?

The post Using AI to Power Smarter Membership and Marketing Strategies appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Every January, I like to reflect on the previous year and consider what the coming year might hold for associations, nonprofits, and Matrix Group. This year, I did something different. I invited a few of my amazing team members at Matrix Group to join me on our podcast, Associations Thrive, to talk about the major trends they saw in 2025 and what they believe is coming in 2026.

Joining me were Dave Hoernig (VP of Software Engineering), Jessica Parsley (Director of Project Management), and Alex Pineda (Creative Director). We had a wide-ranging conversation, and here are the key takeaways and predictions from our conversation:

AI Is No Longer Optional

AI was, unsurprisingly, the biggest theme of 2025. Jessica talked about how many of our clients are turbocharging their teams by:

• Investing in AI skills and training
• Creating internal policies for responsible AI use
• Building custom GPTs to speed up content creation
• Using AI to streamline editing, content repurposing, and task management

Dave shared how AI is revolutionizing content migration, especially turning PDF documents into accessible, searchable HTML. He also brought up a big existential question facing associations:

What content should be visible to AI, and what should remain members-only?

He talked about how associations are starting to experiment with making abstracts public while keeping full articles gated; this is the same approach academic publishers have used for years.

AI is also influencing how we format content to make it discoverable to AI engines. Schema markup, summaries, and multimedia versions (like read-alouds) are increasingly important.

Telling the Story of the Industry

Alex noticed a major shift in web design: associations are doing a better job of telling the story not just of the association, but of the profession or industry they represent. These “About the Industry” sections:

• Help the public understand the value of the profession
• Position the association as a thought leader
• Offer lawmakers, potential members, and partners important context

But it’s not easy. Crafting this content requires strategic thinking, consensus building, and often new storytelling skills.

Doing More with Less

Jessica saw that many associations felt more budget-constrained in 2025. But instead of just of delaying projects, they asked:

• “What small changes can we make to our website and email campaigns NOW that will have a big impact?”
• “What are the biggest pain points experienced by our members or staff?”
• “Can analytics guide our next move?”

Alex noted that we’re increasingly using analytics to make smart, incremental improvements, like optimizing navigation, restructuring key pages, or adjusting content strategy. Full redesigns are great, but if there isn’t time or budget, then light refreshes are the way to go.

Associations Are Going Multimedia

There is a growing shift away from long blocks of text and toward audio, video, and interactive content:

• Podcasts and read-aloud tools are making content more accessible.
• Members, especially younger members, increasingly prefer to watch or listen, rather than read.

Alex and Jessica both emphasized that younger generations are mobile-first, visual-first, and audio-first. If associations want to attract the next generation, their content and design strategies need to reflect that.

Personalization Is Finally Achievable

We’ve talked about personalization for years, but 2025 was the year it became practical for more organizations.

Dave shared that personalization is easier to implement now because:

• You no longer need to manually tag every piece of content
• AI can analyze member behavior and personalize on the fly
• Tools can now offer Netflix-style, personalized recommendations based on user behavior and demographics

Imagine offering a member a curated education journey based on their career stage. Duolingo is a great example of this! I’m an avid Duolingo-er and love that my practice lessons are customized just for me. That’s the future for associations and it’s already here.

Mobile and Voice Are Becoming Even More Important

Alex noted that mobile traffic is growing, even if analytics still show desktop in the lead for most of our clients and their websites. Younger members are doing everything on their phones and they’re the members of the future. All of this means:

• Mobile design needs to be more comprehensive
• Voice navigation and voice search are increasingly relevant

If it’s not easy to find or access your content via mobile or voice, you’re invisible to a big part of your audience.

Community Will Be the Differentiator in 2026

Jessica made a critical point: it will be harder than ever for associations to be seen as the authority in their industry. AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Gemini are giving users quick answers without attribution. That means your content might not be recognized as coming from your organizations. So how do associations stay relevant?

One important answer: Double down on community.

Associations will need to:

• Create spaces (in-person and virtual) for connection and expertise-sharing
• Offer value that can’t be replicated by an AI bot
• Make membership the gateway to the best insights, not just the publicly available ones
• Create smaller events, cohorts, and niche groups to create intimacy within the membership

A More Level Playing Field

As we closed out the podcast, I shared a final hope: that the new wave of AI tools will level the playing field for smaller associations. These tools let even the smallest team:

• Create great content
• Design beautiful experiences
• Offer personalized, member-driven services

You don’t need a giant staff or massive budget to be effective in 2026. But you do need to be smart, strategic, and open to using AI tools to make your organization more high-performing and authoritative.

So what do you think? What trends did YOUR organization see in 2025? What are you preparing for in 2026? Let’s keep the conversation going!

The post Reflections and Predictions: What Associations Should Be Thinking About in 2026 appeared first on Matrix Group International.

