White Paper How Businesses Use Social Media and Communities

8/7/2019 White Paper How Businesses Use Social Media and Communities

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1SuccessfullyBuildingCommunitiesforYourBusiness

SuccessfullyBuildingCommunitiesforYour

Business

SomeBasicRulesofThumb

NutsandBolts

YouandYourCommunity

August2009


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Introduction

SocialtechnologieshavechangedtheInternetlandscapefromoneinwhichthecontentisprimarily

providedbyasingleentitytoonewheretheaudienceactivelyparticipatesandcontributestothe

content,in

some

cases

creating

the

content

almost

entirely.

This

means

that

the

mode

of

interaction

haschangedfromaninstrumentalenvironmentwhereconsumerscomelookingforinformation,to

anemotionalenvironmentwhereconsumersdeveloptiestoacommunityanditsmembersasthey

interactwitheachotherinanareathathasbeencreatedforthem.

Previously,editors,publishersandmanagersmadechoicesanddecisionsthatdeterminedwhatcon

tenttheuserswouldget.Inthisnewenvironment,thechoicesanddecisionstheymakeonlyforma

skeletonuponwhichusersbuildthecontent.Sitescanbearchitectedinawaytoencouragecertain

typesofbehavior,andonecandesigntheinteractiontosupportspecifictypesofcontent,butno

longerdoescontrolremaincentralizedfromstarttofinish.Thejobofdesigninganenticingskeleton,

abeacon

that

attracts

users

to

you

and

encourages

them

to

dance

together,

is

critical

to

success.

Ensuringthattheirtunematchesyourownisequallyimportant.

Sohowdoyougoaboutbuildinganonlinecommunitythatwillallowyoutoregaincontroloveryour

messageandinformation,whilesimultaneouslyengagingyourconsumersandkeepthemcoming

back?Webelievethathavingastrategy,propercommunitystructure,andactivepresenceinthe

communitycanhelpyouknowyouraudienceandhelpyouachieveahighreturnonyourinvestment.

Establishingthisrelationshipwithyourconsumerswillbeginafeedbackloopthatbeginswithyour

presenceinthecommunityandendswithloyalcustomers.Turningrelationshipsintocustomers,

feedbackintoinnovations,andknowledgeintomonetization:thisisthecruxofthesocialmedia

process.

Ripple6createsaffinitybasedcommunitiesfocusedongroupsofusersratherthanindividualstocre

ategroupinteractions.Wedrawfromourextendedcommunitybuildingexperienceandrecentsuc

cesseswithFortune500marketersandpublishers(includingProcter&Gamble,Unilever,PostFoods,

GannettCo.andMeredith)toprovideuniqueinsight.Wehavestrategicallydesignedaplatformto

improveuserexperience,incorporatebestpracticesasstandards,anddelivertrueopportunitiesfor

conversationsandconnectionstoflourishinthisnewenvironment.

Thispaperdetailssomeofourkeylearningsaswehavedesignedandimplementedonlinecommuni

ties.We

present

several

rules

of

thumb

for

the

strategic

planning

phase;

some

practical

tips

on

archi

tectinganddesigningasitethatwillfosterasenseofcommunityamongyourmembers;andanum

berofbestpracticesfororganizationslookingtoenter,interactwith,andsuccessfullymanagethe

communityonceitisrunning.


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Somebasicrulesofthumb

Buildingacommunityisnotassimpleasputtingupawebsitewithdis

cussiontopicsandhopingthatpeoplecomeandinteractthere.While

youcaneasilydrivepeopletoyourcommunitythefirsttime,toreally

besuccessful

you

need

to

get

them

to

comeback.Youneedthemto

beengagedwitheachotherandestablishrelationships,whichinturn

leadstotheirengagementwithyou.Thatisthegoal,afterall!Engage

mentstartswiththeconsumer:meetoneoftheirneedsandprovidea

placeforthemtoeasilyinteract,andyouwillachieveyourgoalsinre

turn.Agoodcommunitystrategywillhelpyoudiscoverwhatyourcon

sumerswant,andagoodimplementationstrategywillhelpyoubuild

theskeletoninwhichtheywillinteract.


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AudienceIsKing:DeliveringaConsumerReturnonInvestment(CROI)

Acommunityrequiresuserstothrive;toattractusersyoumustconsidertheirneedsandexpectations.Justasyouareconcernedaboutthereturnonyourinvestment(ROI),soareyourpotentialusers.

ConsumerROI(CROI)isdirectlyattachedtotheneedthatyouaretryingtomeet.Areyougoingto

provideuserswithaspacetogetsupportandinformationfromothers?Areyougivingthemaplace

wheretheycanbeentertained?Cantheymakenewfriends?

Countingpageviewscannolongerbethebasisformeasuringsuccess.Successinthisworldmeans

notjustattractingusers,butkeepingthemcomingbackregularlyandinteracting,sharingandcreat

ingcontent.Theirparticipationandengagementarethemostimportantcomponents.Whereasthe

mediaworldformanyyearsthrivedontheadagethatcontentisking,thecurrentandfutureof

medianowincludesandrequirestheparticipationoftheaudience.Theyareking.

