quick tips - Cultivating Community2024-03-19T06:39:01Zhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/feed/category/quick%2BtipsPower and Influencehttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/power-and-influence2014-07-02T16:30:00.000Z2014-07-02T16:30:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282087?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282087?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"></a>You don’t have much power.</p>
<p>You can remove people and posts. You can write announcements. You can probably prioritise the content of some people above others. That’s about it.</p>
<p>You can’t use your power to get any member to do anything. Much of what we recommend is impossible unless you have influence. You can have influence in one or two ways.</p>
<p>1) You can become a highly respected and influential power user in your community.</p>
<p>2) You can develop great relationships with respected and highly influential members of the community.</p>
<p>You have a choice. Do you spend your time becoming the most influential member of your community or by becoming great friends with the most influential members of your community. The former is more tempting. It’s great if everybody knows your name. But it is a lot more work.</p>
<p>It’s easier to identify the key people and build strong relationships with them. Give them real power and then when you need something to happen, letting them know.</p>
<p>Start today. Pick the five people who made the biggest contributions in the past month and introduce yourself. Ask them how you can help them improve the community. You have to give before you get. Work hard to help the key people in your community before you ask the key people to help you.</p>
<p></p>
<p><em>(Image via The Noun Project)</em></p></div>8 Overlooked Elements Every Online Community Should Havehttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/8-overlooked-elements-every-online-community-should-have2014-06-25T16:30:00.000Z2014-06-25T16:30:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282083?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282083?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"></a>Most communities overlook a number of elements that would increase engagement and participation. Here are, by far, the 8 biggest elements every online community should have.</p>
<ol>
<li><b>An epic community history.</b> Your community should have a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.feverbee.com/2009/11/epichistory.html">written epic history</a> which all members can read. This history should be easy to find on your page.</li>
<li><b>A 'who’s who'</b><b>of members.</b> You should feature prominent members in your who’s who of members. This will create interest and desire to be featured in this list. You can have a selection criteria.</li>
<li><b>A list of upcoming events.</b> Every online community should have a list of upcoming events/activities taking place. They can be hosted by your community or, more broadly, events about the community’s topic matter. Don’t have any? Start some.</li>
<li><b>The big issues page.</b> What are the big issues in your online community at the moment? You should have a page or box dedicated to the big issues in your community along with an invitation to give an opinion on the issue.</li>
<li><b>Plans for the future.</b> When members join a community they’re investing their time to be a co-owner of a better future. You need to outline what the future for your community looks like.</li>
<li><b>A useful FAQ.</b> Most new members usually ask very similar questions (they might have joined solely to ask the question). So put together an FAQ solely about these questions. On <a href="http://commania.ning.com/">Commania</a> this would have included: “<i>How much should I charge for community building work?”</i> and “<i>What platform should I use to create a community”</i>. Compile these questions and link them to where they have been answered.</li>
<li><b>Be more involved page.</b> Every online community should offer ways members can <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.feverbee.com/2008/12/get-more-involved.html">be more involved</a>.</li>
<li><b>Your contact number.</b> This is your job, your members are your customers, they should be able to reach you by phone to resolve issues. Talking by phone also builds a stronger connection than by e-mail. Buy a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/onlinenumber/">SkypeIn number</a> if you have to – but offer a number members can call.</li>
</ol>
<p>You will notice nearly all of these elements provide members with ways to learn more about the community or become more involved with the community in the future. This is how it should be and where you should always be focusing your efforts.</p>
<p><em>(Image via The NounProject)</em></p></div>A Simple Online Community Reputation Systemhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/a-simple-online-community-reputation-system2014-06-18T16:50:00.000Z2014-06-18T16:50:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282104?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282104?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"></a>Identify the positive contributions you want members to make and reward them with points. Points highlight the top members, points establish an element of competition. Points let you create awards like <i>newcomer of the month, member of the year</i> etc…</p>
<p>Points should lead to levels. Levels like newcomer, member, regular, expert and VIP. Levels give members specific motivations to earn more points. A member that needs just 10 more points to move up a level is likely to be active.</p>
<p>Levels bond members within their community groups. These levels should be clearly visible on every member’s profile and every comment they post. Each level should require twice as many points as the previous level (at minimum). Levels should lead to increasing recognition and power. Every increase in level thus offers greater reward.</p>
<p>For example, you might only mention individual members in your news updates who are regulars and above. You might only interview members who are experts and VIPs. You might only share power and admin access with members at VIP levels.</p>
<p>Quick warning. Never add too many game mechanics into your community at one time. Introduce one element at a time. Points. Then levels. Then stars, comment counters etc…</p>
<p></p>
<p><em>(Image via The Noun Project)</em></p></div>A Basic Online Community Wireframehttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/a-basic-online-community-wireframe2014-06-11T16:50:00.000Z2014-06-11T16:50:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>The design of most online community sites is terrible.</p>
<p>Aesthetics is put before function. It's not clear to visitor's what's new in the community. You're not sure what's popular at any given moment. The best communities show this information, and they show it well. </p>
<p>I recommend a simple community design. A basic wireframe might look similar to the design below:</p>
<p> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282115?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282115?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"></a></p>
<p>There are other variations of course. The key point is every visitor can see, in a heartbeat, what's new and popular in your community.</p></div>Moderation Strategyhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/moderation-strategy2014-05-30T10:40:00.000Z2014-05-30T10:40:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282132?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282132?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="150" class="align-right"></a>Do you have a moderation strategy? Or do you just remove provocative posts (often the best kind)? </p>
<p>When members visit a community, they copy what they see other members doing. The important word in that sentence isn't '<i>doing'</i>, it's '<i>see'</i>. You get to decide what members are likely to see. Your moderation strategies shapes what members see and, thus, what members do.</p>
<p>Moderation isn't removing the bad stuff, it's making clear decisions about what you want members to be doing, and emphasizing those elements.</p>
<p>If you want members to discuss fiscal policy, then highlight those discussions, interview members discussing that, create a poll about fiscal policy, make fiscal policy discussions sticky threads. </p>
<p>Your moderation strategy shapes your community. It <a rel="nofollow" href="http://nudges.org/">nudges</a> members to take the actions you want. Pro-actively establish your strategy. Don't reactively remove the bad stuff.</p></div>4 Types Of Contributions You Want Your Members To Make Into Your Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/4-types-of-contributions-you-want-your-members-to-make2014-05-20T15:30:00.000Z2014-05-20T15:30:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282144?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282144?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right"></a>You need to work like crazy to encourage members to make lots of contributions (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.feverbee.com/2009/01/investments.html">tiny personal investments</a>) into your community.</p>
<p>The more investments you persuade your members to make, the more they will participate and help make the community succeed. This is because nobody wants to feel they wasted their investment.</p>
<p>There are four times of investments. Time, energy, emotions and money.</p>
<ol>
<li><b>Time:</b> The more time a member spends in a community the more they want it to succeed. This overlaps significantly with energy, but with a few distinctions.</li>
<li><b>Energy.</b> This is the effort members put into the community. i.e. Members who have written lots of posts, helped curate content, arranged events or otherwise actively contributed something to the community.</li>
<li><b>Emotions.</b> Nobody wants to feel they got worked up over nothing. Provoking strong emotional reactions are investments made into your community.</li>
<li><b>Money.</b> If you’ve paid to attend an event, have a custom URL, bought WoW gold you’re going to work hard to make the community a success.</li>
</ol>
