For all Millennial and Gen Z peers out there…we’re following along with the oft-overused, though still entertaining “It’s Gonna be May” nod to NSYNC and the era of MTV with the title and intro to this article. We hope that diving into our content survey results from March is as exciting as a TRL show with Carson or your favorite video jockey.  

As Apra’s Content Development Committee (CDC) leaders, we want to thank all members who took the survey and shared thoughtful responses with us to provide a useful snapshot into what you, our Apra members, are seeking in terms of educational programming and content. Although the response pool was relatively small at 50 Apra members, the patterns in the data were consistent enough to point toward several clear priorities that we feel are likely representative of what other members are interested in: more content that is practical, grounded in the day-to-day-work of a variety of institution types and from a diverse group of contributors across a range of experience levels. These points of emphasis align closely with the CDC’s goal to plan, develop and deliver content that aligns with Apra’s strategic plan and supports Apra’s mission.  

Your “Top 10 Countdown” of Survey Takeaways 

In no particular order:  

• Webinars are the overwhelming preferred content format, with Connections articles also drawing strong interest. 
• The registration process for webinars can be streamlined, and more promotion of what’s coming up would be helpful to share with teammates and to justify an Apra membership to organizational leaders.  
• 42% of respondents were unaware of Apra’s “Beyond Prospecting” podcast…so webinars (may have) extinguished the podcast star, in our case.  
• There’s just limited interest in trying out video shorts as a new content type.  
• Of eight topics provided in the survey, respondents are most interested in prospect management techniques and case studies showing how organizations use data (see graph in the Appendix)  
• AI remains relevant, but some are burned out on the topic. When AI is featured, respondents want more thoughtful, credible and ethically grounded programming, rather than content focused on trends that are more general in nature. 
• Some respondents expressed a desire to hear from professionals in the field, rather than sponsors – especially when it comes to webinars.  
• Higher education, healthcare institutions, large teams and small shops – who “need a place too” were among the organizations and team structures respondents want to see highlighted.  
• Featuring emerging and mid-career professionals, not just familiar speakers and experts with long careers in PD, is critically important.  
• We’re pleased that most respondents feel our current volume of content is appropriate – and hope that’s reflective of our broader membership! This suggests to us that we should refine what we produce, rather than simply increasing what’s in our mix. 

What the Results Mean for What’s to Come  

The CDC will rethink our current content offerings, with consideration for more webinars, where possible. The survey results underscored for us that Apra members value depth, substance and clear professional application the most from content offerings. We’ll continue to seek out subject matter experts as presenters, authors and panelists with skills in areas like prospect management techniques, specific tools and resources and ways in which they are using data in practice at their organizations, to move beyond general theory and into applied strategy. Topics like mentoring, hiring and onboarding garnered more modest responses, and are also important areas where we can learn from one another to enhance workflows and solve immediate challenges.  

To put your requests into action, we need YOU, our Apra members and content consumers, to self-identify if you’re interested in contributing, or share the names of anyone in your network who you think would be great at doing so! We especially want to create space for emerging and mid-career practitioners to contribute - not only for representation, but for relevance. If you’re early in your career or new to the prospect development field, you have much to offer, and we want to hear from you about your experiences. The survey results showed us that the value of content is as much about who delivers the content as it is about what the content covers. 

Please reach out to us at any time with any additional topics, contributor ideas and feedback that you may have.
 

With thanks and best wishes,
Jennifer Liarakos, CDC Chair
jliarakos@humaneworld.org 

John Whitney, CDC Vice-Chair
JWhitney@tms-global.org  

 

Appendix of charts referenced