Thecommunitycreatorsgoalistogetthemtoinvesttheirtimeandenergyandeventuallytheir

emotionsintothecommunity.Iftheycometoseeyoursiteasahome,thenyouhavesucceeded;

ifyouaremeetingtheirneeds,notjustyourown,thenyouhavesucceeded.Createandfosterrela

tionshipswithyouraudiencethatwillleadtolongtermloyalty.

Belowisasamplingofmetricswevedevelopedtounderstandthedegreesofmarketersuccessina

BrandCommunity(aproprietarysolutionwevecreatedformarketersandbrandstoparticipatein

existingcommunitiesandsocialnetworks).

ShareofVoice(SOV).Howmuchattentionisthecommunitycapturingincontextofevery

thingthat

surrounds

it?

Is

it

consistent

with

or

above

those

things

competing

for

attention

andparticipation?

Engagement(PV/Visit).Turnthewebmetricsintosomethingthatismeaningful.Areyour

usersjustcomingbackoraretheycomingbackanddivingdeep?

ActiveMembership.Doesahighpercentageofyourmembershipcomebackeveryweek?

Everyday?Multipletimesperday?Itsnotacommunitywhentheyjoinbutneverreturn.

ActiveDiscussions.Eachweek,arepeopleinteracting?Itcanbemeasuredindiscussions,

conversations,uploadsorotherparticipatoryelements.Youwanttoseeusersgenerating

content,becauseitmeanstheyarevestedinthecommunity.

Thebusinessofbuildingacommunity(likeabusinessventure)shouldalwaysbedonewithstrategic

objectivesandareturnoninvestmentinmind.ThatsBusiness101.Tobuildasuccessfulcommunity,

however,youmustalsoconsidertheaudience,whattheywillgetfromthenetwork,andhowyoure

goingtomeasurewhetherthatishappeningornot.TheConsumerROIwhatsyours?


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CommunitiesFormonTheirOwn,andHowtoBestEnableThem

Acommunityrequiresuserstothrive;toattractusersyoumustconsidertheirneedsandexpectations.

Peoplenaturallyformintogroupsandcommunities

throughinteractionwitheachotherthisisabasictenet

ofhumanexistence.Inonlinecommunitiespeoplewill

developawayofinteractingwitheachotherwithinthe

structureofthesite.Astheylearntonavigatethephysi

calcommunity,theywillbegintodevelopmodesofin

teractingwitheachotheraswellaswiththecontent.

Whencreatingthecommunity,itisyourjobtocreatethe

skeletonthephysicalcommunitythatwillhousetheuserinteractions.Howyouchoosetoarchitectandstruc

tureyoursystems,thefunctionalitythatyouenable,and

thewayyouinteractwithyourusers,willallaffectthe

rangeofpossibleinteractions.Themoreeasilythatthese

interactionscanhappen,theeasieritwillbeforcommu

nitymembersthemselvestocreatethepsychologicalcommunity.Takearational,methodicalapproachtofa

cilitatingconnectionsandtherewillbebothrationaland

emotionalreasonsthatthemembersconnectthemselvesandformbonds.Overtime,thiswilltrans

lateintobondswithyou.

Tointroduceherselfinamoderatorled

group,ourmoderatormentionedthat

shewascurrentlyreadingaparticular

book.Nearly75%ofthegroupmem

berswhosubsequentlyintroduced

themselvesmentionedaparticular

book(or

lack

of

interest

or

time

to

read

books)intheirownintroductions.

Daily

Chat

&

Watch

A

user

in

the

Guiding

Light

community

starts

agroupforthecommunitytochatdailyaboutthecurrentepisode

aswellastheirday.Prettysoon,amajorityofsitememberssit

downdailyinthisgrouptowatchtheshowtogetherandchat.


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Herearetwooperationalmeasures(plusexamples)thathelpensureacommunitywillprogressas

itscreatorswouldlikeitto.

1.Segmentthecommunityintogroupstructuresratherthanindividualrelationshipnetworks.

Focusonmanytomanyinteractionsratherthanonetooneinteractions,thusfosteringasense

ofmicro

community

within

the

larger

community.

This

approach

has

numerous

benefits,

among

them: Groupinteractionsfacilitateexchangesandconnections.Asinreallife,youmeet

peoplethroughfriendsandgroups,notalwaysona1:1basis.Thisstructuremimics

reallife.

Smallergroupsprovideaspaceforuserstointeractaroundtopicsthatinterestthem,

aswellastocreatetheirowngroupswithothersimilarmembers.Thesegroupsmay

varysignificantlyfromtheoverallcommunitytheme,buttheyprovideunderlying

bondsthatholdittogether.

Smaller

groups

are

easier

for

new

members

to

break

into

and

feel

comfortable.