<p>Tiny investments create engaged members. They <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.feverbee.com/2009/02/easyreason.html">convert newcomers to regulars</a>. The more personal investments your members make, the more they will be involved in your community.</p></div>How Many People Can You Really Look After?https://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-many-people-can-you-really-look-after2014-05-13T15:30:00.000Z2014-05-13T15:30:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208372?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Growing a community that’s too big for you to manage is dumb. Sadly, it’s the goal of most corporate communities.</p><p>1 community manager looking after 10,000 members isn’t efficient, it’s wasteful. You’re wasting the potential of thousands of members who would participate much more if they had more people responsible for getting them engaged and involved.</p><p>Past a certain size, your community becomes unmanageable. You can’t spend as much time with members. You give each member less. In turn, each member gives less.</p><p>The remedy is more help. You convert your most dedicated into volunteers. Volunteers take on groups of members (divide by interest/friendship groups. These volunteers take responsibility for clusters of members. They ensure they don’t leave.</p><p>Figure out how many members you, personally, can take responsibility for getting involved. It’s probably not many. 50? 200? Past this number, recruit volunteers to help. Keep your community strong and concentrated. Don’t let yourself be diluted by an unmanageable level of newcomers. Don’t be tempted by bigger numbers to report to your boss.</p><p><em>Lead image via GraphicStock</em></p></div>Open and Closed Questionshttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/open-and-closed-questions2014-04-29T16:54:28.000Z2014-04-29T16:54:28.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208311?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>You usually get a bigger response by asking closed questions. </p><p>It's easy to answer a specific, closed, question. Do you think that {x} is better than {y}?How many times have you {x}? </p><p>Open-ended questions require you to think. They require you to risk having entirely the wrong answer. They require more time and mental effort. That can be off-putting. </p><p>It's often better to ask a few closed questions that people can answer to build their confidence before asking open questions. </p><p>Think about this when you're stimulating discussions in your community.</p><p>Think about it in your profile questions too. Do you want to ask broad, generic, questions and solicit a personal biography? Or do you want a few specific, closed, answers to help people get started? </p><p>So if you're struggling to get much of a response asking open-ended questions, try asking closed questions for a while instead. </p></div>A Simple, Effective, Community Platform Designhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/a-simple-effective-community-platform-design2014-03-20T16:00:00.000Z2014-03-20T16:00:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>Too many communities focus on content. They place the content at the top of the page and bury the community either beneath the fold or behind a community tab. This might look great, but it's not effective for building communities. </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.plugincars.com/" target="_blank">Plugincars</a> is a notable exception. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282156?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282156?profile=original" width="500" class="align-full"></a></p>
<p> This site balances the content, with the community, with the current activity. If they removed the advert in the top right, it would be perfect. </p>
<p>There are five things I want to highlight here:</p>
<p><b>1) The content appears on the landing page on a regular basis</b>. Members always have a reason to come back and visit the community to see what's new.</p>
<p><b>2) The community appear highly active</b>. They choose to show the number of discussions, photos, fans etc...this gives the impression of momentum. </p>
<p><b>3) The latest discussions also appear on the right of the page</b>. This shows the latest activity that members can immediately click to participate in. </p>
<p><b>4) The community balances the social needs with the need for information</b>. In addition to the landing page, members can see guides that they can download. </p>
<p><b>5) The community also seperately lists the one key thing that members want to know:</b> where can they charge their car? What is the one key, major, thing the members in your community want to know? </p>
<p>Also note that within the guides themselves they have guides for people that are <i>new to the topic</i> and for those looking to purchase cars. Most communities neglect the people that are new to the topic, yet it's these people that will be the biggest source of growth for most mature communities. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282200?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282200?profile=original" width="500" class="align-full"></a></p>
<p>Plugincars also does a great job of highlighting the key contributors to the community. This is on the landing page of the community. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282285?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282285?profile=original" width="299" class="align-full"></a></p>
<p> Finally in the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.plugincars.com/cars">cars section</a> of the community, they give an instant overview of the topic. They provide a list of rechargable cars, upcoming cars, and the basic details of each car. This provides members with a glance of most of what they want to know about the topic.</p>
<p>If you're looking for what essential elements build a great community, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.plugincars.com/">Plugincars</a> is a good place to start. </p></div>8 Signs Your Community Is In Troublehttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/8-signs-your-community-is-in-trouble2014-02-04T23:59:04.000Z2014-02-04T23:59:04.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>Your online community won't die overnight. That never happens. Most communities end with members gradually drifting away.</p>
<p>There are some clear danger signals that your community is going downhill, these are a few to watch out for:</p>
<ol>
<li><b>No new posts in 24 hours.</b> If your community goes an entire day (except Christmas) without a single interaction you’re on the brink of failure. Push the panic button. Engage heavily in one to one interactions to inject activity.</li>
<li><b>Key members have gone missing.</b> Name your top 10 members. Have any of them been posting less frequently recently? Why? Find out and adapt.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282062?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282062?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="400" class="align-right"></a></li>
<li><b>Less members are joining.</b> Community members are transient, they get jobs, move location, start families. You need fresh blood to keep the community active. Regularly measure the number of new members joining, when it dips (or slows) take action to recruit new members.</li>
<li><b>A new rival community is rapidly gaining momentum.</b> If you see a new community in your field rapidly gaining momentum, it means you’re not providing something these members need.</li>
<li><b>Posts go unanswered.</b> The lack of conversation is a clear flag something is wrong. When posts start going unanswered, people begin to drift away.</li>
<li><b>Declining sector/topic/passion.</b> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.uk-ct.net/">UK-CT</a> is a dying community for a video game which is over 10 years old. It’s entire audience has moved on to other games. It’s niche is dying, it didn’t stick with the players.</li>
<li><b>Lack of friendliness.</b> Whilst arguments are important, friendliness is more important. Do members seem less friendly recently? Do they lack familiarity with each other and previous community discussions? Do they know how the top members in a community are?</li>
<li><b>Boring discussions.</b> Subjective, but important. Do the discussions feel like they’re less interesting recently? Is there a poor quality of things to talk about?</li>
</ol>
<p>Keep an eye for these signals and react aggressively when you spot one. Don’t be passive, by the time you spot a signal, it might already be almost impossible to reverse the problem.</p></div>Techniques to Help Measure the ROI of Online Communitieshttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/techniques-to-help-measure-the-roi-of-online-communities2014-01-15T21:44:58.000Z2014-01-15T21:44:58.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>If an organization is investing in a community, they deserve to know what they’re getting for their money. </p>
<p>The most common objections to measuring this ROI are 1) You can’t measure everything 2) it’s not about ROI.</p>
<p>The first is right, but you can still be accurate. The second is misguided (what does engagement eventually lead to if not greater profits?). </p>
<p>There are a few techniques that can really help here.</p>
<p>1) <b>Measure the increase since joining the community</b>.</p>
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282318?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"></p>
<p>You can’t compare the spending habits of members to non-members. Those that decide to join a community are already likely to be your best and most passionate supporters. You need to benchmark buying habits of members when they join the community and then 6 to 12 months later. This shows what possible influence the community has had on their behavior. If members (on average) spent $35 a year when they joined the community and now spend $55 per year, that’s $20 per year increase.</p>
<p>2) <b>Non-members as a control group</b>. When Apple releases the next iteration of iPhone, millions of people will spend more on Apple products. You can’t attribute that to the community. To remove this, you need to use non-members as a control group (we’re abusing science a little here). Track the buying habits of non-members and remove any increase in spending from what you’re measuring. This gives you an amount that is attributable to the community. If the average customer (non-member) spending rose from $25 to $35, that removes $10 from the above figure. </p>