A client recently came to us because traffic to their site had dropped significantly. This organization relies on traffic from organic search to bring in prospective members and prospective course attendees. Looking at their analytics, we learned that it’s specifically traffic from Google that had dropped significantly. What was going on?

If your site is experiencing a drop in referrals from Google, it’s probably because, as of the end of 2024, 60% of Google searches are zero-click. A zero-click search is when someone conducts a Google search, gets the answer they’re looking for without clicking, and calls it a day because they’ve gotten the answer(s) they need. Google used to refer us to the sites that had the answers we were looking for. Now Google gives us the answers.

So what’s the answer? Today, the answer is AEO or Answer Engine Optimization and GEO or Generative Engine Optimization. AEO and GEO are the art and science of optimizing your website content for the AI answer engines like Google, ChatGPT, CoPilot, Claude, Bing, etc. We used to focus on SEO and search ranking, but today, it’s about providing Google and ChatGPT with the answers to visitors’ questions, and providing the content that the AI engines can consume and include as part of their reasoning.

Does this mean SEO, or search engine optimization, is no longer important? Absolutely not! Sites that have deep, quality content, are quick to load, formatted well for search engine indexing, have lots of incoming links, and have high page rank are the sites that the AI engines are more likely to reference and cite. In other words, AEO and GEO are additional layers to your SEO strategy and today, they’re no longer optional.

But will optimizing your site for the AI answer engines bring back the Google traffic? Sadly, I think not. As long as the answer engines provide quality responses to our queries (and the answers are getting better every day), we consumers will increasingly rely on the answer engines and NOT click on the site that was the source of the content in the first place.

The challenge then for associations is to be THE SOURCE for the deep, hyper-specialized content that exists within the association’s content archive, among the subject matter experts within the staff and community, and in the heads of the community, the members themselves. 

In other words, if I’m looking for general, consumer grade content to a question, I will likely get a high quality and accurate response from ChatGPT. But if I want the latest research, best practices, or obscure references, I need to go to the community where this deep knowledge exists – associations! Under this scenario, associations must double down on being found as the community where the deep knowledge exists, and educating members and prospective members on how and why the community and specialized knowledge cannot be gotten from an AI engine.

I know, this is easier said than done, but this is the existential challenge for associations today. 

So, is your association ready for the AEO and GEO wave? How are you distinguishing your association from the AI engines as the place for specialized knowledge AND community?

The post Are AEO and GEO More Important Than SEO? appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Many of my association and nonprofit clients are looking to expand their reach.

During the pandemic, virtual conferences helped associations and nonprofits expand their reach by connecting with people who couldn’t – or wouldn’t – travel to an in-person event. These events widened the audience, made meetings more inclusive, and opened the door to new engagement strategies.

Now that in-person is largely back, the question becomes: what’s next? How do you continue expanding your reach and making your content more accessible to more people?

Here are some ideas we’re exploring with clients right now:

Embrace Audio and Video in Your Content Strategy

Younger audiences – Gen Z and Gen Alpha – often prefer consuming content via audio and video rather than reading long-form content. 

Here are three options to consider:

1. Launch a podcast.

According to Riverside, 34% of Americans listen to an average of 8.3 podcast episodes per week, and 83% spend more than 9 hours listening to podcasts weekly. A podcast can help you build thought leadership, keep members informed, and create touchpoints beyond your newsletter and social media posts.

2. Add “Read Aloud” to your website.

With text-to-speech services available from AWS, Open AI, Google and so many other companies, it’s now easy (and affordable!) to offer your blog posts, articles, and white papers in audio format. You can even train the AI to pronounce industry-specific words correctly and choose voices that match your brand vibe.

3. Make your content video-first.

Consider taking your most popular content – FAQs, toolkits, blog posts – and turning them into short videos. Think: “explainer video” meets member resource. Add captions and transcripts for accessibility and search engine optimization.

Add Multilingual to Your Strategy, Even If You’re U.S.-Based

You don’t have to be a global organization to benefit from multilingual content.

Roughly 41 million people speak Spanish as their first language in the United States alone. And yet, many organizations rely on browser-based translations to serve non-English speakers – an approach that is far from perfect.

AI makes it easier than ever to serve your content more accurately across languages. Here’s what’s possible with AI today:

• AI-generated translations trained on your industry’s language and your own content, for improved accuracy.
• Multilingual closed captioning, in real time, for your educational webinars, conferences, and on-demand content.
• Live and on-demand dubbing of your content, using synthetic voices that sound natural, in a variety of languages.

At Matrix Group, we helped SQFI launch a website in nine languages, using AWS Translate and a custom CMS integration. The site is searchable and indexable in all nine languages, and the translations sound great. We also offered closed captioning during the American Art Therapy Association’s Virtual Annual Conference. 

The Possibilities Are Endless and More Affordable Than Ever

Not long ago, live translation, voice dubbing, and multilingual content required major investments in time and budget. Thanks to AI and cloud services, it’s now faster, more accurate, and within reach for organizations of all sizes.