This

clusteringofindividualsintoamosaicofgroupswillalsoenableyourcommunityto

scaletogreatsizes,withoutsacrificinganintimateandmorepersonalfeelforthe

user.

MixingBowl(www.mixingbowl.com),aMeredithproperty,aggregatesmembersaroundrecipegroupscenteredonvariouscookingrelatedcategories.Thiskeepstheirsocialcookbookthriv

ing.Thesegroupsdontjustslicethepaletteintodifferenttastes(French,Italian,Barbecue),but

theycoverlifestylesandmore,includingthosecreatedbyusersthemselves(BakeSaleFavor

itesorDinnersAnyoneCanMake).Thisgiveseveryuseranopportunitytocreateanexperi

ence

that

is

uniquely

their

own,

with

connections

and

benefits

driven

by

their

own

sense

of

the

community.

2.Createwaysformemberstoimmediatelybecomeapartofthesesmallergroups,sothat

theyllbemorelikelytomakenewconnections,seevalueinthoseconnections,andreturn.Use

thetechnologyatyourdisposaltosuggestthesegroupsandconnections.Makethisapartof

theeverydayexperienceforuserstoconsiderconnectionswherethereislikelytobeareturn

ontheirinvestmentoftime.MixingBowlalsousesSmartGrouptechnologytobringfreshnewmembersintothesegroups.Every

new

member

at

Mixing

Bowl

is

given

suggestions

for

recipe

groups

that

they

should

join

basedontheintereststheyindicateintheregistrationprocess.Thisallowsthemtoimmediately

joingroups,begininteractingwithothersandcreateconnectionswithmembersofthecommu

nityallaroundthetopicsthataremostinterestingtothem.


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TheMechanicsofInteraction

Keepinmindthat,operationally,thewaythatyourmoderatorsanddiscussionleadersbehaveonthe

sitewillalsoaffectthewaymemberswillbehave.Onlinecommunitiesdevelopnormsandaculture

inthesamewayasofflinecommunitiesdo.Forexample,communitymembersbeginbydiscovering

acommoninterest(motherhood),thenstartinteractingbasedonthatcommoninterest.Mothers

whouseclothdiaperingoverstoreboughtdiaperscanformsmallergroupsaroundthattopic,both

geographicallyandtopically.Thisgroupmaymeetoffline,ormayformapsychologicalcommunity

online,creatingshareofmindevenwhenusersarenotactivelyparticipatinginthecommunityand

drivingthemtoreturnwithahighfrequency.


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Nutsandbolts:whatyoucandoto

movethingsalong

Whileitistruethatyourcommunitywillformaroundtheinterac

tionsofcommunitymembers,youcanarchitectanddesignthe

physicalcommunityinsuchawayastoencouragespecifictypesof

behaviorandoutcomes.Whilethebehavioryoudesirewilldependa

greatdealonthestrategythatyouhavelaidoutforyourcommu

nity,wehavefoundthatthereareafewthingsthatareuniversalto

helptheformationofpsychologicalcommunities.Itisnolongera

caseofifyoubuildit,theywillcome.Nowyouhavetokeepthem

there,souseeverymeansavailabletoyoutomaketheenvironment

welcoming.Wehavefedthefeedbackfromourcommunitiesandclientsbackintoourplatformtodevelopwhatwebelieveisahighly

effectivearchitecturalstrategytobuildingcommunity.


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Incentivizebehaviorthatyouwanttoencourage,butdontcreatecompetition.

Designyoursystemsothatitencouragesspecificbehaviors,alignedwithyourcommunitygoals.Yourgoalinthecommunityistogetpeopletointeractwitheachother,andoneoftheeasiestwaysto

dothisistoprovideincentivesforspecifictypesofbehaviorthatyouwanttoencourage.Youcanuse

pointsystemstotallyupthesebehaviors,oroffercontestsorcompetitionstowinthings.

Threetypesofincentivesthatweuseinourcommunitiesare:

StatusIncentives:Providetheuserswithachangeofstatusalongwithanindicatorofstatus,whichelevatesthemintheeyesofthecommunity.

Thisisanincentivetotheego,moreorless.Youcanprovide

themwithpoints,newtitlesortags,awardsortrophiesthatthey

canputintheirsignaturesandprofiles,newprivilegesandfunc

tionalityonthesite,etc

VirtualIncentives:Similartostatusincentives,butnottiedtostatusinthecommunity.Neopetsoffersneopointsforbehavior,whichallowsusers

tobuytheirvirtualpetsavirtualgoodsuchasfoodoratoy.

Offeryourusersthingsthattheycanuseonthesiteorputin

theirprofileasareward.

RealIncentives: Thesecanbeofferedifthereisroominyourbudgetforsuchitems.Offeryourusersareallifegoodorserviceinreturnfor

theirparticipation,orevenachanceatwinningarealincentive.

