What specific things do I get for the different membership levels?

As with many of the other aspects of organizing Social Media Club, we are still determining some of these issues and hope to make some final decisions with the contributions of our paid members. The initial promises we can make somewhat confidently include the following benefits:

Open Membership ($0 cost)

• Members and member companies will be able to join our email lists and our social network so that they can connect with others in Social Media Club who have similar interests or needs.
• Access to special information, how to’s, and the shared knowledge of the information created at all the chapter meetings and events we organize. As with most free services, we expect that certain areas of the site will have advertising which will not be a part of paying member’s experience. The details are still to be determined, but we share your perspective in regards to making this truly fair and reasonable as opposed to over the top and intrusive.
• As a member, you also have the opportunity to put a Social Media Club member badge on your Web site or blog that links through to your member profile and a membership affiliate program that provides you with a 3% new member referral commission. There will be unique recognition and ongoing contests around those who recruit the most new members.

Student / Non-Profit Members ($25 yearly)

• In addition to the benefits above, those at this membership level will receive a membership kit with stickers and other schwag (all of which is still being finalized)..
• All members at this level and above will receive discounts to the various events that are organized by Social Media Club or its partner organizations. Admission to Social Media Club Local Conversations is expected to be free, however there may be occasional requests for contributions for refreshments and other costs of organizing the events which we hope to have offset through sponsorship on an ongoing basis.

Professional ($100 yearly)

• In addition to the benefits above, all Professional members will receive a Social Media Club T-Shirt.
• Additional benefits for this membership level and above are being negotiated and actively sought. If you are interested in offering your services to our membership, please join as a Small Business member or above.
• An opportunity to be listed in the Social Media Speakers Bureau and/or listing your books, ebooks or other services in the Social Media Club store.
• Professional members who display their membership badge receive 5% on new member referral commission.

Media, Small Business and Corporate

• These membership levels include a number of Professional Memberships for employee representatives of the company:
  • Small Business ($250) includes three (3) professional memberships
  • Media ($1,000) receives five (5) professional memberships
  • Corporate ($2,499) receives ten (10) memberships
  • Additional memberships can be purchased at a discounted rate. Contact socialmediaclub [at] gmail [dot] com for more details.
• Media, Small Business and Corporate members receive a special listing in our organization directory guide for product and service providers to the Social Media industry.
• These membership levels will have the opportunity to offer promotions or discounts to other members through the Web site (but they will not have the opportunity to spam or abuse our email lists with ads). Offering benefits to other members fits with our philosophy that everyone can improve the commons for everyone.
• Our organization memberships also have the opportunity to sponsor our various events, round tables, workshops, seminars, conferences and unconferences. Only members will be able to sponsor these events - this is another way to support the principle that companies must participate within communities rather than trying to merely sell to them.

Association Affiliation or Informal/Ad-Hoc Group Affiliation

In both of these cases, it is our stated goal to support other organizations that are of interest to our community. Our relationship with the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) is a great example of how organizations with overlapping membership can support each other rather than behaving competitively against each other. While many of the specifics are still up in the air, we are open to any discussion with those organizations who desire a mutually beneficial relationship. Some specific things we have in mind include:

• Cross promoting events
• Co-organizing events
• Sharing speaking opportunities
• Discounts to events
• Discounted memberships

Still have questions, read the FAQ or contact us today. Ready to join? fill out the membership form now.