Building an Online Community
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This document provides guidance on building and managing an online community. It discusses defining a strategy that aligns with organizational goals and audience needs. Key aspects include open communication, trust, and active engagement. The community should focus on its members through sincerity and equal treatment. Metrics should define success and tools should serve constituents. Resources are listed for ongoing learning.
Building an Online Community
- 1. Building and Managing a CommunityJordan Viator, Convio
- 2. An interactive group of people joined together by a common interestWhat is an online community?
- 3. ProfilesDiscussion ThreadsGroups EventsTaggingWidgetsBlogsMultimediaRatingsElements of an Online Community
- 4. Openness and transparencyTrustAn organization that truly listensActive engagementWelcoming new members with open armsBeing open to feedback and responses (yes, even the negative ones)What makes a community thrive?
- 5. What do you want to achieve with your community?What resources do you have to leverage?What is your strategy for the community and how does it fit into your overall communications strategy?Who is your audience and what will THEY get from being a part of your community?How much time are you willing to spend nurturing this?¡°If you build it they will come¡± attitude does not work hereWhere to start: Strategy
- 6. 1. A well-defined audience or tight-knit groupWhy choose to build your own community?
- 7. 2. Sensitive TopicsWhy choose to build your own community?
- 8. 3. Passionate SupportersWhy choose to build your own community?
- 9. Why choose to build your own community?Login4. Specific Functionality InteractivityProfilesTake ActionEvents
- 10. Integration with other online entitiesWebsiteOther social media: Facebook, Twitter, etcEmail campaignsDirect MailIn-person eventsEssentially, every touch point with a constituent is good to help spread the message of your community!Promotion of your community
- 11. Focus on the community membersSincerity is of the utmost importanceMake it about the people participating, not youEngage with communityTreat everyone as an equalHoning in on key skills of:PatienceNetworkingFacilitatingMarketingCommunication!Principles to live by:
- 12. Set expectations about what you can achieve in the community earlyHave a strong understanding of why you want a community in the first place Define your success metricsMake it about your constituents and provide the tools and information most important to themBe genuine and show a humanistic side in all community effortsBe participatory and responsivePractical Tips for Community Management
- 13. Common Knowledge blog http://commonknow.typepad.com/blog/Connection Caf¨¦ blog www.connectioncafe.comThePort Blog http://theport.com/blogCommon Knowledge Resources libraryhttp://commonknow.com/html/resourcesConvio Research www.convio.com/our-researchThePort Resources libraryhttp://theport.com/resourcesResources
Editor's Notes
- #2: Intro of self:Started our new media efforts around 1 ? agoBlog: www.connectioncafe.comNow manage all online presences Convio ¨C online marketing, fundraising and advocacy with Common GroundImportant to tie together all of these aspects when embarking on the creation of a community so that your organization can make the most out of your technology and the experience you provide to your constituents
- #3: -this is not just a socially enabled site like Facebook or Myspace but rather an entire site dedicated to functionality and content on one topicAt the end of the day, a community also helps nonprofits specifically by allowing them to achieve their organizational mission in a number of possible ways:--recruiting new supporters--building awareness around programs--mobilizing activists--possibly even raising funds
- #4: -Differentiates itself from social networks and socially enabled sites by adding an extremely high level of functionality-All of the these allow for a greater level of constituent empowerment by enabling supporters to create their own content, network, share with friends and provide open feedback
- #5: -All these webby buzzwords are key to a thriving community -This is NOT a one-way communication model, but rather the creator of the community may actually have the least interaction in some waysOnline, two-way communications that allows for heightened participation and engagement
- #6: These are some of the key questions your organization should ask when considering a community or planning for launch
- #7: -This is a group that has very specific common interests and understanding about their audience-Everything in the community can cater to this tight-knit group of people who have very specific commonalities and interests that are unique to their organization Other examples might include:An alumni page for a college or university An association/organization ? teachers, real estate agents, musicians Think reserve association, etc.
- #8: -Examples might include Health and religious organizations who want to create a ¡°safe place¡± for their supporters to gather and share information-These are topics that supporters might not be discussing or feel comfortable opening participating in a dialogue in a more public setting
- #9: For groups that have extremely passionate supporters? a community helps provide them with an outlet to discuss, share and help each other ¨C and your organizationFrom this, you can:Help provide useful information and ways they can support your organizationLearn from your most active constituents what¡¯s most important to them and how you can best communicate with them to take action
- #10: Think of all the various elements you can leverage in a social network but added together to create an entire site that allows for maximum interaction/empowerment of your constituents¡.and everything on the site supports you organizational mission and goals!
- #14: Also suggest looking at blogs/sites such as:-NTEN.org/blog-Beth¡¯s blog-Chrisbrogan.com-web-strategist.comThe Social Organization by Rachel Happe-New site: Socialbrite