Remember,however,thatapoorlydesignedincentivesystemcanresultincompetitionbetweenthe

members,orcontentthathaslittleornovaluetothecommunity.Welldesignedincentivesystemsare

nottoocompetitive,andpreventmembersfromseeingotherusersasthreatsratherthanallies.Con

siderofferinggroupincentives,forbehaviordoneasagroup.Incentivesforsimplethingscansome

timescausememberstodothingsforthesakeoftheincentive,asopposedtomeaningfulcontribution.

Designyoursystemsothatitencouragesvaluablebehavior,andnotjustmorebehaviorofacertain

type.MomsLikeMe(www.momslikeme.com)providestwomethodsofbehaviorin

centives.First,

user

posts

are

tallied

and

the

number

is

displayed

below

the

user

avatarthroughoutthesite.Whenauserreachesacertainnumberofposts,they

receiveabadgethattheycanputintotheirsignatureorprofile.Second,discus

sionleadersruncontestsaskingforusersubmissions(sometimesassimpleas

respondingtoathread,othersmorecomplex)forreallifeprizes.

TripforTwo!GuidingLightmembershadrealincentivestoparticipateinthecommunityandinvitepeopleintothecommunity.Foreachlevelachieved,abetterreallifeprizewas

awarded,culminatingwithatriptovisittheGuidingLightstudioandmeettheactors.
http://www.momslikeme.com/http://www.momslikeme.com/http://www.momslikeme.com/


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Encouragegroupinteraction

Getpeopletoidentifywiththecommunity,andthuswithyou.Foryouronlinecommunitytosucceed,yourusersneedtointeractwitheachotheranddevelopa

relationshipwiththecommunityandthepeopleinit.Specifically,ifyouhaveabusinessreasonfor

creatingthecommunity,youneedpeopletoidentifywiththecommunity,andthuswithyou.Your

usersreturntothecommunityinordertotalktoothermembers,andyourjobascreatorandman

ageristomakethisaseasyaspossible.Ifyousucceedinthisyouwilllearnmuchaboutthepulseof

youraudienceandwhattheythinkandfeel,whichisinvaluableinthecompetitivemarketplace.

Ripple6believesintheimportanceofdevelopingaffinitybasedcommunities.Findthosethingsthat

driveuserpassionsandinteractionsoutsideoftheonlineworld,andyouwillhaveabetterchanceto

recreatethemonline.Thiscreatesawayforpeopletocomfortablyinteractandawayforcommer

cialinterestsbusinessesthatservethosepeoplespassionstoenterthecommunitywithrele

vanceandbenefitsfortheusers

Designthecommunitywithaneyetowardthe

commonalitiesbetweenpeopleandgivethem

somethingtobondover.Atthesametime,

lessenyouremphasisonindividualrelationships

letthoseformnaturallythroughuserinterac

tionswithinthecommunity.Ingroups,userscan

discoversimilarmembersandaddtotheir

friendshipswithinthenetwork,fosteringthe

creationofhighlyengagedmicrocommunities.

Thiswebofrelationshipsleadstostickiness

thatyouareafter;onceyouhaveyourcommu

nityyoucaninteractwiththem,learnabout

them,andreallygettoknowthemtoensurethatyouareprovidingthemwhattheyarelookingfor.

Notsomeoneelse.

Strategicallyselectingtheoveralltopicofyoursiteisjustthefirststeptowardestablishingcommon

interest.Clearly,userswillinitiallycometoyoubecauseoftheirinterestintheoveralltheme.But

fromthispoint,howyoustructurethesiteanddesigninteractionswithinthecommunitywillrein

forceconnectionsbetweensimilarmembers,encouragegroupinteraction,andfosterthedevelop

mentofmicrocommunities.Itwillalsocreatesocialcircleswithinyournetwork.

Groupcentrictrumpspeoplecentric


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Asacomparison,letslookatthestructuresofFacebook,theleadingsocialnetwork,andMixing

Bowl,anewandrapidlygrowingaffinitybasedcommunitythatwediscussedearlier.

Facebookhasarchitectedtheirsitetoemphasizetheindividualandtheindividualsrelationships

withothers.WhenausergoestoFacebook,he/sheseesupdatesonhis/herindividualfriendsinfor

mation;theseareallgroupedtogetherthroughtheirrelationshipwiththeuser,butnotwitheach

other.Interactionsbetweenusersandtheirfriendscanbewildlyrandom,andincreasinglyso,based

uponthesizeanddiversityofhisnetwork.Theseonetooneinteractionsaregenerallypersonal,and

notaplaceformarketerstostepinto.

MixingBowl,ontheotherhand,emphasizesgroupsofpeoplewithacommoninterest(intheircase,

aloveofcooking,recipes,typesofcuisineandfood).Asaresult,theinteractionsaremuchdifferent

andincludeconversationsbetweengroupsofpeople.Manypeoplecomeintotheseconversations,

andwhiletheyarestillpersonalandpassionate,thereisroomformoreparticipants.