<p>3) <b>Survey religiously</b>. This is your secret weapon. You can’t track every purchase from every member (unless e-mail accounts are used to purchase the service <em>and</em> join the community). You need to survey the buying habits of your members. Not all members, but specific samples at certain times. This won’t give you an exact figure, but it will give you an accurate figure. You really want to know the value per active member – then you can multiply by the number of active members.</p>
<p>4) <b>Multiply by years</b>. If community members, on average, spend $10 per year attributable to the community, and you have 50,000 active members, that’s $500,000 <i>per year</i>. Multiply that by the year (and number of active members for each year) and you get a very accurate projection of future benefits of the community.</p>
<p><em>Image via GraphicStock</em></p></div>How To Handle Troublemakershttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-to-handle-troublemakers2014-01-13T20:53:14.000Z2014-01-13T20:53:14.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><span class="font-size-3">This topic comes up a lot. How do you manage people causing problems in your community?</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">There are remarkably few options.</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Do nothing.</b> There is a difference between causing friction and doing irreversible damage to the community. If they’re in the former, let it go. You’re not the opinion police.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Kick them out and ban them.</b> If they are doing real damage to the community, inciting hatred, planning terrorist atrocities, engaging in illegal activities, or insulted your parents – boot them.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Suspend them.</b> You don’t always have to kick people out, just suspend them from posting for a few days. Do this often enough and they will either lose interest in the community altogether, or recant their past behaviour and work for the common good.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Punish them.</b> Every time they do something wrong, reduce their karma points, prevent them from posting, reduce their post counts, change their profile picture, or simply edit their messages to something funnier – or just delete them entirely.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><br> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282052?profile=RESIZE_480x480" target="_self" width="400"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282052?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><span class="font-size-3">Reason with them.</span></strong> <span class="font-size-3">Not you, the community. Ask a few regular members what damage they believe Mr. X is doing and present quotes (anonymously) to the person. They might see the light of day.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Sidetrack them.</b> Put them in charge of incredibly irrelevant projects, unimpressive forums, or agree to let them voice their opinions in their own column/forum.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Let the community decide. “</b>Well beloved community, do you want this member to continue doing what s/he has been doing? Or should we kick him/her out?”</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Bribe them.</b> If you stop doing {x}, I’ll give you your own forum, VIP status, extra karma points, a regular column.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Two more thoughts. (1) Be careful that the behaviour you don’t like and the behaviour the community doesn’t like align. (2) Just because the community doesn’t like one person’s behaviour doesn’t mean his behaviour is wrong.</span></p></div>Top 10 Cultivating Community Articles of 2013https://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/top-10-articles-of-20132013-12-26T22:00:00.000Z2013-12-26T22:00:00.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208307?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>It's been a great year to be a Community Manager and it's been a fantastic year to be a writer or reader here at Cultivating Community. Here are the Top 10 Most Read Articles from Cultivating Community in 2013 - did you miss any?</p>
<p>10. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/converting-newcomers-into-active-community-members" target="_self">Converting Newcomers into Active Community Members</a> - This webinar recording led us through ways to dive into your community's data and find out where you're losing members after they join, then take action to keep them as active community members. </p>
<p>9. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/6curation-tools-for-community-managers-" target="_self">6 Curation Tools for Community Managers</a> - Content curation is one of the best ways to keep interesting, high quality content flowing in your community. Here are six tools for you to start using in the new year.</p>
<p>8. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/community-spotlight-pcdn" target="_self">Community Spotlight: Peace and Collaborative Development Network</a> - Dr. Craig Zeiler inspired us as he told his story of founding and running the Peace and Collaborative Development Network, <span>the leading online global community of individuals and organizations working in peacebuilding, international development, and related fields.</span></p>
<p>7. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/infographic-the-value-of-community-management" target="_self">Infographic - The Value of Community Management</a> - Two community networks partner to create an awesome infographic. Working with The Community Roundtable's 2013 State of Community Management report made for one truly informative graphic. </p>
<p>6. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-to-make-social-work-for-your-forums-ted-rheingold-at-forumcon" target="_self">How to Make Social Work for Your Forums - Ted Rheingold at ForumCon</a> - Allison and I had the pleasure of attending ForumCon this year and Ted Rheingold's presentation was one of the highlights. </p>
<p>5. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/conceptualizing-a-framework-for-communities-video" target="_self">Conceptualizing a Framework for Communities [Video]</a> - Without a solid concept, communities can easily fail. This hour long webinar recording helps set you up for success. </p>
<p>4. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/the-different-types-of-events" target="_self">The Different Types of Events</a> - Events are a great way to increase participation in your community and this primer should give you some ideas to get 2014 started on the right foot. </p>
<p>3. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-to-monetize-your-online-community-video" target="_self">How to Monetize Your Online Community [Video]</a> - Monetization is so much more than advertising and Patrick O'Keefe joined us for this discussion on ways to think outside the ad box. </p>
<p>2. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/the-ultimate-welcome-for-your-online-community-s-newcomers" target="_self">The Ultimate Welcome for Your Online Communitiy's Newcomers</a> - Do you have a plan in place for welcoming your members? This article guides you through the essential parts of the Ultimate Welcome Package. </p>
<p>1. <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/announcing-ning-3" target="_self">Announcing Ning 3.0</a> - 2013 saw the launch of Ning 3.0, a top to bottom redesign for the Ning Platform. It's been a fantastic year for us here at Ning. Other Ning-centrics articles cracking the top 10 included our <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/unleash-the-power-of-groups-on-ning-3-0" target="_blank">Introduction to Groups on 3.0</a>, and the announcement of a <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com%20/ning-blog/professional-community-course-by-feverbee-now-available" target="_self">professional community management course from Feverbee</a> for Ning Network Creators. </p>
<p>What topics would you like to see us cover in 2014?</p>
</div>What To Listen For (and how to act on it)https://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/what-to-listen-for-and-how-to-act-on-it2013-12-03T20:17:49.000Z2013-12-03T20:17:49.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>We're commonly told to listen, but rarely told what to listen for.</p>
<p>Go to any community, and look for three things:</p>
<ol>
<li>What sort of information people ask for.</li>
<li>What members tell each other about themselves.</li>
<li>What people do in the community.</li>
</ol>
<p>In a previous community, we noticed that people liked to post what equipment they used on their profile page. They also compared different types of equipment. We incorporated this into a specific profile question and created a category solely for equipment comparisons. </p>
<p>Likewise, members liked to subtly boast about which events they had attended, so we made this a profile feature too. Members could choose to list all the events they had attended. </p>
<p>In one community, members always debated who was the best in their field. This also became a profile question and an ongoing poll. </p>
<p>In another community, members spent a lot of time talking about upcoming events. We created a place in the community for this. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282006?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282006?profile=original" width="600" class="align-center"></a>If you know what sort of information members seek for and the format they like it, you can create areas in the community solely for this. If members frequently ask questions related to a specific issue and like simple tips, you can create a place in the community for this. </p>
<p>If you know how members like to create their identities, you can help them do this. If members like to refer to the famous people in their field they've met, or post photos of themselves with famous people, you can create areas where they can do this. If members like to display their collections/equipment in photos, you can create a specific place for this (and let other members vote on it).</p>
<p>If you know what members do in the community, you can incorporate this in to what you do. If members like to debate politics, you can create a place just for this.</p>