How are you planning to expand your reach this year and next? Have you added new audio, video or language strategies to your toolbox? Let me know – I’d love to hear what’s working.

The post Want to Expand Your Reach? Try These Digital Strategies appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Everywhere I turn, someone is talking about their “AI strategy.” But here’s the truth: you don’t need an AI strategy. You need a business strategy, and AI should support it.

Too many organizations start with technology. They chase tools, trends, and buzzwords before they’ve clearly defined the problems they’re trying to solve. That’s backward.

Here’s how we believe you should think about AI:

Start With the Problem, Not the Tool

Don’t start by asking, “What can AI do for us?” Start by asking, “What problems are we trying to solve?” Every Thursday morning at 9am, there is an open meeting that anyone from the Matrix Group staff can attend. At first, we focused on AI learning, but we have shifted to talking about:

• Where are the inefficiencies in our operations?
• What repetitive tasks eat up staff time?
• Where are members, customers, or employees frustrated by friction in their experience?
• What tools or processes need re-engineering?

Then, we solve! 

I highly recommend holding regular meetings like this, where you discuss pain points, inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Once you’ve identified the pain points, prioritize them. Make a list of the top five challenges you need to address this year. Then, and only then, start exploring how to optimize and automate.

AI Might Be the Solution—or It Might Not

AI is powerful, but it’s not magic. Sometimes the solution involves AI. But sometimes the solution is a better database search, a better process for collecting data, better processes, new integrations, or clearer communication.

Be open and curious about what’s possible with AI, but stay grounded in your goals. The right question isn’t, “How can we use AI?” It’s, “How can we work smarter, faster, and better?”

And don’t forget to ask your vendors what they’re doing with AI. Many are already building AI into their systems — CRMs, AMSs, CMSs, and marketing tools — so you may already have AI capabilities available to you that solve some of your pain points.

Successful AI Adoption Is More Than Tools

Even if AI is part of the solution, success depends on people and process just as much as, if not more than, the technology at play. Successful AI adoption requires:

• Executive buy-in. Leaders need to be curious about AI, understand what it can do, and use it themselves.
• Process ownership. Who owns innovation in your organization? Who will manage these projects and ensure they actually move forward?
• Ongoing support. AI isn’t “set it and forget it.” You’ll need to maintain, refine, and evolve your solutions over time. 

In my experience, it takes at least six months for a new initiative or process to stick. If you lose focus after just a few months, you’ll be amazed by how quickly your organization drifts back to the old way of doing things. Keep following up, stay curious, and insist on ongoing tweaks and adjustments to the execution plan.

The Bottom Line

AI is an incredible tool, but it’s not a strategy. Your business strategy needs to come first.

When you start with your goals, your pain points, and your priorities, you’ll identify the right opportunities to automate, streamline, and enhance what you already do best.

And when AI supports that strategy rather than driving it, you’ll see real results.

The post You Don’t Need an AI Strategy — You Need a Business Strategy Supported By AI appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Last month, Kevin Ordonez and I presented at .orgCommunity’s Solutions Day in Schaumburg, IL. Our session was focused on the AI journeys of associations. We asked attendees—mostly association CEOs, CIOs, and COOs—a series of questions about how their organizations are approaching AI.

One statistic really stuck out: only 57% of respondents said their organization has an AI policy.

Only 57%! That means that, for more than half of all associations in the room, it’s the wild west when it comes to staff usage of AI tools.

And, believe me, your staff are using AI. Whether it’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Grammarly, Canva, or one of a hundred other tools, your team is tapping into artificial intelligence to write, summarize, code, design, and more, whether or not you have an AI policy in place.

So, Why Is an AI Policy Critical?

1. Your Staff Are Already Using AI

AI use is already happening in your organization, with or without your knowledge. Without a policy, that usage is likely unmonitored and inconsistent. Worse, it’s happening without any constraints or ethical guardrails.

2. A Policy Sets Guardrails for Responsible Use

At Matrix Group, we have a clear rule: confidential data must not be used with AI tools unless explicitly approved. This includes staff, member, and client data.

An AI policy outlines which tools can be used, how they should be used, and what’s off-limits, especially when it comes to security, confidentiality, and compliance.

3. It Reinforces Accountability

AI tools are just that—tools. They can assist, accelerate, and even inspire, but at the end of the day we are still responsible for the final outputs. Whether it’s a blog post, a report, a financial analysis, or even code, the person using the tool must own the final result, and an AI policy can help keep your staff accountable.

4. It Encourages a Healthy Culture of Innovation

When staff know that leadership supports smart AI adoption, and has established boundaries for how to use it, they’re more likely to experiment in meaningful, responsible ways. A policy encourages discussion and learning, instead of shadow use of AI.

What Should Be in a Basic AI Policy?

