If your association is heavily into online marketing, and it still isn't working, perhaps it is time to reconsider your strategy.

After all, for many organizations, creating large amounts of web content is certainly a step up from previous marketing efforts, which may very well have been limited to periodic newsletters. But, as CMI founder and author of Epic Content Marketing Joe Pulizzi recently pointed out, all of the Facebook posts, blogs and tweets in the world may not bring an acceptable level of attention to an association if they are not created strategically.

"Before you start any initiative or look at your current initiatives, you've got to ask yourself why you're doing it, and develop a strategy for how you're going to accomplish that goal," he added.

So why are association executives pursuing online marketing? Is it because of the cost savings? The potential for wider reach? The need to keep up with an increasingly online world? It's important to know the answer because every social network is different, and not all of them are suited to every goal.

For example, Facebook is a great way to build long-term connections among a limited group of followers. Twitter has a wider reach, but tweets can easily get drowned out by the crowd unless posted frequently enough. Blog posts carry the most depth and can deliver long-form messages, but can only be written so often.

At the end of the day, association executives must develop a plan that best utilizes the resources they have and allows them to leverage the greatest online impact.