Building an Online Community

PR Social Media. Brand it Marketing Keep an eye on stats and brand sentiment New Node Create dedicated department? Ask an agency? Facebook Be a great communicator Direct but don't overwhelm community Design Consider usability Where best does it fit in your brand structure? Twitter Social network profile Look for tools to use Be original Come up with fresh ideas Linked In Forums/Groups Track results Make it easy to become a member Create typical user profiles Research constantly Blog Conduct surveys Who are they? Who will be moderating it? Create goals Moderator Discover existing research on the web Q&A platforms What do they need? Which platform is best? Can you offer support to an Answer questions Creation Platform Crowd-source content from community existing Look at current user statistics Share useful links community? Participate Research stats of other communities Videos Research Provide additional information Where are they at the moment? Audience Content Images Photographs It's easier to tap into an existing community than create a Create a brand or personal profile Existing communities Words Infographics A/B test ideas Introduce yourself on private forums and ask permission of the moderator Will you need to seed with content prior to launch? completely new Do you have a unique selling point? Preparation Content plan one Do you have a budget? to post Funding Replicate good ideas and improve on limitations Set up an alert for relevant posts Building a community Brainstorm and expand all ideas Trolls Planning Watchers Ask colleagues/friends/family Make these clear Egos Experience the world as a user not a provider Edit community accordingly Brand supporters Explain decisions to users What do people react best to? Friends Timing Consider the legal side of moderation Contact form Create a set of community rules The competition Identify types of users and their needs Language Dedicated email address Let community report infringements Disrupters Psychology Offer advice and help on the community topics Direct monetising with adverts Changing requirements Support Poll for user insight Don't be so serious New designs? Maintenance Growth Make jokes Entertain Which areas are most popular? Keep it up to date Offine events? Building a community ©Charlotte Clark 2011 Have you got the content balance right? Write instructional content/videos PR involvement Have a worst case scenario plan Inform Useful data Limit damage by being honest and open, admit fault Set up sharing mechanisms Give them only your best content Make sure other staff know what's happening Reward Social networks Competitions Emails Free gifts Encourage community to share Members need benefits over non-members