An AI policy doesn’t have to be long, or perfect, to be effective. Even having a simple, one-page policy can make a big difference for your association. If you don’t have one, make one FAST that at least states:

• No confidential data to be used in AI tools, unless specifically authorized.
• Staff must take responsibility for the accuracy, legality, and appropriateness of all AI-generated content.

Once you have a basic AI policy approved and in place, you can work on expanding it. Here are a few areas to consider:  

• Responsible Use: What can AI be used for? What can’t it be used for?
• Approved Tools: Which AI platforms are sanctioned by your organization, and why?
• Confidential Data Protocols: How should employees request permission to use AI tools with sensitive data?
• Storage and Retention: Where will AI-generated outputs be stored? Are records policies for AI work the same as human-generated work? Or are they different?
• Meeting Use: Is it okay to use AI notetakers in staff or board meetings? What about client meetings?
• Ethical Standards: What does “ethical AI use” look like in your profession or industry?

Don’t wait for a crisis or data leak to spark this conversation in your organization.

Instead, start simple. Invite your team to discuss the tools they’re using, learn from their experiments, and then use that knowledge to build an AI policy that protects your organization and supports innovation.

Does your organization have an AI policy? If so, what does it cover? If not, what’s holding you back?

The post Why Every Association Needs an AI Policy appeared first on Matrix Group International.

AI tools like Canva and ChatGPT promise fast, DIY website creation, but are they good enough for organizations with complex needs? This post explores what AI can (and can’t) do when it comes to website design, development, and content. From the convenience of AI-generated layouts to the irreplaceable value of human expertise, discover when AI might be “good enough” and when it’s just not the right fit.

I recently saw an ad about how Canva can create a website with AI minutes. Canva allows customers to select a template, create images, and have AI create the content.

I am a big Canva fan, so I got curious. Is this really possible? I went to Canva.com and decided to try and create a website for the book I’m writing about associations. Canva has some impressive options, but let me tell you, I still didn’t have a website after 45 minutes. Why? Because the choices were too overwhelming, I couldn’t find something that looked unique enough for my taste and I don’t know the Canva controls enough to create something that matches my personal brand or the Matrix Group brand.

What about someone who IS really good at Canva? Could they create a website in minutes? Maybe not minutes, but maybe a few hours? Today, the answer is probably yes.

BUT, will it be any good? 

Today, the answer might be, it depends. It’s possible that AI can create a website for you or your organization that is good enough. But here are some things to think about:

AI Makes It Easier for the DIYer To Create a Website

DIY (do it yourself) tools have always been great options for people and organizations that know exactly what they want. I used blogger.com to create a website for my personal podcast, KDramaChat.com. Is it amazing and unique? No, but it’s good enough. We’ve helped clients select a pre-built theme in WordPress for a conference and with a little setup, they were off to the races!

But what if you need something more than a simple blog site or one-pager about something you’re fighting in Congress? Or a website that represents your entire organization, its values, its initiatives, and its impact?

When It Comes to Website Redesigns, the Process Is Often THE Thing

In my experience, our clients come to us because they have a vision or an inkling of what they want, but they don’t know how to get there.

Often, a website redesign is a proxy for a conversation about who or what the organization wishes to become. So we use tools like interviews, analytics, mood boards, wireframes and design to help clients explore and ultimately decide what their end goal actually looks like. And many times, the conversations about what the website should look like, what content should get priority, and what the website should look like, have to be moderated by people who know how to achieve agreement between people of differing opinions. (My Project Managers excel at this.)

Creating a Unique Brand Takes Time and Expertise

I’m more and more impressed by what AI can do with images, videos and logos these days. BUT, more often than not, what AI creates needs to be massaged to make it better, to give the output authenticity, to make the designs have depth and personality.

THIS depth and personality comes from skilled designers. At least for now, nothing beats the experience and eye of someone trained in design and branding. My designers absolutely use AI tools but they don’t rely on them exclusively. Sometimes they just need a little inspiration, sometimes AI gives them a base they can tweak into something fabulous, and sometimes they have to just do the work entirely on their own.

AI Can Certainly Help Build a Website

My front-end and back-end developers are increasingly using AI code generators to help them build out website functionality. Whether it’s a custom post type, a directory, or an integration with a membership database, the code generators have come a long way. We’ve seen great productivity gains in this area. The catch here is that we’ve had to train the code generators on OUR coding standards and our code repository, AND every developer is still responsible for reviewing their work and having others test it.

AI-Generated Content Can Be Flowery or Soulless

We joke at Matrix Group that we can often tell when content is AI-generated. AI loves to embark on things, or delve into things. Yeesh. Who talks or writes like that? I also find that AI content is often full of extraneous adjectives. The content might sound good, but it’s sometimes off brand, or way too flowery for my taste. Even worse, those adjectives can get us in trouble because they just aren’t true.