<p>Listening is fine, knowing what to listen for is better. </p></div>First Class Lessons from The Ritz-Carlton Employee Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/ritz-carlton2013-11-26T21:50:11.000Z2013-11-26T21:50:11.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><p>The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company prides itself on being the gold standard for hospitality across the world and their record backs up that pride: the <a href="http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/About/Awards.htm" target="_blank">list of awards</a> bestowed to their properties is quite impressive. Their service has received note, as well, making them <span>only hotel company to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the United States Department of Commerce twice. What can you, as a community manager, take from their example?</span></p>
<p>The Ritz-Carlton employee motto states "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." <a href="http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/About/GoldStandards.htm#service" target="_blank">Every employee is empowered</a> to "create unique, memorable and personal experiences" and to "own and immediately resolve guest problems." Those memorable experiences are shared at <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/30/simon-cooper-ritz-leadership-ceonetwork-hotels.html" target="_blank">daily lineups</a> - departmental meetings that keep the teams on the same page. This commitment to the customer is something that hasn't gone unnoticed; Ritz-Carlton is frequently honored for its customer service and employee programs and has been the inspiration for other high-end customer experiences <a href="http://socialmediatoday.com/The-Big-Brand-Theory/ritz-carlton-uses-social-media-create-indelible-memories" target="_blank">like Apple's retail stores</a>. This extends to the brand's social media presence, where an emphasis is placed on engagement, not just numbers.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Hospitalityfan">@Hospitalityfan</a> We place focus on engagement levels. Fan acquisition not big priority for us. Nice to have, but engagement essential <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23MMchat&src=hash">#MMchat</a></p>
— The Ritz-Carlton (@RitzCarlton) <a href="https://twitter.com/RitzCarlton/statuses/334111622295609344">May 14, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<p>How does this relate to you as a community manager? Like the Ritz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen, you have to be empowered to help your community. When community members constantly hear "I'll pass that feedback on," or "I'll let the product team know," in response to their feedback, they quickly realize that the community manager is ineffective and lose faith in them. A community manager has to be empowered to become a part of the decision-making process, functioning as the primary conduit from the community to the company. Unfortunately, the answer to some feedback may be "No," or "not in the foreseeable future," but letting the community know this instead of being afraid to say No is generally a better option. </p>
<p>Another important aspect of Ritz-Carlton's policy to keep in mind is that it doesn't just pertain to turning around negative experiences. Their much lauded $2,000 policy (that any member of staff is enabled to spend up to that amount to make a customer happy, without General Manager approval) says nothing about making an <em>unhappy</em> customer happy - it applies to all customers. While you may not have such a hefty bankroll for making your community members happy, think about the little ways you can build them up: member appreciation programs, <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/14-events-you-can-organize-and-celebrate-in-your-community" target="_self">events</a>, even something as simple as giving them a shout-out. </p>
<p>Finally, if your community has reached the third phase of the <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/the-online-community-lifecycle-stage-three-maturity" target="_self">Online Community Lifecycle (Maturity)</a> and your new member numbers have begun to stagnate, don't start to fret. Remember that engagement is key to keeping your members happy and active. In the business world, it's a well documented fact that it's <a href="http://www.inc.com/karl-and-bill/its-cheaper-to-keep-em.html" target="_blank">more efficient to keep existing customers</a> than seek out new ones - the same applies to your community.</p>
<p>How do you make it a priority to create personal experiences for your community? </p>
</div>Concentrate Activityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/concentrate-activity2013-11-22T19:47:20.000Z2013-11-22T19:47:20.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>Imagine you have 30 people that want to meet up. Where would you do it?</p>
<p>You could meet in a bar or cafe, but it will probably feel a little too loud and squished. You could meet in an exhibition centre, but it would feel too empty and lack a close atmosphere.</p>
<p>Or you could meet in a local community hall. It's cosy, not empty.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281981?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281981?profile=original" width="600" class="align-center"></a></p>
<p>This is just as true for communities. When you launch a community you want to focus your activity in as small a place as possible. Don’t use all the features you have available. Hold some back for when the community grows.</p>
<p>Concentrate your activity and add more areas when you need them.</p></div>Big Launch Syndromehttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/big-launch-syndrome2013-11-07T17:10:00.000Z2013-11-07T17:10:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><span class="font-size-3">Most branded communities fall victim to a crippling disease. It's a disease spread largely by marketing folk. I call it the Big</span> <span class="font-size-3">Launch Syndrome. The Big Launch Syndrome can be identified by several  common symptoms.</span></p>
<ol>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Issuing a press release.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Hosting a contest/offering incentives to get people to register.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Developing expensive bespoke community platforms</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Advertising/promotion about the community.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Mass e-mails announcing the launch of a community.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Guest post by the CEO.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Blogger/influencer outreach campaigns.</span></li>
</ol>
<p><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3148/3091222567_947819d221.jpg?width=400" width="400" class="align-center" /> <span class="font-size-3">The Big Launch Syndrome is what happens when brands adopt a marketing-led approach to developing a community (as opposed to a community-led approach). It's what happens when brands don't realize that a community is a unique field which requires a unique approach. It's what happens when brands fail to understand that an online community has (unsurprisingly) more in common with offline community theory than previous marketing efforts.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">A big launch establishes a bad first impression, wastes a lot of money, sets too great expectations, focuses on the wrong metrics and is a massive gamble. Worse still, the Big Launch Syndrome is fatal. Every community that falls victim to it dies. To all brands, I know how tempted you are to go with the big launch. It's what you know and what you're familiar with. It feels safer. It feels like it should work, but it doesn't. Start small, grow steadily. Focus on a narrow group. Get 50 highly active members, then aim for 100 and 500. Forget a public launch and celebrate public milestones instead.</span></p>
<p>(<i>Image: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/3091222567/">Redline</a>, a Creative Commons <a rel="nofollow" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">Attribution (2.0)</a> image from jurvetson's photostream</i>)</p>
</div>Awesome Questions To Ask New Members Of Your Online Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/awesome-questions-to-ask-new-members-of-your-online-community2013-10-24T14:00:00.000Z2013-10-24T14:00:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><span class="font-size-3">Filling out your profile when you join a community is a tedious task. You’ve done it on dozens of other communities and very few people are going to read it. It’s also damned difficult to talk about yourself. You walk the fine line between arrogant and boring. </span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281958?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281958?profile=original" width="600" class="align-center"></a></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">So ditch the About Me section and ask specific, interesting questions instead. Here are a few of my favorites:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><i>How did you first become interested in {topic}?</i></span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><i>What was your best experience in</i> <em>{topic}?</em></span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><i>Who do you most admire/who is your favorite {topic person}?</i></span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><i>What do you think will happen in {topical issue}?</i></span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><i>What do you want to get from this community?</i></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font-size-3">The questions are easier and more interesting to reply to. Nearly every answer will be interesting, too. By revealing this information your also disclosing personal thoughts about yourself which <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.feverbee.com/2009/10/bonding-a-community-the-final-step.html" target="_blank">increases your level of engagement</a>. Finally, it will give you great content to introduce newcomers to others in the community. </span></p></div>Creating A Sense Of Belonging In Your Online Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/creating-a-sense-of-belonging-in-your-online-community2013-10-17T14:40:00.000Z2013-10-17T14:40:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>Not many groups offer a sense of belonging. Most groups don’t try. Members join for a tangible benefit rather than an emotional need. When a member really feels they belong amongst a group, their loyalty, commitment, and willingness to help increase dramatically. You have them for life.</p>