CertainlyFacebookhasagroupfeatureandMixingBowlhasuserprofilesandprivatemessaging,but

thewaytheseareassembleddrivesthewaytheusersinteract.


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Makecontenteasilyaccessibleandfindable

Helpyouruserseasilyfindcontentthatismostrelevanttothemandwaysofgettingbacktocontentthattheywanttoseeagain.

Conversations,groups,media,andanyotherkindofcontentorcontentstructuresinthesystem

shouldbeeasilyavailable.Yourcommunityshouldbebuiltsothattheuserexperienceincludesmul

tipleavenuesforaggregating,featuring,andfindingcontentoneachsite.Thisensuresthatitiseasy

foryouraudiencetofindwhattheyneed,whichmakesyouthefirstresourcefortheminthefuture.

Wefindthisimportantenoughthatitsavitalcomponentofourplatform:multipleavenuestofind

inginformationinacommunity.Wefirmlybelievethatinformationisthefirstkeytocommunity,so

whenbuilding,werecommendtheplacementoftheseaccesspointsinprominentplacesthrough

outthecommunity,souserswillalwaysknowwheretofindthem.

The

following

are

a

few

examples:

KeyLearning Ripple6InnovationAggregatecontenttogetherinwaysthatwill

bemeaningfultotheuser:themostviewed

content,contentthattheyortheirfriends

haveparticipatedin,contentinthegroups

theybelongto,ornewestcontent.

Allowtheuserstosliceitanywaytheywantit.

Letthemputitintheirpocket.

Allowuserstosearch,save,shareandrecom

mendcontentusingsimilarmethods.These

featuresshould

be

designed

to

mirror

each

otherandreinforcethecommunityfeelofthe

content.


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Letthemshareitbothinsideandoutsideof

thecommunity.


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FeatureUsersthatexemplifythecommunityandareactiveonthesite

Helppeoplefindeachother

UserinteractioniskeytodevelopinganemotionalconnectiontothecommunityIfinformationisthefirstkey,thepeoplearethesecondkeyto

buildingcommunity.Helpthemfindeachotherbyfacilitating

interactionsbetweenthem.Userinteractioniscentraltodevel

opinganemotionalconnectionnotjusttoindividuals,butto

groups,sobuildandshapeyoursitesothatinformationisnatu

rallysegmentedandtheusersinvolvedinvariousinteractions

areeasytosee.Findcommonalitiesamongmembersandhigh

lightthem.Showcasecommunitymembersandmicro

communitymembers.Allowpeopletosearchforotherusers

withsimilarinterests.Providelinkstoprofiles,contextualinfor

mationaboutusers,andwaystocontacttheusers.

Insum,doeverythingyoucantoallowmemberstoconnect.Re

memberthatengagementisthebestpathtoastrongROIwithin

socialmedia.Becomethesolutionforyouraudience,whatever

theirneeds,sothattheyturntoyoualwaysinthefuture.

SmartGroupsrecommend

groupsfor

members

to

join

based

ontheirpreferencesandprofile

information,tohelpthemmeet

peoplethatwillbesimilartothem


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AllowforScale:Startsmallandgrow

Startsmallandasyourcommunitygrows,allowittoexpandtoprovidenewspacesforthememberstointeractwitheachother.

Avoidthepitfallsthatoftenplagueonlinecommunitieswhenitcomestosizeandscale.Ahugesite

withnotenoughmembersisnobetterorworsethanonethatisverysmallbuthassomanymem

bersthatitisimpossibletofollow.Themostsuccessfulcommunityisbuiltforitsstartingpointwith

aneyetowardexpansion.

Yourplatformmustallowforcommunitysegmentationastimeprogresses,sothatthecommunity

canexpandandyetstillbesmallenoughformemberstofeelcomfortable.Feelingsofcommunity

(affinity,comfort,interaction)willnotoccurifagroupistoolargeorhastoomuchcontent.Design

yourcommunitytobeeasilyexpandablesouserscancutandslicewhattheywanttoseeveryeasily.

Youdontwantyourmemberstofeeltheyarealoneonthesite,butneitherdoyouwantthemtobe

crowdedtogetherwithnowheretogo.

Startsmall.Createthecommunitywith

aneyetowardtheexpectednumberof

initialmembers.Asthecommunity

grows,allowittoexpandtoprovidenew

spacesforthememberstointeractwith

oneanother.Thinkofitasacorralsys

tem:whentherearetoomanyhorsesin

thecorral,theranchersopenagatetoa

newcorraltogivethemmorespace.


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Werecommendmultiplewaysofsegmentingthecommunity.

Segmentingintohardcoded

categoriesorganizethetopics

ofthecommunityintocatego

riesandletpeoplecongregate

there.Westartwithaselect

few(themostrelevanttothe

community)butallowforthe

creationofmore.Asthecom

munitygrows,weaddmore

categorieswhereandwhen

appropriateandasyouseethe

need.