Again, don’t get me wrong. I use AI tools for brainstorming and drafting, but what Gemini or chatGPT generates is never good enough, not for a writer like me, and, I suspect, not for my discerning and extremely professional clients. 

By the way, I tried really hard to get AI to draft this blog post and it just couldn’t do it. I’ve had luck with other topics, but even when I provided detailed prompts and guidance, the end result sounded off. I guess some topics are still too nuanced for AI.

So, Should AI Create Your Next Website?

I don’t think so, and I hope not. I think we still need trained and experienced professionals to develop the strategy, create the design, build the site, and write the content that will compel people to read more, join, register, purchase, or otherwise engage. 

AI is a great companion for creating the designs, programs and content that make up our websites today, but we should still be the leaders of these web development journeys.

The post Can AI Create Your Website? appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Summary: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the strategy of structuring your content so it becomes the direct answer to specific questions people ask through Google and voice assistants like Siri or Alexa. It builds on strong SEO practices and helps your content show up when there’s only room for one answer. For associations, AEO is a powerful way to get your expertise in front of the right people—especially as zero-click searches and AI-generated summaries become the norm. This post breaks down what AEO is, how it’s different from SEO, and how to start optimizing your content today.

How we search, and how we get our answers, has fundamentally changed in the last few years. Heck, even in the last few months, thanks to Google’s AI Overviews. 

We’ve all been trained to stop typing vague keyword combos and start asking real, specific questions into our favorite search engine. For example, instead of searching for “nursing license CE requirements,” you’re more likely to type (or say): “How many CE credits do you need to renew your nursing license in Virginia?” or “What are the continuing ed requirements for an RN in VA?”

And what happens when you do that?

Before late 2024, you’d see a list of links: sponsored ones first, followed by organic results. Now, more often than not, you’re served a single answer right at the top. Sometimes, the answer is just a snippet, sometimes it’s an AI-generated summary, sometimes it’s read out loud by a smart speaker while you’re elbow-deep in dinner prep.

And most of us? We take the answer and move on. That’s why, by the end of 2024, nearly 60% of searches were zero-click, meaning people got what they needed without ever clicking through. And that’s after AI Overviews had only been fully rolled out for a few months!

So what can you do to stay visible and relevant in this new, zero-click world? That’s where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) comes in.

What is AEO? 

Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, is the practice of structuring and optimizing your content so it becomes the answer when someone asks a question in a search engine like Google or to voice assistants like Siri or Alexa.

Unlike traditional SEO, which aims to get you onto page one of search results, AEO helps you land the single, direct answer that shows up first, whether it’s a featured snippet, an AI Overview, or a voice assistant reading it aloud.

In short, AEO is what helps you show up as THE answer, or the top answer to a user’s query.

Does AEO Replace SEO?

Not at all. Following SEO best practices is still incredibly important; search engines haven’t gone away, the results are just shifting. Search engines still rely on the same solid foundation you’ve (hopefully) been building all along: a fast, well-structured website, relevant backlinks, and high-quality content that’s written by people who know what they’re talking about. Google’s E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is still the gold standard for what “good” content looks like.

AEO adds a new layer to SEO. It compliments and enhances the good work you’ve been doing for SEO, with an added focus of helping AI-powered tools pull the right answers from your content. This means writing clearly, anticipating questions, and structuring and organizing content in a way that makes sense to both humans and machines. 

Think of it this way: SEO gets you invited to the party; AEO hands you the microphone.

How Do You Optimize Content for Answer Engines?

Good news: this doesn’t require starting from scratch or mastering some new technical magic. AEO is really about adjusting how you structure and present the content you already have, so it works for real people and the machines scanning for answers. 

• Start with real questions. Your members aren’t typing in vague phrases. They’re asking complete, specific questions, so your content should reflect that. Use tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, or even the “People Also Ask” section in search results to find the actual queries people are using.
• Match those queries in your headings. Use those natural-language queries as your H2s and H3s, just like the subheadings in this post. It helps search engines and AI tools understand what you’re answering, and it makes your content easier to scan.
• Lead with the answer. Give the short, direct response first, ideally at the top of the page and within the first sentence or two under each question. Think of it as the takeaway upfront. Then, once you’ve answered it clearly, go ahead and expand with context and details.
• Add FAQs to high-impact pages. Pages like membership, certification, and events are where your members have questions and are looking for answers. Adding a short FAQ section at the bottom is a great way to surface that info in an answer-friendly format.
• Use schema markup. This step may require help from your web team, but it’s worth it. Schema helps search engines understand your content structure – especially FAQs, definitions, and how-to content – and makes it more likely you’ll show up in AI Overviews and voice results.
• Think about how you write and structure your content. Use natural, conversational language, break up content into short paragraphs, bullet points, or numbered steps where appropriate, and always answer before you elaborate.
• Surface your authority. Associations have deep, authoritative content that’s often buried in PDFs or behind logins, and AI can’t access that. Creating public-facing landing pages that summarize key insights and link to your gated resources is a great way to give search engines and AI models content they can index and cite without feeding your precious, protected content to the LLMs. 

