How to Promote Contribution, Connection PDF

8/14/2019 How to Promote Contribution, Connection PDF

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YINKA OLAITOCCO, Michael Sage consultingLagos Nigeria

Websites: www.michaelsage.org

www.yinkaolaito.com

Emails: [email protected] [email protected]

Tel: 234-7029778785

HOW TO PROMOTE CONTRIBUTIONCONNECTION IN BRAND’S ONLINE

COMMUNITY



HOW TO P ROMOTE CONTRIBUTION, CONNECTION I N BRAND’S

ONLINE COMMUNITY

Many brand owners as well as community leaders, wonder why their

online communities do not enjoy active participation. Onlinecommunity like brands needs a lot of emotional interactions to

promote active members’ involvement.

Online community aim must rest on a regular provision, satisfaction of building common interest that endears community member to eachother. Not that alone, it must promote community interaction,

relationship building. Online community that will thrive must share

generously information and experiences that strengthens individualand group cohesiveness. Online community that does something

unique will always build a loyal community that help spread word of

mouth and encourages strong ties. Interestingly another writer has

said that in today internet savvy world, word of mouth is now world of

mouth. Another thought that still appeals to me here is that of chadLevit when he says ‘W hat is clear is that those w ho do some thing

different and create compelling content that is easy to distribute , f ind opportunities w here others find closed doors’.

In my understanding and experience, building a strong community

takes time, dedication, commitment. When it is a corporate communitybuilding one is trying to build, there are features that need to be onthe corporate website that can enhance active participation. Thesefeatures include blogs, chat room, discussion groups etc. For personalwebsite, which is often refers to as blog, there should be plethora

engagement tools like comment sections, sharing tools like Digg,

del.icio.us, RSS among others. These engagement tools promotecontribution, interaction among community members.

The followings are some of the major factors that will promote active

participation, contribution as well as connection among brand’s

community members.



1. Reliability, Truthfulness: This is also

known as dependability and trust of theinformation n the community. More

importantly, this will encourage community to

openly share and connect.

2. Dedication: The dedication of the community

owner, builder will have to be tested. People do notcare how much you know but h ow much you care still

holds water. Sharing and posting once in three months

content will not help active participation. Most highly

populated, active communities have somethingeveryday or at worst thrice a week

3. Value/ benefits: What is the value of the community?

Does the community promote global interaction? Will it

cause a positive change of perspective that can bringpersonal or communal empowerment? Is the content

highly applicable or self serving, ego-promoting?

4. Community Design/ Aesthetic: One other factor that drawspeople to a community aside from content is the brand communityaesthetic, design. Many will revisit the community and comment just

because the brand community design appeal to them. This may serveas a mean of emotional connection for some. Though the number mayseem insignificant but it holds a possibility.

5. Setting right rules: Most active online communities have rules.

They do not promote abusive words, exchange of hot words, and

hatred among community members.

6. Absence of too much technicalities: Most

active communities do not make it mandatory for

members to learn new software before they

canparticipate in discussion, before expressing their

opinions. I have come across few communities

which I really liked but which require that I signunnecessary forms, I normally move away.



7. Making sharing easy process: in today’s 24/7

online word, sharing is power as opposed to

knowledge is power. So any community that does notmake sharing easy may be chasing community

members away without knowing. Ensure the

community has features like RSS, Digg. Facebookcompatibility.

8. Speak the tribe’s language: Is the online community

speaking the tribe’s language? No matter how good a publicspeaker is if he/she does not speak the language his/her

audience understands, the efforts put in are exercise in

futility. Community member needs to be a t home with

proverbs, jargons that the tribe speaks. An exceptionthough is that the use of general language that everyone understands

is necessary in some cases. So find what works for your community.

9. Send customized messages; sending direct,

personalized messages is also helpful in buildingconnection among community members. This gives

a sense of belonging and appreciation especially

when the group is large. It shows that the owner isnot looking at every member as part of the crowd but as a significantindividual who make up the community.

10. Response time: active community that willenjoy members’ participations is not an easy task.Though the dividends outweigh the inputs at long

last; such communities carry huge responsibilities.

That is why such always have dedicated hands or

whereby it is a personal site, the owners always

encourage contributions from known members of the community or accredited hands that he/she can trust. So when

community members require clarifications and further information it

does not take unnecessary long delay to reply.



11. Investment in Brand credibility: To also promote

brand’s contribution, the owner may need to considerinvestment in the online community credulity. Promote,the community, seek relevant accreditation of respectauthorities around. There is also the need to create

greater report with mainstream media so that the

commu nity can be covered whenever issues that relateto the brand’s

niche is being discussion. Everyone loves to be associated with

success. Strong mainstream endorsement for the community byreputable mainstream media can also promote connection and

contributions.

Aside from the above, disposition of community owner, builder to

negative comments may also affect active participation as some maysee the community as intolerant to opposing views.

In all, active community is not a product of overnight success; they

are products of unwavering, relentless commitment to a passionatecause it believes in. I will appreciate your feedback

Author:Yinka Olaito is a Brand, Public Relations expert, Social mediaadvocate, Certified Trainer and speaker .He is the Chief ConsultingOfficer of Michael sage Consulting -www.michaelsage.org, LagosNigeria. Michael sage consulting is a Brand, Digital Public relationsManagement firm. Yinka Olaito is the author of the award winningblog- The Branding Gavel, www.yinkaolaito.com . He can be reached onTel: 234-07029778785, Email: [email protected]

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