Enabletaggingfunctionalitysothatthemembersofthecommunitycanseg

mentthecontentforthemselvesintovirtualcategories.Thisabilitytofurther

slicethecontentareasappliestothecommunityasawhole,sectionsofthesite,

andevengroupswithinthesite.

Allowsegmentationwithingroupsorsections.Asthegroupexpands,werecom

mendaddingnewtopicareasorareasfornewfunctionality.Ifacategoryistoo

broad,createsubcategories.Ifnewfunctionalityisneededtoseparateoutone

typeofinteractionfromanother,wecreateanewareaforthatfunctionality(for

example,wellsplitaforumintochatandtopicalareas).

Everytimeyoucreatenewsegmentsorsubtopics,youareenablingcertainmemberstocongregate

andconnectinaplacewherethereisnonoisefromothertopicsandallowingthemtodetermine

whatisimportanttothem.Thisfostersfeelingsofgroupinesswithinthatsegmentandwilltrans

lateintoemotionalconnectionsforthecommunityasawhole.Emotionalconnections,asyouknow,

turnintopositivewordofmouthandlongtermbrandloyalty.


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Youandyourcommunity

Onlinecommunitiesmaynotneedtheregularpresenceofacommu

nitymanagerormoderatortothriveandfunction,butthatpresenceis

necessarytoestablishanyformofemotionallinkwiththeusers.The

userswanttoknowthattheirpresenceisacknowledged,thattheir

contributionsarebeingheard,andthattheyaremakingadifference.

Anyonecreatingorparticipatingmustrecognizethis.

Asaleader,influencer,moderatororsponsorofthecommunity,how

youpresentyourself,yourbehavior,andyourdirectionofthecommu

nitywillallinfluenceitssuccess.Activelisteningandparticipationare

coretobeingconsideredagenuinememberandcreatingtherelation

shipsthatwillmakethecommunityabusinesssuccessstory.


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Beanactiveauthenticparticipant

Acommunityrequiresuserstothrive;toattractusersyoumustconsidertheirneedsandexpectations.

Thefirstruleofparticipationisthatyoumustbereal.Donttrytobesomethingthatyouarenot.If

thereistobeacompanyrepresentativeinthecommunity,theyshouldsaywhotheyareandwhat

theydo.Theyshouldaimtobeclearwhentheiropinionsandviewsrepresentthoseofthebrand,

andwhentheydonot.Avoidthehardsell(ortheappearanceofit).Rather,participateinthecom

munityasareal,activemember.Ifthereisalargercommunitybeyondyourown,participateinthat

aswell.Becomeoneofthem.

Weencouragebrandrepresentativestoidentifythemselvesbyusingmanytools:creatingasignature

withtheircompanyaffiliationstated,creatinganintroductionthread,andremindingusersinposts

thattheyarearepresentativeofthecompanysponsoringthecommunity.Thisinformationshould

also

be

placed

in

a

users

profile

so

that

any

members

can

easily

identify

this

user

as

a

brand

repre

sentativeinsteadofanonaffiliatedcommunitymember.

Any

representative

of

the

brand

that

is

actively

participating

should

try

to

do

so

from

within

the

com

munity,creatingandmaintainingrelationshipswithmembersandbecomingapartofthecommunity

itself.Rememberthough,youwantthememberstointeractwitheachotherandnotsolelywithyou

sodontestablishinteractionpatternsthatbeginandendwithyou.Establishinteractionpatterns

thatgetmemberstalkingwitheachother.

SuaveoperatesaBrandCommunity,calledLivingBeautifullyforLess.LukeOConnorisa

celebrityhairstylistandSuaverepresentative.Heregularlyinteractswithusersanddis

pensestipsaboutproductselectionanduse,haircareandstyletips,aswellascutandcolor

suggestions.TheusersinthiscommunityviewLukeasanassettothecommunityandex

presstheirpleasureinbeingabletointeractwithhim.HeisaSuavebrandrepresentative

anddoescarrytheSuavemessagetothecommunity,buthescarefultodothisincontext

andmakessuretoaddvaluewithhismessages,insteadofdetractingfromthevalueofthe

community.


19/24


MixingBowlprominentlyfeatures

CoolCookie,thecurrentSeniorFoodEditor

ofmixingbowl.comandBHG.com.Shemain

tainsaprominentpresencewithinthecommu

nity,showingthatshe,andthebrandshe

represents,areactivelyinvolvedinthecom

munity.Itisimportanttonotethatwhile

Heatherspeaksonbehalfofthebrand,she

alsomixesitupwithusersinthewaythey

wanttoseeanothermemberbehave.She

postsrecipes,reviewsothers,friendsmem

bersofthecommunityandjoinsgroups.Ifus

ershaveaproblem,theycometohertogetitresolved.

Thiswasrecentlyseenduringarecipecontest,whereusersrequestedtohavetherecipesubmis

sionsdisplaychanged.Heathergatheredusersuggestions,broughtthesetoRipple6,andwetook

thisfeedbackandupdatedthesitetosatisfyuserrequests.Itisimportanttolistentoyourusers,

hearwhattheyaresaying,andreactinawaythattheyknowtheyvebeenheard.