Why AEO Matters for Associations Right Now

Answer Engine Optimization isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a response to how real people are searching today, and how AI is changing the way content gets found, surfaced, and quoted.

For associations, it’s a huge opportunity. You already have the expertise, the credibility, and the authoritative content. AEO helps you make that knowledge more accessible – not just to search engines, but to the people asking specific, timely questions about your industry. 

This is your chance to take what you already do well – education, advocacy, standards, guidance – and position your organization as THE authority in search and AI results. 

Want to learn more about AEO and get your team up to speed? Matrix Group offers an AEO + GEO training tailored specifically for associations. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how this shift impacts your content strategy and exactly how to adapt your existing content to help you show up in voice and AI-driven search results.

Get in touch to learn more and schedule a training! 

The post What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?  appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Summary

What are the best association management systems for small and medium trade associations in 2025? The top AMS platforms for small and medium trade associations in 2025 include MatrixMaxx, MemberClicks, Novi AMS, GrowthZone, Cobalt, Wild Apricot, and StarChapter. These systems are built to support organization-based memberships, complex dues structures, company directories, industry-specific data, and advocacy tools. When choosing an AMS, trade associations should prioritize a company-centric data model, integration flexibility, scalability, and strong vendor support. This guide outlines key features to look for and highlights platforms that align well with trade association needs and budgets.

Choosing the right association management system (AMS) is a critical decision for any organization, but it’s especially important for trade associations, where organizational membership structures and complex industry data requirements set them apart from other types of associations.

Many AMS platforms position themselves as “all-in-one” solutions, capable of serving both professional societies and trade associations. And while it’s true that most systems offer similar core functionality like membership management, event registration, dues billing, etc., their underlying data structures and feature priorities often reveal their original design intent.

Professional societies typically focus on individual members, their professional development, certifications, job boards, and academic resources. Their data models are optimized for tracking individual qualifications, career paths, and educational progress. 

Trade associations, on the other hand, represent companies or organizations within a specific industry. This means tracking company-level information, product data, legislative issues, and potentially more complex, tiered membership structures where a company is the primary member, and individuals within that company are secondary contacts.

Here’s a breakdown of what to look for in an AMS built specifically for a small to medium trade association, and some systems that tend to cater better to these unique needs:

Key AMS Features for TRADE Associations:

When evaluating an AMS, a trade association should prioritize systems that handle the following:

• Organization-Centric Data Model: This is paramount. The system should naturally handle “company” or “organization” as the primary member type, with individuals linked to those organizations. This means:
  • Company Profiles: Robust fields for company size, industry sector, products/services, revenue, and other industry-specific data.
  • Hierarchical Relationships: Easily define parent-child relationships between companies, or track multiple locations for a single member company.
  • Contact Management within Organizations: Associate multiple contacts with a single member company, each with their own roles and permissions, and track interactions at both the company and individual level.
  • Dues based on company attributes: The ability to set dues based on company size, revenue, number of employees, or other industry-specific metrics.
  • Organizational vs. Individual Members: Can you easily track and report on companies as your primary members, and then individuals associated with those companies, often serving in specific roles (e.g., primary contact) with your organization?
• Industry Data & Statistics Management
  • Customizable Data Fields: Can you add fields specific to your industry (e.g., types of machinery, materials produced, regulatory compliance status)?
  • Survey Tools to collect and report on industry data
• B2B Networking & Directory
  • Enhanced Company Directories: More than just contact info; searchable directories that highlight company services, products, and certifications.
  • Supplier/Buyer Matching: Tools to help member companies connect with each other for business opportunities.
• Meeting/Conference, Exhibitor and Sponsorship Management: Tradeshows and sponsorship opportunities are often critical revenue streams and engagement points for trade associations. Look for systems that handle:
  • Strong Meeting Registration tools offering validated member discounts based on company affiliation.  Can you offer group or bundled registration functionality? (Often, a coordinator is the one registering conference attendees, not the attendees themselves!)
  • Booth Sales & Management: Track booth assignments, payments, and exhibitor details.
  • Sponsorship Tiers: Manage various sponsorship levels and associated benefits.
• Product/Service Tracking (beyond just events/dues): If your trade association offers specific products, publications, or services relevant to the industry, the AMS should handle this.
• Advocacy Tools: Trade associations often have a strong advocacy arm. Look for a system that offers some level of support in this area, and/or can integrate with the various specialized systems available.
  

By focusing on these trade association-specific needs, you can select an AMS that truly supports your mission and helps your member companies thrive.