<p>Creating a sense of belonging requires a high-involvement approach. Far higher than what you’re currently doing. Every member needs to be treated as an individual. He or she needs to be personally welcomed by others, invited to get involved, given responsibilities, have a mentor/buddy to see them through, and be sought out if they’ve gone absent for a while.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281970?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281970?profile=original" width="600" class="align-center"></a></p>
<p>Most organizations, including yours, will say a super-high involvement strategy isn’t possible. It requires too much time, money, and resources. It <em>is</em> possible, just not if it’s entirely run by your organization. You need every member to help run the community.</p>
<p>Most branded communities move too fast. First they try to get a lot of people, then they aim for a lot of involvement. Do the opposite. First try to get a lot of involvement from a dozen members, then grow steadily. Never accept a member if you can’t offer a high-level of contact. This is the level of involvement you should strive to achieve. You want members to feel you care about each person.</p>
<p>A high involvement strategy should, naturally, get members more involved. If you begin high-involvement from the beginning, it ripples onwards throughout the community. Every member will be involved.</p>
<p>If you already have a community then begin a high-involvement approach with just 10 members. Contact them often, both online and offline, solicit their views often. Highlight places they might like to participate. Offer them roles and responsibilities. Spend 80% of your time on just 10 members. Soon they should do the same with 10 of their own.</p></div>How To Make Paid Search Pay Offhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-to-make-paid-search-pay-off2013-10-09T14:00:00.000Z2013-10-09T14:00:00.000ZGuest Contributorhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/GuestContributor<div><p><em>One of the most common pain points amongst those who run online communities is visibility. How do you make your community known and findable? Paid marketing can give new or established communities a much needed boost in exposure. Our friends at <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/" target="_blank">SiteWit</a> know quite a lot about this area and provided us with a great four-part series on this subject. </em></p>
<p></p>
<p>How can you drive a high volume of traffic to your new social website--and do it right out of the gate? One of the most effective ways is a paid search campaign on one of the big engines, like Google or Bing and Yahoo. It can bring in visitors who are actively looking for the specific activities or services your community provides. Best of all, paid search can start driving people to your community the same day it goes live.</p>
<p><strong>Launch Your Search Campaign Right</strong></p>
<p>Achieving success with a paid search campaign isn’t as easy as simply signing up. Doing it right means that, before you launch even one search ad, you need to understand the work involved. It can be a very daunting endeavor due to the fact that there are many steps you need to take and some risk if you don’t utilize a professional team or software to help you get going. Here are just a few of the tasks you’d have to complete to get started:</p>
<ul>
<li>Open an account with Google AdWords or Bing Ads.</li>
<li>Plan out and build a campaign.</li>
<li>Break up your campaign into ad groups.</li>
<li>Select strong keywords.</li>
<li>Create captivating ads with compelling messaging and visuals.</li>
<li>Determine how much you want to spend for placement.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Manage Your Campaign for Results</strong></p>
<p>After launch, there is still much more to do. You’ve only just begun. You need to carry out ongoing management to optimize your campaign outcome and to avoid paying for ads that don’t work. For instance:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Track keyword performance.</strong> Determine which keywords to keep and which to ax by looking at click-through rates (CTRs), costs per click (CPCs) and ad position.</li>
<li><strong>Identify your most effective ad messaging.</strong> Perform manual A/B testing to see which is driving the best traffic.</li>
<li><strong>Check your keyword bids daily, and bid strategically.</strong> Keep your ad on the first page of search results by bidding according to how the competition has affected the bidding landscape.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Turn to the Pros for Help Driving Traffic</strong></p>
<p>Want to take full advantage of paid search marketing? Try engaging a company that specializes in helping maximize search campaign results. An excellent and affordable example is SiteWit. Use SiteWit to set up a campaign fast — in about five minutes. They’ve found a way to automate all of the set up steps and make sure you are getting the optimal results for your budget range. SiteWit support includes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Quick set up process on Google and Bing all in one place</li>
<li>Keyword development and analysis</li>
<li>Local geo targeting</li>
<li>A/B testing</li>
<li>Automated keyword bidding</li>
<li>Automated budget maximization</li>
<li>Landing page recommendations</li>
<li>Campaign recommendations</li>
<li>Quality score optimization</li>
</ul>
<p>Visit <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/" title="www.sitewit.com">www.sitewit.com</a> to learn how they can help you drive more search traffic to your website.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281911?profile=original" width="190" class="align-right" style="padding: 5px;"></p>
<p class="p1">This post <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/2012/11/29/yola-blog-post-how-to-make-paid-search-pay-off/" target="_blank">originally appeared on the SiteWit blog</a> as a guest blog post from <a href="https://www.yola.com/" title="Yola - Make a free website">Yola</a> about using SiteWit to start a paid search campaign after publishing a new website. To see the post on Yola, <a href="http://www.yola.com/blog/how-to-make-paid-search-pay-off/" title="Yola blog post about SiteWit">click here</a>. This is part of a <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/list/tag/sitewit" target="_self">four article series</a> on paid marketing for communities</p>
<p class="p1"><b>About SiteWit</b></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="http://sitewit.com" target="_blank">SiteWit</a> is a Do It Yourself (DIY) online marketing platform specifically designed for small and mid-sized businesses. With SiteWit you can get started with pay-per-click advertising through Google and Bing. Our solution fully automate SEM management and optimization to maximize budgets and drive new customers to your site.</p></div>The 5 Worst Community Guidelineshttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/the-5-worst-community-guidelines2013-09-27T16:00:00.000Z2013-09-27T16:00:00.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208299?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Community Guidelines can be a struggle to write, especially since they're so specific to your community and its members. Inspired by a recent <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=cmgrchat&src=typd&f=realtime" target="_blank">#CMGRChat</a> on developing community guidelines, here are some really terrible ways to phrase your guidelines. </p>
<p><strong>Don't be a nOOb</strong></p>
<p>Really? That's how you're greeting your new members... with admonishment that they might not even understand? Take a minute to think about what annoying behaviors you lump into the idea of a "nOOb" and figure out how to preempt that behavior. </p>
<p><strong>Don't [this], Don't [that], Don't [this thing, too]</strong></p>
<p>A focus on the negative can make members overwhelmed and almost afraid of the community they're joining. Try to focus on positive reinforcement instead. </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Instead of "don't troll," it's "be awesome to one another." Focusing on encouraging positive action, not restricting. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23cmgrchat&src=hash">#cmgrchat</a></p>
— Matt Fairchild (@Scav) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scav/statuses/382938552436154368">September 25, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
<p><strong>Only moderators are allowed to tell people when they're doing something bad.</strong></p>
<p>In a well-established, vibrant community, members will become pretty good at discouraging unacceptable behavior from newcomers. Obviously, you don't want your community ganging up on new people, but allowing them the freedom to say "Hey, that's not really cool... here's how this community works" to potentially disruptive members can be more effective than a moderator stepping in immediately. </p>
<p><strong>Having 16 pages of guidelines... for a brand new community.</strong></p>
<p>While you want to make sure that some ideal behaviors are laid out from the start, community guidelines should be heavily influenced by your community. How can you know what those guidelines will need to be until your community has actually gotten started? </p>
<p><strong>404 - Page Not Found</strong></p>
<p>And the worst community guidelines are the ones you haven't actually written. Relying simply upon a Terms of Use document, with no guidelines on how members are expected to behave within the community is basically letting the Wild West run free within your community. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Now that you know what not to say, check out this article from The Community Manager for ideas on getting your Community Guidelines started or refined: <a href="http://thecommunitymanager.com/2013/09/26/how-to-write-effective-community-guidelines/" target="_blank">How to Write Effective Community Guidelines</a>. </p>
<p></p>
<p><em>Lead Image inspired by the <a href="http://forums.roadbikereview.com/womens-cycling/1895-rules-female-cyclists-298333.html" target="_blank">list of Rules for Female Riders</a> from an 1895 edition of The New York World. </em></p>