20/24


Leadyourcommunitybyfollowingyourusers

Learntoreadyourusersandpredictwhattheywant,andyoucanleadtheminadirectionthattheywillhappilyfollow.

Communitymanagementandmoderationshouldbedonewitha

lighthand.Managersandmoderatorsmusttrusttheirusersto

selfpolicethemselves.Ripple6offersseveraluniqueabuseman

agementtools.Ourcontentmanagementsystemallowsusersto

reportabusiveorquestionablecontenttoadministrators,and

providesauserpanelfortheadministratorstoviewreported

contentanddecideifthecontentshouldbedeletedorkept.Our

ratingssystemallowspoststhattheusersdeemmoreusefulor

interestingthanothercontenttobefeaturedandbubbledupto

thetop.

Thedesignofyourcommunitycanhelpthemoderator(andus

ers)managethecommunity.OurCMSsystemisdesignedtohelp

managersbubbleuprelevantbitsofcontenttoprominentplaces

withinthecommunity,suchastheCarouselandTodaysBuzz.

Thesetoolsdirectuserstofeaturedplaceswithinthecommunity,

allowingthenetworktoshowcasetopicsthatmembersormanagersfindappealingandworthwhile.

Furthermore,votingmechanismstoallowuserstovotecontentupordowntomakeitmorepromi

nentonthesitewillallowthecontentthattheuserswanttoseetobubbleuptothesurface.

System

tags

generated

by

Administrators

provide

the

ability

to:

Organize,control,andpublishrelatedwebcontentacrossthecommunity

Publishandmanagetheplacementofeditorialandsocialcontent

Createcontentlayers

Linkorassociateelementswithanypost,suchasvideofeeds,images,orexternallinks

Enableyouruserstosharetheinformationthattheyfindmostinterestingandrelevanttothemwith

eachother.RippleTM

isbuiltintoallRipple6poweredcommunitiesforthispurpose.Thistoolallows

userstosharecontentwithintheircircleoffriends,savecontenttotheirhubwithinthecommu

nity,aswellassharecontenttootherpublicandprivategroupswithinthecommunity.Additionally,

theycan

choose

to

share

content

outsideofthecommunityandinvite

similarpeopletojointhecommu

nity.Letpositivewordofmouthdo

theworkforyouandhelpyoufind

newadvocates.

Homework

Askyouruserstohelpbygivingthemahome

workassignmentthatwillhelpthecommunity.To

startadiscussionaboutsocialmediamarketingin

anewcommunity,weaskedmemberstogopostexamplesofso

cialmarketingoradvertisingthattheycameacrossanddiscuss

whattheydidanddidntlikeaboutthem.


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Strikeabalancebetweentoomuchandtoolittle

Whenitcomestoyourcommunity,youmusttrytostrikeabalancebetweendoingtoomuchanddoingtoolittle.Wehaverealizedthatwhenitcomestoinformation,

content,moderatorleddiscussion,andnumberof

membersalloftheseareaffectedbysize.Too

muchinformationandcontentonyoursitewill

makeitharderformemberstofindthecontentof

interesttothem,andcansometimesburythemore

interestingcontent.Forexample,ifyouarerunning

aneditorialsitewithasocialnetworkwrapped

aroundit,fillingupthesitewithtoomuchofthe

editorialcontentwillcausethesocialnetworkto

neverbeengaged.Ontheotherhand,toolittlecontentorinformationwillgiveyourmembersno

reasontocomeback.Inthiscase,youwillneedtotakeanactiveroleinmakingsurethereisnew

contentforuserstoparticipatein,withoutoverdoingyourparticipation.

Toomanymemberscanalsohaveadeleteriouseffectonthecommunity.If

toomanypeopleareparticipating,itisunlikelythateveryonewillreadeve

ryonescontributions,whichiscounterproductivetotheformationofcom

munity.Memberswillsimplyreadtheoriginalcontentandperhapsreplyor

posttheirown,butignoreanyothercontributionstothetopic.Ontheother

hand,ifnobodyisparticipating,thenthemembersthatare(oryou)willbe

talkinginanechochamber.Strikeabalancebetweenthetwo.Decidewhat

youhopetoachievewithyourcommunity,andstructurethecommunityto

accommodatethis.

Ripple6moderatorsareintimatelyfamiliarwiththegiveandtakeofthe

sitesthattheyinteracton,andhavelearnedhowtogaugewhenacommunityneedsmoreinputor

lessinput.Knowingthepulseofthecommunityisthefirststeptounderstandingit.Havinganeffec

tivemoderatorwhoknowswhattodowiththatinformationisthesecond.

ToomanycooksspoilthebrothAsmalldenselyconnectedgrouphasabetterchanceof

beingacommunitythanalargerone.Dontfallintothe

trapofthinkingmoremembers=bettercommunity.

Thinkanyonereadsover100replies?

