Why You Should Join Professional Associations

Professional associations can be a huge help to your personal development and your company

Things are going well for your company; you’re getting clients and making money. But have you started networking?

Are you connecting with others in your industry? If not, your company might be stagnating, and you don’t even know it.

Why? If you’re not networking, you’re not building relationships with others in your field, which increases your risk of falling behind on the latest trends and new techniques. Not networking also limits the avenues in which you can improve yourself.

However, there’s a way to fix this: Join professional organizations. 

Becoming a member of professional associations has several large benefits for you and your company. These include:

1. Networking with people in your industry, both nationally and locally, can lead to fruitful collaborations with other professionals.
2. Building long-lasting relationships with people in your industry
3.  Finding new employees
4.  Learning more about your industry through presentations and events, such as webinars and other educational resources
5. Attending conferences that’ll help you learn and network with fellow professionals

Joining professional associations is clearly beneficial. But what kinds of groups can you join? No matter where you are, there are several options.

1. Local chambers of commerce
2. Professional organization chapters, such as the American Marketing Organization
3. Students can join special industry and career organizations, such as the Public Relations Student Society of America.
4. Organizations related to your industry; even niche industries like urgent care facilities have professional organizations to network with fellow pros.
5. Associations for industries your clients are in.

Being a hermit in your industry means you’re not getting as much out of it as you should be. By joining a professional association, you can connect with fellow peers, create lasting relationships, learn more about your industry, and find potential new employees for your company. 

The right professional associations can make a huge difference for you and your company’s growth and development.

If you’re in the PR industry and would like to find some professional associations to join, contact us! We’ll be happy to point you towards relevant groups.

Clients love Jacob’s speed. Jacob is an inbound marketing-certified webmaster. He earned an integrated communications degree from Florida State College at Jacksonville. Jacob joined Axia PR as an intern in August 2015 and earned his way into a critical role at our PR agency.