</div>How You Should be Spending Your Time Doing PPChttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-you-should-be-spending-your-time-doing-ppc2013-09-25T14:00:00.000Z2013-09-25T14:00:00.000ZGuest Contributorhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/GuestContributor<div><p><em>One of the most common pain points amongst those who run online communities is visibility. How do you make your community known and findable? Paid marketing can give new or established communities a much needed boost in exposure. Our friends at <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/" target="_blank">SiteWit</a> know quite a lot about this area and provided us with a great four-part series on this subject. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you are unsure about how to spend your time doing PPC management, you need to stop and ask yourself a few questions:</p>
<p><em>1. What am I trying to accomplish?<br> 2. What am I doing that produces the most value?<br> 3. What can I automate so I can increase sales?</em></p>
<h3>PPC can be time well spent if done right</h3>
<p>If you are spending your time trying to lower the cost of your PPC campaigns, you may be wasting time and money. Time should be spent trying to increase revenue, not lower costs. Think about it: If you spend $200 in labor trying to lower the cost of your PPC campaigns by $200, what did you really accomplish? More important, what did you not accomplish? Focus on tasks that produce revenue, regardless of whether they’re part of campaign management or not. Perhaps your time is better spent doing customer service or new client acquisition.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281923?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281923?profile=original" width="500" class="align-center"></a>Evaluate how much time you spend doing each part of your campaign management and see what produces the most value. Where do you spend most of your time? Are your fiddling with your campaign keywords, writing better ad copy, A/B testing, or designing better landing pages? If you spend most of your time fiddling with your keywords, maybe you need to reevaluate your strategy. Although long tail keywords will lower your cost, you’re wasting time if all you’re doing is lots of research. Focusing on ad copy and landing page design will produce much better results for your time investment. Always have new ads in the rotation and always be testing two or more landing pages. Focus on doing things that increase engagement, conversion and revenue.</p>
<p>Let’s look at automation. What in the PPC management process can be automated for less than the cost of doing it manually? There are dozens of tools available to use for managing PPC campaigns or building and testing landing pages. Look at what you can do well, what you can do fast and what you can automate so you can spend your time more wisely.</p>
<h3>SiteWit Analytics, Marketing and Enterprise Platforms gives users the tools to lower the time they spend doing PPC research, analysis, and optimization.</h3>
<p>Our new SiteWit Engagement Index provides users a new way to optimize and report PPC success whether tracking conversions or not. We free up your time so you can focus on ad copy, A/B testing and landing pages. Learn more about how SiteWit measures, analyzes and optimizes using engagement to save you time and money.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr>
<p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> <img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281911?profile=original" width="190" class="align-right"></p>
<p class="p1">This post <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/2012/10/08/how-you-should-be-spending-your-time-doing-ppc/" target="_blank">originally appeared on the SiteWit blog</a> and is part of a <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/list/tag/sitewit" target="_self">four article series</a> on paid marketing for communities.</p>
<p class="p1"><b>About SiteWit</b></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="http://sitewit.com" target="_blank">SiteWit</a> is a Do It Yourself (DIY) online marketing platform specifically designed for small and mid-sized businesses. With SiteWit you can get started with pay-per-click advertising through Google and Bing. Our solution fully automate SEM management and optimization to maximize budgets and drive new customers to your site.</p>
<p> </p></div>Driving Traffic To Your Community: Why SiteWit Workshttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/driving-traffic-to-your-site-why-sitewit-works2013-09-18T13:30:00.000Z2013-09-18T13:30:00.000ZGuest Contributorhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/GuestContributor<div><p><em>One of the most common pain points amongst those who run online communities is visibility. How do you make your community known and findable? Paid marketing can give new or established communities a much needed boost in exposure. Our friends at <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/" target="_blank">SiteWit</a> know quite a lot about this area and provided us with a great four-part series on this subject. </em></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Hooray you just built an awesome community! Now what? Well the answer is very simple: It’s time to start driving traffic to your site.</span></p>
<h3><span class="font-size-4">One of the best (and quickest) ways to drive traffic to your website is to build a paid search campaign on one of the big search engines such as Google or Bing & Yahoo!.</span></h3>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Paid search is a great way to drive traffic to your site because it will bring in visitors that are already looking for your specific kind of product and/or service. Best of all, it can happen right away! You could have people coming to your website just hours after it has gone live.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moneyblognewz/5267464508/" title="Google Main Search by MoneyBlogNewz, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5242/5267464508_7326039635.jpg" width="500" height="291" alt="Google Main Search"></a></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">So how do I do start, you ask? Well that’s a bit more complicated. First you’ll have to open a Google Adwords or Bing Ads account. Then you’re going to build a campaign. Then you’re going to break up that campaign into ad groups. Then you’ll have to pick your keywords. Then you’ll have to build ads. Then you’ll have to determine how much you want to spend. Then you’ll have to…see where this is going? And here’s the kicker…starting the campaign is the easy part. After that you’ll have to consistently:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Check your keyword performance by looking at CTRs, CPCs, ad position, and Quality Score to determine which ones need to stay in your list and which ones need the ax.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Do your own manual a/b testing to determine which message in your ads is driving the best traffic.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Look at your keyword bids DAILY to see how the competition has affected the bidding landscape and then determine what the right bid should be today to stay on that first page of search results.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3><span class="font-size-4">In a nutshell, paid search is great but it is no easy task.</span></h3>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Luckily there are companies such as SiteWit that have made it easy to start a paid search marketing campaign with all the confidence and none of the know-how. Setting up a campaign through SiteWit is easy, can be done in about five minutes, and it won’t break the bank. They’ll take care of the technical stuff by performing:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Keyword analysis</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Automated a/b testing</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Automated keyword bidding</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Landing page recommendations</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Campaign recommendations</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">Quality score optimization</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3">And so much more!</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Now that you know where to start and what tool to use, let’s start driving people to your website! Visit www.sitewit.com to learn how they can help you market your website with confidence.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>(<i>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moneyblognewz/5267464508/">Google Main Search</a>, a Creative Commons <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">Attribution (2.0)</a> image from moneyblognewz's photostream</i>)</p>
<hr>
<p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> <img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281911?profile=original" width="190" class="align-right"></p>
<p class="p1">This post <a href="http://www.sitewit.com/2012/10/25/driving-traffic-to-your-site-why-sitewit/" target="_blank">originally appeared on the SiteWit blog</a> and is part of a <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/list/tag/sitewit" target="_self">four article series</a> on paid marketing for communities.</p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><b>About SiteWit</b></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="http://sitewit.com" target="_blank">SiteWit</a> is a Do It Yourself (DIY) online marketing platform specifically designed for small and mid-sized businesses. With SiteWit you can get started with pay-per-click advertising through Google and Bing. Our solution fully automate SEM management and optimization to maximize budgets and drive new customers to your site.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p></div>Infographic: The Value of Community Managementhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/infographic-the-value-of-community-management2013-09-12T14:40:00.000Z2013-09-12T14:40:00.000ZAllison Leahyhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/allisonleahy<div><p><span class="font-size-3">In the interest of distilling the most popular takeaways and key data points from this year's <a href="http://www.communityroundtable.com/research/the-state-of-community-management/the-state-of-community-management-2013/" target="_self">State of Community Management: The Value of Community Management report</a> (2013 SOCM), Ning partnered with The Community Roundtable to produce a three part infographic that includes a profile of the average community manager, information on the central role of community managers, and community engagement standards.