LessonLearned

4or5communitiesundergosomelevelofredesign

after90daystostrikeabetterbalance.


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Conclusion

Movebeyondtheinstrumentalandintotheemotionalrealm.

Howdoyoubuildanonlinecommunityandinteractwithyourusersinordertodevelopbothaphysi

calandpsychologicalcommunity?Thisisthequestionthatwehaveaddressedhere.Ourworkwith

largewhitelabelsocialnetworksandbrandcommunitieshasgivenusinsightintohowtoarchitecta

siteandinteractwiththeuserstoencouragetheformationofemotionaltieswiththecommunity.In

todayssocialmediaworld,wewantourclientstomovebe

yondtheinstrumentalandintotheemotionalrealm.Webe

lieveagoodcommunitymustbothmeetaneedandprovide

somedeepermeaningforpotentialusersinordertokeepthem

invested.Wehelpourclientsthinkstrategicallyabouttheir

goals,thegoalsandneedsofthepotentialaudience,andmatch

themtogether.Then,webuildanonlinepresencethatwill

bringpeopletogether,gettheminteracting,andgivethema

reasontostay.

Wevegivenyousomekeypointsandbuildingblockstoworkwithasyouconsidercreatingthistype

ofonlinecommunity.ThesedefinetheRipple6communitybuildingstrategy,andhavebeenrefined

overthreeyearsofexperienceinbuildingcommunities.

First,consideryourstrategy.Knowingyouraudienceiscrucial,sincetheaudienceiskinginthisnewworld.Giveyourusers

poweroverthecontentanddirectionofthesite,butarchitect

thesiteandthecontentstructuresinsuchawaythatthey

moveinadirectionthatyouwantthemtomovein.Youcannot

forcethemtotalkaboutwhatyoufindinteresting,butyoucan

makeitinterestingforthemtotalkaboutit.Makeyourcommu

nitythecenteroftheirworld,andbuildlongtermrelationships

asaresult.

Second,designandarchitectthesiteinsuchamannertofosterthetypesofinteractionthatwillcreatethatsenseofpsychologicalcommunity.Focusongrouplevelinteractionsandgetthememberstoidentifywiththesite.Giveincentivesforparticulartypesofbehaviorthatyouwanttoencourage,

butdontmakeittoocompetitive.Helpyourusersfindthecontentandmembersthatarerelevant

tothembygivingthemmultipleavenuesintothecontentandmultiplewaystosliceupthecontent.

Mostimportantlythough,designthearchitectureofthesitesothatitiseasilyexpandableyou

dontwantyourfirstuserstobealoneinanoverlyhugeemptysite,butneitherdoyouwantthesite

tobetooconfining.Makeiteasyforthemtointeractwitheachother,andwithyou.


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Third,decidewhatyourowninteractionstrategywillbe.Youshouldhaveapresenceonthesitethatisactive,authentic,andtransparent.Learntoreadyouruserbaseforhowmuchdirectiontheyneed,

andlearntowalkthatfinelinebetweentoomuchandtoolittle.Howeveryoudecidetointeractwith

yourcommunity,makesureyouarelisteningtothemandreactingtowhattheyaresaying.Your

communitywillfeelvaluedifyougivethemfrequentfeedbackandshowthemhowtheircomments

orideashavebeenused.Iftheyfeelvaluabletoyou,thenyouwillfeelvaluabletothem.Psychologicalcommunityisvitaltothesuccessofanyonlinecommu

nityorsocialnetwork.Helpyourusershelpyoubyprovidingthem

withtheskeletonandtoolstomakeconnectionswitheachother

andinteractwitheachotherinamannerthatmakesthemfeellike

theyarepartofsomething.Buildyourcommunityinamannerthat

makesyouraudienceintoanintegralpartofyourongoingstrategy.

Letthemhaveasayinhowthecommunitymovesforward.And

mostofall,havefun!


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Ripple6helpsmarketersandpublishersimplementtheirbusinessstrategythroughsocialmedia.The

companyprovidesanenterprisewhitelabelsocialmediaplatformtocreateconsumerengagements

andrelationships,enhancesocialmarketing,generateconsumerinsights,andfacilitatecommerceand

collaboration.Itiseasilycustomizedtoincorporateabrand'slookandfeelforintegrationintoanexist

ingwebsiteortocreateanentirelynewsite.Ripple6awhollyownedsubsidiaryofGannettCo.,Inc.

(NYSE:GCI),

is

based

in

New

York

and

its

list

of

clients

and

partners

includes

P&G,

Meredith

Corpora

tion,andGeneralMills.

Formoreinformation,[email protected].
http://mail2.ripple6.com/emb/link.php?M=299194&N=67&L=30&F=Hhttp://mail2.ripple6.com/emb/link.php?M=299194&N=67&L=30&F=Hhttp://mail2.ripple6.com/emb/link.php?M=299194&N=67&L=30&F=H

White Paper How Businesses Use Social Media and Communities

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