Top 5 Ways to Build a Community
Aug 29, 2009 Community Management, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Social Media
I keep promising myself that this is the week that I will write the next great post on Megoagain.com. And, instead I get sucked into an episode of True Blood, Weeds or Dexter (I am still catching up on Weeds and Dexter!) or I spend my evening…ahem…working. Being a Community Manager is a job that doesn’t end at 5pm. The community doesn’t stop because you are enjoying the long weekend. And, to be honest I get kind of sucked into visiting our Twitter page, and our forum just to see what is going on and if I have missed anything of great interest.
But here is a quick post with the top 5 ways to build a community I have discovered in the last 6 months as a Community Manager:
1. Differentiate
Are there other communities that cater to your audience? How do you differentiate? If you run a branded community the differentiating factor may just be the ability to offer the “inside scoop” or a direct connection to employees.
2. Empower and reward users for their hard work
Super users work hard, in some cases they spend more time on the community than the Community Manager. Check your metrics to see who are most valuable members and reward them – with verbal thanks, with kudos, a special private board, thank you gifts, share special news or ask for their help and feedback.
3. Take it offline
In this role, and in my past role as Marketing Manager at another company I have had the opportunity to take my community “offline”. This is a great opportunity to gather feedback, really get the know the people that make up your community, and reward the users as well.
4. Be active
Participate as much as you want the community to participate. Set the tone. Create content (blogs, posts and more) and start discussions with your members. Encourage conversation and engage with your super users and newbies! Even a “welcome” to the community can be the reason a user comes back again.
5. Stand Back
Sometimes the job of the Community Manager and other employees is to stand back and let the community take care of it. If the community manager is constantly responding to posts – what is the role of the community members?
I know I said Top 5…but this one is really important.
6. A community is never “done”
This is likely the reason I spend many evenings “working”! A community is a work in progress and a Community Manager must constantly be looking for ways to engage, participate, build and integrate the community into the business or other customer touch points.
Other great articles you should read by brilliant community gurus:
Everything I Know About Community I Learnt Tending Bar – Jeff Sandquist
How to Kick Start a Community – Jeremiah Owyang
Random posts:
- Community Manager: or the reason I have been MIA
- #GNO with @jessicaknows: A Summary of Twitter’s Girl’s Night Out
- 10 Things You Should Be Doing Now to Prepare for Future Job Search (Web 2.0 Style!)
- Social Networks and the Net Generation at Work
- social is what social does
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Tags: communities, community manager, forums, social media, twitter
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