Key AMS Features for SMALL Associations:

Before diving into the top contenders, it’s crucial for small to medium trade associations to identify their specific needs and priorities. Here’s what to consider:

• Core Functionality: At a minimum, your AMS should offer a foundational breadth of tools, particularly for membership, meetings, and basic commerce and communication.
• Ease of Use: For smaller teams, an intuitive interface and user-friendly design are critical. You want a system that staff can quickly learn and adopt without extensive training.
• Scalability: While you might be a small association now, you’ll want an AMS that can grow with you. Look for modular add-ons, or the ability to handle an increasing number of members and activities.
• Integration Friendly: In today’s interconnected digital world, no single system does everything perfectly. Look for an AMS with a robust and flexible API (Application Programming Interface). This allows for seamless integration with “best-of-breed” solutions for website content management, marketing automation, online communities, learning management systems (LMS), and other critical tools your association may need. 
• Affordability: Budget is always a key factor. Consider not just the initial cost but also ongoing licensing and upgrade fees. Will the fees change if you add a staff member? If the AMS is upgraded will you need to pay to bring your customizations along with the upgrade, or is it included in your basic licensing.
• Cloud-Based Accessibility: A cloud-based AMS offers flexibility, allowing your team to access data and manage operations from anywhere, anytime. This is vitally important for distributed teams and remote work.
• True Partnership: Small organizations rely on vendors who really know their business. How do you figure out which software vendors will truly be a partner to you and your organization? Look for a team who gets to know you and stays with you. Is the implementation team different than the maintenance team? Big yellow flag there. When you make that shift, the new team has no idea if you specialize in apples or electrical wiring, and they won’t take the time to find out.
• Reporting and Analytics: Data-driven decisions are essential. Your AMS should provide a variety of easy reporting options, including 1-click charts and reports, advanced searches, and exports.

Let’s now explore some leading AMS platforms for small and medium trade associations in 2025…

AMS Platforms Built With Small and Medium Trade Associations in Mind

While many AMSs are adaptable, some have a stronger heritage or direct focus on the unique needs of smaller trade associations. Here are some association management systems that generally cater well to trade associations and are budget-friendly for small to medium organizations. It’s important to request demos and specifically ask how they handle company-centric and industry data for your specific trade association.

MatrixMaxx

MatrixMaxx was one of the first natively web-based association management systems. MatrixMaxx is often cited for its strong focus on a company-centric data model, which is fundamental for trade associations, as well as the product’s breadth of functional modules, including meetings, commerce, sponsorship, donations, surveys, and advocacy. It provides robust capabilities for managing organizations as primary members, allowing for detailed tracking of company information, multiple contacts within each company, and complex membership structures that often exist in trade associations. The system’s flexible API ensures it can connect with specialized marketing, community, and advocacy platforms to build out a comprehensive ecosystem for industry engagement. 

As part of the software division of Matrix Group International, MatrixMaxx offers the somewhat unique feature of being able to partner with its custom services division to provide custom applications and integrations as part of their soup-to-nuts solution.  

MemberClicks

MemberClicks (by Personify) specifically offers a solution called “MC Trade” which is tailored for organization-based member types. It is designed to handle complex administrative tasks with approachable financial management and automation tools. Its strength lies in managing company-level data and supporting the unique workflows often found in trade associations, including potentially more involved invoicing and financial relationships tied to member companies. 

Novi AMS

Novi AMS was built from the ground up with trade associations in mind, especially those heavily utilizing QuickBooks for accounting. Novi’s data structure natively handles organizational memberships, allowing for detailed company profiles and streamlined management of individual contacts within those companies. Their focus on the specific financial workflows of trade associations (e.g., industry-specific invoicing) and a commitment to understanding this niche makes them a strong contender. 

GrowthZone

GrowthZone is widely adopted by chambers of commerce and trade associations. While it serves a broader market that just associations, its features for managing business relationships, member companies, and associated individuals are strong. Its marketing automation capabilities can be particularly useful for B2B outreach and industry-specific communication. The modular nature and focus on membership growth align well with trade association goals, and its API allows for extension into advocacy and industry data management systems.

Cobalt

Cobalt focuses on CRM-based AMS solutions, and their “Engagement Dynamics” platform is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365. This makes it well-suited for trade associations that need to manage complex relationships at the organizational level, track detailed company data, and integrate deeply with other Microsoft business systems. Their emphasis on a purpose-built CRM-based AMS indicates a strong understanding of how to manage relationships from a business perspective.

Wild Apricot

Best known for its affordability, Wild Apricot was traditionally focused on individual-based memberships typical of smaller professional societies and clubs. However, it has evolved to better handle “organization” member types. Custom fields can be configured to manage small trade associations, too. Its API becomes particularly important here, allowing trade associations to integrate with more specialized systems for complex industry data, advocacy, or B2B community features that might not be as natively robust in Wild Apricot’s core offering. For smaller trade associations just starting out, it can be a good entry point if budget is a primary concern, provided they plan to leverage integrations for deeper industry-specific functionality.

