Keys to Building a Thriving Online Community
Today, almost every organization wants to build an online community, but few demonstrate the knowledge and commitment required to make such communities prosper. Anyone can start a blog, create a Facebook page, or send a tweet. But many organizations find themselves talking into a vacuum, where few, if any users comment, post content, or otherwise interact with their brands. So how can your organization create an online community in which people find real value?
Like any real community, virtual communities are defined by the actions, relationships, and personalities of their members. Building a thriving community begins with understanding the social dynamics of your group and the roles that different members play. Online communities generally follow the 1:9:90 rule. One percent of your community will be Influencers, 9% will be Engagers or active users, and 90% will be Lurkers or passive users. Today we’ll take a look at theses 3 key roles, which shape your community.
The Influencers. The Influencers are the power users in your online community. This 1% posts original content, starts discussions, and acts as evangelists for your brand or cause. The first step to growing your online community is to nurture your brand’s relationships with the Influencers. Send them personal e-mails thanking them for their contributions or visit their blogs and leave comments. This deepens the relationships and creates a dynamic more similar to relationships people have in “real life.” Consumer brands and B2B companies can also reward Influencers by offering them discounts, or perks, such as advanced notice about new products or priority shipping on orders. Cause-based organizations can reward their power users with special badges or titles (Digital Volunteer, Official Fundraiser), suggests Richard Millington, Online Community Manager for the United Nations Refugee Agency and owner of FeverBee, a blog devoted to the topic of building virtual communities. By rewarding your community’s influencers you will keep them engaged and coming back, making your community a more dynamic place and keeping content fresh.
The Engagers.The Engagers are the moderate users in your online community, making up about 9% of users. They comment on your blog posts, reply to your tweets, and share interesting content, but they do not initiate discussions or post original content. Engagers contribute to the hustle and bustle of your community and offer feedback to your company and to the community’s Influencers. Like Influencers, Engagers need to know that their contributions are appreciated and need to be encouraged to contribute more. New York based frozen dessert chain, Tasti-D-Lite has done an excellent job rewarding Engagers and turning them into more active members with a social media based loyalty program. Tasti-D-Lite customers can sign-up to have their Twitter and Foursquare accounts updated each time their TreatCards are swiped in-store. For doing so, they receive additional points each time they use their cards, redeemable for frozen treats. By making it easy for Engagers to participate in your community, you can create a busier, more interesting online place.
The Lurkers.The Lurkers make up an astounding 90% of your community. They read your blog, are fans on Facebook, and read forums on LinkedIn, without leaving comments or otherwise interacting with your brand. In order to build stronger relationships and convert Lurkers into Engagers, Millington says organizations should welcome new members to the group and provide them with easy ways to participate, such as taking a short poll. While some Lurkers will naturally begin to contribute over time, your online community will likely always have a high percentage of non-contributors. Be sure that you don’t underestimate this group’s value. A new study by PostRelease indicates that 47% of those who read, but do not contribute to online forums help friends and family to make purchasing decisions and 35% share advice offline based on information they read in online communities. While these numbers fall below the percentage of content creators who do these things (79% and 63% respectively), they add up to a larger amount of people and have the opportunity to impact your business. Whether you’re a business looking for customers to recommend your product or a non-profit looking for someone to champion your cause, you can’t afford to take this large group for granted. Keep them interested by making sure your content is fresh and your community is welcoming.
Whether you choose to grow your brand’s online community through social networking sites or by building your own, the community’s success will ultimately be a result of the interactions and relationships of the users. By segmenting and catering to specific user types, you can build stronger relationships, increasing the quality and quantity of interactions within your community. As a result, your community will hopefully take on a life of its own at some point. As this happens, don’t forget to moderate your community and consider how your community is helping your organization achieve its goals. After all, your organization is ultimately the leader of your online community. Successful virtual communities are structured similarly to real ones, requiring strong leadership and vision to take them in the right direction.
 Back to News
|
