Higher Logic

💡 Sometimes small updates can lead to BIG improvements in community engagement. That's probably why one of the most popular sessions at Higher Logic's annual Super Forum conference is "45 Ideas in 45 Minutes," which offers a speed-run through ways to optimize your online community strategy and set-up. On a recent episode of The Member Engagement Show podcast, Bettina Fowler, our VP of Customer Success, gave listeners an exclusive walkthrough of the best tips from 45 in 45. Whether you're a Higher Logic customer or not, this episode shares some things worth checking on! Watch the clip for a sneak peek 👇 🎧 And tune into the full episode for more! https://lnkd.in/eFnB3MkE

Losing members = losing revenue 💸 And in THIS economy? That’s the last thing you need. If your renewal emails aren’t pulling their weight, you might be overdue for a refresh. In this quick carousel, we’re sharing 5 high-impact strategies to help you: ✅ Re-engage at-risk members ✅ Improve email performance ✅ Boost renewals (without a huge team) Swipe through 👇

Most community platforms make you choose: easy to use or endlessly customizable. Higher Logic Vanilla’s always aimed to give you both with out-of-the-box flexibility and the power to go deeper when you need it. Now, with Widget Builder, we’re giving dev teams even more creative control without disrupting what already works. You can build fully custom components right inside the platform using React + TypeScript, scoped CSS, and live previews. It includes version control and access to Vanilla’s utils library so you can tap into community metadata, theme variables, and more. And once built, those widgets aren’t locked down either. Community admins can drop them onto pages, tweak layouts and visibility, and stay on-brand without needing to come back to dev for every. little. change. It’s real flexibility for teams that want to build once, configure often. Need to pull in a third-party API? Create a dynamic data block? Design something completely bespoke? You can without plugins or external build pipelines. Let us know if you want a walkthrough!

I LOVED this podcast episode with Rob Wenger, CEO of Higher Logic! This is a must listen. We talked about community, AI, the future of associations in an AI world, how he reinvented himself to develop a CEO mindset from an engineer mindset, and why he came back to Higher Logic. Listen to find out why I compared him with George Lucas, and why he thinks associations will save us from the curse of all AI-generated content. He even debunked a common myth about trade associations and community! There is some serious thought leadership in this episode. Please listen and share! You can find Associations Thrive on all the podcast networks! #associations #associationmanagement #ai #aiadoption #higherlogic #community #associationsthrive

Hats off to the incredible team at Blackbaud for the work behind their soon-to-launch community. We’re proud to be your partner and can’t wait to see what’s next👏

Community engagement doesn’t fall apart all at once. It slips when a question goes unanswered, when a new member joins and hears nothing, when internal teams don’t know what’s happening inside the community. Higher Logic Vanilla’s Automation Rules were built to catch those moments. They let teams create simple, no-code workflows that respond to real activity in the community like assigning roles, flagging posts, tagging content. And soon, they’ll go one step further: → You’ll be able to send custom emails as part of any rule. That means you can: – Nudge a quiet member with a helpful follow-up – Loop in a product owner or CSM when feedback rolls in – Welcome someone to a private group with context Quick demo from Brendan Parm shows how it works 👇

💰More revenue for your association might be right in front of you. Sometimes it's about getting creative and building on what you already do. And your technology platforms give you a great place to start, with things like newsletter and community ads. Swipe through for some thought starters 👇 🔗 And check out our full blog post for more ideas (link in comments). 

We hear a lot about what AI could do. But what does it actually look like in a community manager’s day-to-day? Here’s one great example from our customer Lorena Seco de Herrera Ortega, Senior Community Manager at Advania UK. She was launching a new community with a clear vision for how it should look and feel. Some of that required design customizations that usually call for a developer. Lorena didn’t have one. So she did what many of us might do: she opened ChatGPT. With a few prompts (and some thoughtful back-and-forth), she used it to generate custom styling and coding for things like a landing page for first-time visitors and hover effects. When the results weren’t quite right, she asked follow-up questions. AI helped her troubleshoot just as much as it helped her build. It wasn’t overly technical. It just took some experimentation and a good sense of the experience she wanted to create. If you’re looking for creative uses of AI in community work, her story is a great one. Catch the full conversation with Lorena and host Paul Schneider on The Power of Connection podcast. Link in the comments.

As we keep up with shifting trends and the latest news about AI, we can sometimes forget one of the KEYS to success: 🗝️ Understanding your members and customers. When you know what matters to your audience, it's that much easier to deliver value. Don't underestimate the importance of: 🔸 Monitoring discussions and FAQs in your online community 🔸 Collecting feedback through surveys and focus groups 🔸 Reviewing or collecting industry benchmarks On a recent episode of The Member Engagement Show, Karen Saverino walked through Smithbucklin's findings from their own "Perceptions and the Evolving Role of Associations" report. 🎧 Catch the full episode for more insights! https://lnkd.in/gKifB2YV #AssociationLeadership #MemberEngagement #TheMemberEngagementShow

We’re thrilled to be partnering with Instructure on the next evolution of its community. Launching later this year, the new Instructure Community will run on Higher Logic Vanilla, and it’s shaping up to be something really special. From the beginning, Renee Carney and the #Instructure team came in with a clear goal: create a more intuitive, personalized experience for their global network of educators, admins, and partners. One that makes it easier to find answers, connect with peers, and stay engaged across all the tools they use. With Vanilla, they’re bringing that vision to life through: 🧠 AI-powered search that gets smarter with every question 🏠 Personalized homepages and content tailored to each member 🌐 Unified discovery across Community, Training, and more ✨ Smart nudges that help members stay connected and feel seen We’ve loved working with the Instructure team to build the foundation of what’s coming. We can’t wait to see this launch go live and are proud to support a team that truly puts its community at the center.