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="font-size-3">The 2013 SOCM builds on previous qualitative research, like 2012's <a href="http://www.communityroundtable.com/research/the-state-of-community-management/the-state-of-community-management-2012/">Lessons from Community and Social Business Leaders</a>, to offer a quantitative look at how community management functions within organizations and the value to expect from those efforts over time. Information was aggregated from over 100 survey participants, <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/the-2013-state-of-community-management-survey-participate-and-be-">myself included</a>, who answered questions relating to organizational demographics, community programs, funding, community management practices, and community demographics. The goal of the research was to characterize and describe the value of business communities and report on how community management impacts their success. It was a major undertaking with incredible results. And the response from the social business community has been overwhelming to boot. The 2013 SOCM has been written up by <a href="http://www.socialfish.org/2013/06/2013-state-of-community-management-report-stresses-importance-of-community-managers.html">Social Fish</a>, <a href="http://dachisgroup.com/2013/09/todays-community-manager-skills/">Dachis Group</a>, <a href="http://jeffesposito.com/2013/06/19/five-takeaways-from-state-of-community-management-report-2/">Jeff Esposito</a>, <a href="http://blogs.salesforce.com/company/2013/07/invest-in-community-management.html">Maria Ogneva</a>, and <a href="http://company.socialstrata.com/blog/2013-state-of-community-management-report">Rosemary O'Neill</a> to name a few.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">We had the pleasure of collaborating with Maggie Tunning, Rachel Happe, Leanne Chase, and TheCR Network's rockstar <a href="http://www.communityroundtable.com/about/reserach-innovation-and-the-2013-state-of-community-management-advisory-board/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12pt;">research innovation and management team</a> who dug deep into the data so we didn't have to. Without their efforts, how would we know that 22% of organizations outsource at least some community management duties, or that when hiring a community manager, soft skills are valued over technical skills? We wouldn't. And these are important learnings in a fast-evolving social business landscape where more and more companies are investing in online communities. </span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="font-size-3"> Infographic: The central role, responsibilities and value of a community manager. <a href="http://clicktotweet.com/c92P9" target="_blank"><font color="#75AF42"><click to tweet></font></a></span></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="s1"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.communityroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SOCM-2013-Infographic-final.pdf" target="_blank"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1282175?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"></a></p>
<p><span class="s1"> </span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Special thanks go out to Ning and Glam Media's very own Crystal Coleman, Jean Hsuehz, Vic Zaud, and Sheena Yang for the ideation, design and execution of this <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%232013socm&src=typd" target="_blank">#2013SOCM</a> infographic. </span></p>
<p> </p></div>Unpopular Communitieshttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/unpopular-communities2013-08-23T19:13:13.000Z2013-08-23T19:13:13.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><p>Everyone wants to be liked. But maybe being liked by everyone isn't the best thing for your community. </p>
<p>I recently read "The Power of Unpopular" by <a href="http://erikanapoletano.com/blog/" target="_blank">Erika Napoletano</a>, the no holds barred brand strategist who makes a splash in the marketing world with her frank, uncensored advice. While the advice in her book is primarily aimed at brands and companies, I found that much of the wisdom could easily be applied to online community. Here are my favorite takeaways for cultivating an "unpopular" community:</p>
<h3>Get in the pool with the haters.</h3>
<p>In customer support communities, a large amount of negativity is common. Many companies are hesitant to start a community or even cultivate one through social media in fear of this backlash. Erika thinks they're making a big mistake. "You screwed up, here's why" can be the best kind of customer feedback. <em>Even a person who's upset clearly has a lot of passion about your company</em> - if they didn't, they wouldn't bother joining/commenting/emailing, etc. The same goes for any community that encounters an upset member. The key is in figuring out what people are asking for in between their need to blow off steam.</p>
<div>
<img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1281954?profile=original" width="500" class="align-center">
<h3>What's your story?</h3>
</div>
<div>
Napoletano describes a brand's "secret sauce" as something in particular that attracts one group and possibly repels another. Your community needs a secret sauce, too. You have to make it clear to your prospective community members who your community, why you're different and, most importantly,
<em>why people should care</em>. There are an abundance of running communities but the
<a href="https://www.zombiesrungame.com/" target="_blank">Zombies, Run!</a> community has logged over 11 million kilometers in only a year and a half because they've brought a unique story to their community.
</div>
<div>
<h3>The Recipe for Unpopularity</h3>
</div>
<div>
Erika suggests a five ingredient recipe for unpopular brands: Personality, Approachability, Sharability, Scalability, Profitability. Every ingredient is just as vital to a successful community.
</div>
<div>
<strong>Personality</strong> - If your community is dry and bland, members won't develop an attachment to it.
</div>
<div>
<strong>Approachability</strong> - Making your moderator team accessible, friendly, and eager to welcome new members means members will feel like they've found a place where they belong.
</div>
<div>
<strong>Sharability</strong> - You want your community to be a place that people are excited and proud to invite like-minded friends to join.
</div>
<div>
<strong>Scalability</strong> - From the early days of your community, make sure to keep an eye out for members that would be great additions to the moderator team; if all goes well, you might need them one day.
</div>
<div>
<strong>Profitability</strong> - Even if you're not creating a community for the express purpose of making money, you
<em>are</em> investing in it - whether it's money on a platform or hosting, or just the time that you put into making the community great. You need to be getting something in return, at the very least the leadership experience it will bring you and satisfaction at bringing people together.
</div>
<div>
<em><span class="font-size-3">How are you embracing or encouraging the unpopularity of your community? </span></em>
</div></div>"Culture eats strategy for lunch" - Community Lessons from Whole Foodshttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/culture-eats-strategy-for-lunch-community-lessons-from-whole-food2013-08-08T18:22:58.000Z2013-08-08T18:22:58.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208329?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><span class="font-size-3">This week, I attended <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blogwell/bayarea/" target="_blank">BlogWell Bay Area</a>, an event from <a href="http://socialmedia.org" target="_blank">SocialMedia.Org</a> featuring eight social media savvy brands sharing case studies from their social media programs. Almost all of the presentations focused heavily on content, a common theme in all social media and community circles right now. The presentation from Whole Foods Market's Natanya Anderson, Director of Social Media and Digital Marketing focused on how Whole Foods balances its overall brand social media with each market's local efforts. The way they bring everything together is deeply rooted in community. Here are some of the points that stood out to me: </span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Know your roots.</strong> A hyperlocal, community atmosphere was deeply ingrained in the company culture from the start, making local marketing incorporation an easy fit. <strong>Everything you build has to be <em>for</em> your community. </strong></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Consider the operational realities.</strong> Adding social media to the roster of what store managers are tasked with isn't always met with rainbows and unicorns. Pictures of the in-store set ups work well on local social media, but store associates aren't allowed to have phones on the sales floor. <strong>Think about the impediments facing your community and try to provide solutions. </strong></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Support is essential.</strong> Whole Foods has a regional Social Media Specialist to guide each region's markets with local strategies. They even know where to nurture their talent: one of the regional specialists started as the associate who was most passionate about social media in her store. <strong>The people who know your community best are the ones who are already <em>in</em> your community. </strong></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Culture eats strategy for lunch.</strong> Whole Foods found that campaigns that did exceedingly well on a brand level sometimes failed on a local level and vice versa. It was about what people looked to the brand for (inspiration, aspiration, information) and what they looked to the local level for (product information, events, promotions). <strong>You can plan and implement and plan some more, but if you're fighting against the ingrained culture in your community, you will fail. </strong></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="font-size-3">A video of Natanya's great talk will be posted on the <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blogwell/bayarea/" target="_blank">BlogWell page</a> soon. Until then, check out the <a href="http://www.socialmedia.org/blog/whole-foods-market-brand-local-social-creating-balance-in-the-customer-experience-live-from-blogwell/" target="_blank">liveblog</a> from the presentation. </span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">(<i>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/austins_only_paper/390948538/">Whole Foods | Austin, TX</a>, a Creative Commons <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">Attribution Share-Alike (2.0)</a> image from austins_only_paper's photostream</i>)</span></p>
