Skip to main content

Managing a Toastmaster's Club's Whatsapp Group

 


On April 15, 2014 Early Birds Toastmasters became the first Toastmasters club in Kenya to use a whatsapp group to communicate with its members. Having participated in several other Toastmasters club whatsapp group, I can confidently claim that Early Birds whatsapp group remains the one of the best managed.

With this article, I’d like to delve in what it takes to manage a whatsapp group effectively. Before we embark on that, maybe first we should define well managed. In my view a well-managed whatsapp group for a Toastmasters club should be: relevant in terms of information shared, vibrant in terms of the breadth and frequency of messages, and productive in terms of contributing to the goals of the club.

Relevance

Every whatsapp group when set up has a purpose. For a Toastmasters group this purpose should be either communication about Toastmasters related activities, learning on leadership and communication, or bonding by members within the values of the Toastmasters community or a combination of the three. In addition every member of the group must know and accept to adhere to the purpose before joining. The clearest manifestation of this acceptance is payment of subscription fees. This is why the whatsapp group of Early Birds remains exclusively for paid up members. Any member who fails to renew their membership by the due date is politely but promptly removed from the group.

There is a concern that by removing a member who fails to renew on time works against your membership retention efforts. But my experience has been the opposite, when members realize that the whatsapp group and by extension the club is exclusive to those who commit, then they appreciate its benefits even more and are prompt to renew dues. But think about it this way, would a tenant pay rent if there was no threat of eviction and he could live in the house rent free forever?

Let only those who pay rent live in your Whatsapp house. The value of your property will increase, your paid up tenants will be less crowded and enjoy more value and stay longer.

Whatsapp groups are poor tools for marketing. If you need to communicate to prospective members about upcoming meetings and events, I would suggest you set up a Facebook or twitter page instead and direct them there. Better still call and invite them to a meeting.

Trim your whatsapp group to members only and experience quicker renewals and renewed vibrancy among members.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Young Entrepreneur Who Refused to Look for a Job

A read I thought would be of interest: LITTLE might be known about Imran Khosla, but not so for those who frequent courts or those in the information and communication technology industry. His is a story of a young entrepreneur who has refused to sit and just wait for jobs to come but has decided with the little cash he has to start off his own business that is now giving birth to new ventures beyond what he had imagined. Now in his late twenties, Imran set up his first electronic shop which also sold computer accessories in 2008. “After hearing lots of stories about graduates who have had tormenting search for jobs to no avail, obviously that was not the route I wished to take. I wanted to create my own job, and be my own boss, this was the inspiration that threw me into the world of entrepreneurship, and four years on, I tell you all is well and you cannot believe it I have over ten employees, and whose turnover is running into fortunes now,” Imran says with a cheer. His journ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sine qua non

Reader’s discretion: Strong Language and Violence Paxa  Rainne slams her open palm on the car horn frustrated. Another matatu has overlapped and cut her off just as she was to join the highway. Driving into town from Ngara is still a nightmare, despite a spanking new superhighway. Rainne wonders if her naivety in being polite to other road users is a magnet for this menace. Rainne has been in traffic now for over an hour and has hardly moved ten metres, giving way to dozens of other vehicles but not getting any reciprocation. She wriggles her bare toes, driving shoeless in these conditions is more comfortable.  She takes comfort in that small luxury. The lotion she applied on her feet earlier is keeping them nice and cool. The conductor of the matatu swings wildly from the door as it narrowly misses Rainne’s front bumper. “Siste, huku ni Nairobi, jikakamue”! She glares at him and he returns a lewd look, seemingly excited at the fact that he’s unnerved ...
Post a Comment
Read more

TO MENS REA OR NOT TO MENS REA

  Does excluding mens rea in the Statement of Offence make a charge defective? Rule of Law When a person is accused of an offence, his constitutional right to a fair hearing requires that he should be informed of the charge with sufficient detail to answer it [1] . In order for an accused person to be informed of the charge, first the charge is drawn up and secondly it is stated to him. Drawing the Charge A charge or information is drawn with sufficient detail to answer it if it contains:  a statement of the specific offence or offences with which the accused person is charged; and particulars necessary for giving reasonable information as to the nature of the offence charged [2] . The framing of a charge or information should follow the rules laid down in Section s137(a)(ii)the Criminal Procedure Code which provides: 137(a)(ii) the statement of offence shall describe the offence shortly in ordinary language, avoiding as far as possible the use of ...
Post a Comment
Read more