As the new school year begins, so does a new year for DECA, which means countless opportunities to recruit new members! Recruitment can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be impossible! Here are a few ideas to Get the Edge with your membership.
1. Provide Freebies for Members
Who doesn’t love free things? One of the easiest ways to recruit new members is to provide free food during meetings. Whether it be pizza, ice cream, donuts or coffee, food will get students interested in attending meetings and can get them interested in DECA!
2. Use FOMO to Your Advantage
People don’t like missing out on things, so you can tell them the opportunities they can have in DECA! Do you have an Instagram page or a bulletin board for your chapter? Showcase your members and the activities of your chapter. Are you doing a service project? Post about it and advertise it throughout your school. Are you going to a conference? Advertise it to students in a marketing or business class. Are you looking to do a schoolwide event or project? Talk with the school administration to see how you can advertise the event or project throughout your school. There are so many ways you can use FOMO to recruit members!
3. Bring a Friend
At each meeting, challenge members to bring a friend that may be interested in DECA! Members can tell which friends might be interested in joining DECA, so why not encourage them to invite their friends? You could keep track of who brings a friend and give an award to the member who recruits the most members by the end of the year.
4. Participate in an Activity Fair
Does your school have a club or an organization fair to showcase what your school has to offer? If not, get one started at your school! Talk with your school’s administration about hosting a day where the students can explore all of the available opportunities. If your school already has a similar day, make sure your chapter has a booth to showcase DECA. Have your most energetic members present to talk about all the incredible opportunities that students can get through joining DECA. Have a signup sheet with a way to contact prospective members through call, text or email to follow up with these individuals.
5. Use DECA’s Resources or Create Your Own
There are a variety of resources available to promote joining DECA, whether it be the annual membership promotional video or recruitment toolkit. You can also make your own unique content and graphics on sites like Canva. From Instagram posts and animated videos to posters, you can make a variety of eye-catching content to recruit new members!
