Slides

Dave: Great to see so many new faces! I used to join all the kickoff meetings, but I don’t anymore, so it's nice to meet you here.

Ashley: Hi, Sue.

Sue: Hi, Ashley.

Dave: We love seeing your faces. Oh, a whole conference room! That's awesome.

Melissa: Hi, Blair! So many familiar faces—this is fun.

Dave: Show of hands—who’s been with PropFuel for less than three months? Five or six—welcome! We do these roundtables monthly, and this is meant to be a discussion, not a webinar. Let’s kick it off! Melissa, Megan, Ashley, are we ready?

Melissa: Sure.

Dave: Almost 50 people! I’m Dave Will, co-founder of PropFuel. I used to meet every new client but now connect after onboarding to hear real feedback. I’ll be reaching out to some of you. Today’s topic is student engagement—Melissa, take it away!

Melissa: Thanks! This roundtable is an open discussion. Last time, attendees chose this topic. If you have ideas for future sessions, drop them in the chat. Today, we’ll cover student engagement, from profile updates to onboarding, involvement, and conversion to full membership. First, what do you hope to gain from this session?

Kristie: New ideas!

Tim: Communicating value.

Melissa: Great! Another challenge we hear is keeping accurate contact info post-graduation. Any pain points?

Dave: Making sure we have a non-student email for graduates.

Melissa: Yes! They stop checking their school emails. Other challenges?

Lisa: Getting them to show up and engage.

Melissa: Right, students don’t want to be talked at. If it's all broadcast emails, they tune out. PropFuel enables back-and-forth engagement. They're also busy—juggling studies, work, and family. Many don’t see long-term value in membership. Another struggle is time—many of you don’t have the bandwidth to engage students. That’s where our student engagement blueprints help. They’re prebuilt and customizable, saving time.

Ashley: Let’s talk about updating student information. How are you currently gathering updated contact details?

Rachel: We email students before graduation, asking them to update their profile.

Lisa: We use a form.

Ashley: Some use PropFuel for this. Oklahoma Society of CPAs does an annual check, asking if students have graduated and updating records accordingly. They also ask for alternate emails—since school emails go unused post-graduation. They had a 22% response rate.

Dave: Automation is key! Clicking a quick response is easier than logging in and updating profiles manually.

Megan: Another great approach is segmenting students for personalized engagement. Do you currently segment them?

Lily: I don’t, but I should. We’ve had a drop in student members—this got me thinking about asking them directly what they need.

Jason: We lump students with all members, but I see the need for a student-specific onboarding.

Kristie: I segmented messaging by member category and identified the top five benefits for each. That made a huge difference in engagement.

Megan: Right! You can also ask students what they need—mentorship, networking, job support—so you can tailor outreach.

Melissa: Washington Society of CPAs built a student onboarding campaign with four touchpoints in the first month and a follow-up at four months. They make it clear: "We’re not surveying you, we’re personalizing your journey." That’s key for engagement.

Kristie: TXCPA’s onboarding runs six to eight months. We introduce benefits, check career plans, and ask about volunteering. Since student membership is free, they often forget they’re members. This keeps them engaged.

Ashley: The American Academy of Pediatrics built a student onboarding campaign in 2022 that still runs today. One great question they ask: "What was lacking in your residency training that you hope to get through AAP membership?" That engagement rate is 38%—huge for students!

Melissa: If you want an easy way to start, PropFuel's student engagement blueprint has nine check-ins ready to go.

Ashley: Let’s discuss student events. Do you host any?

Attendees: Career fairs, networking, CPA exam prep.

Dave: Surprised no one mentioned resume-building. Associations can be a great asset for job seekers.

Ashley: Oklahoma Society of CPAs uses PropFuel for event registration. Instead of "Yes," they ask, "Yes, register me now," and handle the registration for them—reducing friction.

Melissa: Missouri Society of CPAs asks students: "Are you interested in internships? Career fairs? Scholarships?" Asking directly helps them follow up and guide students to opportunities.

Nicole: We invite graduate students to volunteer at our annual conference. They can ask for details before committing. That middle ground really helps.

Melissa: Now, let's talk renewals. What are your best practices for retaining student members?

Megan: The Academy of Audiology ran a student renewal campaign and saw a 93% renewal intention rate.

Melissa: ACGIH struggled to get student members despite offering free memberships. They reached out to university department heads to refer students, resulting in high engagement.

Kristie: TXCPA's student win-back campaign targeted lapsed students. We asked if they knew their membership had expired. If they were still students, we reinstated them. If they hesitated, we asked why. This helped us update records and remove irrelevant contacts. 4% rejoined in the first month, 11% over the year.

Melissa: Instead of just sending renewal reminders, PropFuel helps you engage members in a conversation. If 56% say, "I just didn’t get to it," sometimes all it takes is asking!

Dave: Love the approach! Engagement is all about reducing friction and making interactions simple.

Melissa: Thank you all for the great discussion! If you have follow-up questions or ideas for the next roundtable, let us know. If you’re interested in SMS engagement, PropFuel now supports SMS questions with auto-shortened links. Reach out to your CSM to learn more.

Ashley: Thanks, everyone!

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