Forming a Community Strategy

forming a Community Strategy

Jim JacobyCarolyn Chandler

integrating community into your overall strategy

benefits of building a successful community

• Insight into customer needs and perceptions

• Ability to respond and innovate• Increasing brand awareness• Increasing loyalty

IF you start an authentic conversation and sustainit according to expectations

Q:

what can happen if you don’t have a community strategy?

crickets

target audience and need do not match

right audience, weak need

poor execution

ineffective marketing

lack of spam filters

insufficient privacy options

stale value

junk yardssp@m

non-friends unfriends

Flame Wars and Spamwar zones

insufficient moderation

lack of self-monitoring toolsFlame Warriors by Mike Reed

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/

angry mobsrules instead of guidelines

censorship

personal data violations

unfair/unclear business practices

poorly communicated changes

You just sent invitations to 328 Google contacts asking them to join.

Thank you for joining the

Britney Spears fan club!

Including that Director you interviewed with yesterday.

social embarassments

risks/considerations when building a community

• You relinquish some control of brand presentation

• It brings out customer opinions, which can be negative

• If you don’t meet expectations, community members may revolt

• Moderation, security, support and response is an ongoing need

Q:

how do you determine whether or not to build your own community?

the decision to build your own community

• Is it a key element of a supported strategic objective?

• Is there enough compelling value to break through the competition for attention? Be realistic!

• Is the company committed and able to support and nurture the community?

• Can existing channels be used to meet your objectives, instead?

Q:

still want to build your own? let’s talk planning

community development model

Reach peopleFocus understandingMotivate activityProtect integrityReveal patternsNurture community

creating a mnemonic for R F M P R N

Acronomics.com by Erick Robertson

personal favorites

Remote Friendships Made... Purposeful Relationships Negotiated

Regretfully Forums May Promote Repugnant Netiquette

Redheads For Meeting Professional Rich Neurosurgeons

Remote Friends Make Pretty Real Networks

reach people

social network

• Understand and define potential members

• Learn from their current community behavior

• Define a statement that speaks to them

reach people

value propositionwhat our product or service can do for you

aspirationwhat we can do together

• Opp example

Reach people

• Awareness• Interest• Consideration• Commitment

– Sign Up– Repeated Use

• Advocacy

reach people

focus understanding

focusunderstanding

focus understanding

• What is this?• What’s in it for me?• What can I do here?• What can’t I do here?

(guidelines, seeding)• Are there different

roles involved?

motivate activity

motivate activity

• Understand common motivations

• Consider at least 3 levels– personal (important!)– group– community

• Create Motivators that align with motivations and facilitate activity

greeting card moments

relationshipsR

elat

ions

hip

Clo

seD

ista

nt

self

close friends/family

strong removed ties

weak ties

general public

Interest groups, most friends, close colleagues

Complete strangers

Acquaintances. professional connections

Almost extensions of self

connection motivations:youtube

Rel

atio

nshi

pC

lose

Dis

tant

self

weak ties

general public

emulate closeness

teaching/learning

entertainmentcelebrity/

strong removed ties


protectintegrity

protect integrity

• Overall site security• Protecting member

information• Ensuring appropriate

interactions– Moderating– Spam prevention– Community self-

monitoring

Q:

is it a still a community if the members can’t interact with each other directly?

donation motivations:OptINnow

Rel

atio

nshi

pC

lose

Dis

tant

self

weak ties

general public

unified action

solidarity

trusttrendiness

strong removed ties


personal impact

participation motivations:OptINnow

Rel

atio

nshi

pC

lose

Dis

tant

self

weak ties

general public

unified action

strong removed ties


personal impact

visibility

visibility

visibility

interaction

solidarity

trusttrendiness

revealpatterns

reveal patterns

• Reveal patterns internally to allow for better understanding and reaction

• If appropriate, use patterns for powerful crowd features including motivators

• Encourage crowd filtering for good content

• Anticipate gaming; create “dials” if needed

Amazon example

• ?

nurturecommunity

nurture community

• Ensure a solid, open platform

• Listen, listen, listen• Have ideas on features

and communication • Consider milestones by

size of community• Be prepared to react to

feedback – and the unexpected

NEC case study

Questions?

thank you

results of speaking at Business to Buttons

• 400 attendees overall

• 34 at the presentation

• 33 pieces of green paper

• 4 new potential partners

• 3 mad dashes in the airport

• 2 lost bags

• 25 herrings eating