StarChapter

StarChapter stands out for its integrated approach, covering event planning, membership databases, and website management specifically for local chapters. StarChapter offers built-in website management and content tools, providing a cohesive online presence for chapters and ensuring consistent branding and functionality across the organization. Its flexible API allows chapters to extend functionality by connecting with external marketing systems, specialized community platforms, or advanced learning management systems, tailoring their digital ecosystem.

Finding the Best AMS for YOUR Trade Association

Finding the right AMS is not about chasing the most features or the flashiest interface; it’s about choosing a system that aligns with the way your trade association operates. Start by mapping your core processes, identifying your data priorities, and asking the right questions during demos. With the right fit, your AMS won’t just support your day-to-day operations, it will strengthen the value you deliver to your member companies and the industry you serve.

Whether you’re upgrading from spreadsheets or switching from an individual-focused AMS, the platforms listed above provide strong options tailored to the distinct needs of small and medium trade associations in 2025. Be sure to explore each one thoroughly, and choose the partner that understands your structure, your mission, and your members.

The post Seven Top Association Management Systems for Small and Medium Trade Associations in 2025 appeared first on Matrix Group International.

Every association CEO today needs to think like a Tech CEO. Technology is no longer just backend support — it’s central to strategy, growth, and member satisfaction. This blog post explains why tech leadership matters and what CEOs should do to lead with confidence.

Over the past couple of years of hosting my Associations Thrive podcast, I’ve interviewed well over a hundred association and nonprofit CEOs about what they’re doing to help their organizations thrive. The conversations are inspiring, filled with examples of strategic initiatives, membership growth, innovative partnerships, and new revenue streams.

And yet, there’s one topic that rarely comes up unless there’s a problem: technology.

CEOs eagerly share how they’re redesigning governance, launching new education products, or revamping conferences. But when it comes to tech, I mostly hear about it when systems are broken, outdated, or failing. Too often, technology is an afterthought — something only discussed when a crisis forces the issue.

I believe we can, and must, do better. Why? Because technology constrains or powers an organization. Associations with great tech have the data, processes and reports they need to make good decisions and offer members and customers great digital experiences. 

In fact, I believe every association CEO today should be a Tech CEO.

What Does It Mean to Be a Tech CEO?

It doesn’t mean being a tech expert or a coder. It does mean understanding the systems your organization uses and how technology supports your strategy and operations. Here’s what that looks like:

Know Your Tech Ecosystem

• Understand what systems you have: AMS, CMS, LMS, community platform, event platforms, financial systems, marketing automation, etc.
• Know what each system does, what functions it supports, and how it integrates with other systems.
• Be aware of customizations, integrations, and where there are gaps or redundancies.

Connect Technology to Mission and Strategy

• Be able to explain how the AMS powers membership applications, renewals, and engagement tracking.
• Understand how the LMS supports professional development and non-dues revenue.
• Know how your CRM drives marketing efforts and personalized member experiences.

Technology isn’t a separate line item; it’s core to your strategy.

Demand Visibility and Accountability

• Ask your team and your vendors for regular reports on system health, performance, and contributions to organizational goals.
• Request ROI analyses: How much revenue does the AMS support? How many members are using the LMS? Are system investments paying off?
• Monitor system adoption: Are staff using the systems as intended? If not, ask why. Where are the workarounds?

Stay Curious About Pain Points

• Make it safe for staff to share where systems aren’t working well.
• Investigate the pain points: Are manual processes needed because a system isn’t configured properly? Are integrations broken? Are outdated systems creating unnecessary friction?
• Insist that technology issues be identified before they become crises. 
• Conduct a tech debt audit every year: ask every staff member what software they use, what version it’s on, and whether that version is the latest version. If you are not on the latest version, ask why, and then ask what security patches you haven’t been able to apply as a result.

Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement

• Integrate technology reviews into regular staff meetings and Board updates.
• Treat tech improvements like program improvements — constant, iterative, and strategic.
• Create a culture where technology is seen as a tool for innovation, not just overhead.
• Insist on the mindset that tech empowers the organization, so how are staff using tech to save time, save money, generate revenue, delight members?

Why This Mindset Matters

When technology is neglected, it becomes a constraint — slowing down operations, frustrating members, and draining resources. The Momentive 2024 Association Trends Survey found that technology adoption drives membership and loyalty. “Members who view their organization as an early adopter are 81% more satisfied, 74% are promoters, and 53% feel more connected.”

Wow, just wow! So, ask yourself, does your staff see your organization as an early adopter of technology, or do they complain that your tech is old and busted. If they think the latter, put on your tech CEO hat and take action. Because when technology is managed as a strategic asset, it has an amazing impact on membership, revenue, staff morale, and so much more.

If you’re an association or nonprofit CEO, how are YOU serving as a tech leader? Let’s start a conversation. I’d love to hear how you’re making technology a core part of your leadership strategy.

The post Why Every Association CEO Must Be a Tech CEO appeared first on Matrix Group International.