</div>3 Perfectly Acceptable Ways To Invite Someone To Join Your Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/3-ways-to-invite-someone-to-your-community2013-07-16T16:00:00.000Z2013-07-16T16:00:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p><span class="font-size-3">You can’t mass-invite people to join your community. That’s spam. It’s ineffective and does more harm than good. Do you want a deleted e-mail to be someone’s first impression of your community?</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/4660273582/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4016/4660273582_167a3fbece.jpg?width=300" width="300" class="align-right" style="padding: 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">There are 3 very good and very effective ways to invite someone to join your community.</span></p>
<ol>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Through a relationship.</b> Build a relationship with the person first. Take the time to read their blog, leave comments, send and reply to e-mails. Give before you get. Introduce yourself long before you send an invite.</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>Via a referral.</b> Gain a referral (or a mass-referral) from people you do have a relationship with: “<i>Jon recommended I contact you about this community we’re trying to create.</i>”</span></li>
<li><span class="font-size-3"><b>By adding value.</b> Find a way to add value to the interaction. Invite him to become one of the first 10 members to join your community. Offer a position of responsibility within your community. Solve a problem they’re struggling with. Your interaction has to add value.</span></li>
</ol>
<p><span class="font-size-3">If you don’t have one of these 3, then you probably don’t want to invite that person to join your community. As a rule of thumb, don’t invite someone to join your community at the first interaction.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>(<i>Image: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/4660273582/">Email email email</a>, a Creative Commons <a rel="nofollow" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">Attribution Share-Alike (2.0)</a> image from rmgimages's photostream</i>)</p>
</div>ForumCon 2013: Nir Eyal on How to Hook Your Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/forumcon-2013-nir-eyal-hooked-model2013-07-10T16:00:00.000Z2013-07-10T16:00:00.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208258?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>At this year's enlightening ForumCon, there were some <a href="http://www.forumcon.com/blog" target="_blank">fantastic, educational, and fun sessions</a>. Allison covered Ted Rheingold's energetic talk on <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/how-to-make-social-work-for-your-forums-ted-rheingold-at-forumcon" target="_self">making social work for your community</a>. The presentation that really stuck with me was Nir Eyal's "<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/nireyal/hooked-model" target="_blank">Hooked Model</a>." A writer, lecturer at Stanford University and frequent speaker, Nir's specialty is educating companies and consumers on habits and behaviors that help and hinder their lives, both online and off. In talking about what traits apps need to "hook" users, much of his information was directly relevant to building communities that keep members coming back . </p>
<p>To "hook" users, Nir identified a model of four behaviors: Trigger, Action, Reward, and Investment. </p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-3">Trigger </span></strong></p>
<p>This is the reason that a potential member looks for your site or a current member comes back. Internal Triggers (within the individual) will commonly draw new members to your community: seeking information for a new purchase, frustration over a product change, or excitement over a new development. Current members will be drawn in more by external triggers initiated by others: Email newsletters, message notifications, blog or social media updates. External triggers are often within your control, but internal triggers are usually emotions within the user and harder to grab onto. <em>Think about what emotional needs your community fulfills for your users.</em> Is it relieving boredom, encouraging camaraderie, providing support from the community or something else?</p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Action</strong></span></p>
<p>Action is the behavior you want your users to take when faced with a trigger. Eyal cites BJ Fogg's <a href="http://www.behaviormodel.org/" target="_blank">Behavior Model</a> in his presentation: Behavior (Action) equals motivation combined with ability and a trigger. <em>Making your intended action easier for your user greatly increases the chance that they will act on the trigger you provide them with.</em> When sending out notification messages, make sure to include direct links to the content referenced so they will be taken right to what they've been triggered by. </p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Reward</strong></span></p>
<p>Potential rewards are the reason we click on links in email, log in to communities, and post discussion topics. Variable rewards are sometimes even more compelling. Think of updating your Facebook newsfeed as a variable reward: you don't know if there will be new posts to read, or from whom, or what they will say. You are acting (updating) for the potential of an unknown reward (new content). Y<em>ou still have to give the user what they came for</em>, though, otherwise they will become disenchanted with your rewards and stop acting. </p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-3" style="color: #000000;">Investment</span></strong></p>
<p>The last stage is investment, something that online communities generally excel at. <em>People attribute more value to something to which they have contributed.</em> A user who has added something to a discussion is more likely to come back to it, to see if others have recognized their input. This investment sets the entire cycle up to repeat, by storing value and giving the user more variable rewards to anticipate. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Want to learn more? You can view Nir Eyal's presentation below or <a href="http://www.nirandfar.com/" target="_blank">visit his website</a> to see if he'll be speaking near you soon. </p>
<p> <iframe width="427" height="356" style="border: 1px solid #CCC; border-width: 1px 1px 0; margin-bottom: 5px;" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/16424773?rel=0" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/nireyal/hooked-model" title="Hooked Model" target="_blank">Hooked Model</a></strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/nireyal" target="_blank">Nir Eyal</a></strong></div>
<p>(<i>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/g-ratphotos/3279810070/">Baby, you've got me hooked(explored :D)</a>, a Creative Commons <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">Attribution Share-Alike (2.0)</a> image from g-ratphotos's photostream</i>)</p>
</div>The 90-9-1 Rule: Dead, Different, or a Distraction?https://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/90-9-1-rule2013-07-08T17:00:00.000Z2013-07-08T17:00:00.000ZCrystalhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/CrystalC<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2208215?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>The 90-9-1 Ratio or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90-9-1" target="_blank">1% Rule</a> (out of 100 people in any given community, 90 will be lurkers, 9 will engage with content, and only 1 will create content) has been up for discussion a lot lately.  The BBC came out with a study that <a href="http://www.dzone.com/articles/golden-9091-rule-online" target="_blank">77% of people online are content creators</a> in March. It <a href="http://www.octribe.org/dokuwiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=online_community_unconference_2013_book_of_proceedings.pdf#page=18" target="_blank">came up at</a> the Online Community Unconference in May.  Paul Schneider <a href="http://info.socious.com/bid/40350/Is-the-90-9-1-Rule-for-Online-Community-Engagement-Dead-Data" target="_blank">declared it dead</a> way back in 2011 (but his writing on the topic has shown renewed interested this spring). The Community Roundtable's State of Community Management Report also <a href="http://www.communityroundtable.com/research/the-state-of-community-management/the-state-of-community-management-2013/" target="_blank">declared the number outdated</a>. There seem to be two different conclusions that people have come to regarding the current state of the 90-9-1 principle: either it's completely dead or it needs to be updated. I'd like to make a different conjecture: it is a distraction.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="font-size-3">Dead</span></span></p>
<p>A study like the one that the BBC conducted, which flips the numbers so completely upside down, seems to suggest that the rule is completely dead. If 77% of people online are creating content on one or more platforms, with the other 23% mostly choosing not to, the age of the lurker is dead. Everyone is a creator, an engager, and a consumer, simultaneously. </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="font-size-3">Different</span></span></p>
<p>Other articles have posited that the numbers in the formula just need to be updated for this new Age of the Creator. The Community Roundtable found their survey produced an average ratio of 55-30-15. In communities that were used for intra-company communication, the ratio changed to 17-57-26, with more creators than lurkers. Schneider's survey found that a 70-20-10 ratio was more in line with his findings. </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="font-size-3">Distraction</span></span></p>
<p>I'd like to propose a third option (which I've heard others suggest, as well): Any "rule" that tries to pinpoint a ratio for online engagement is just a flawed distraction. Every community elicits a different level of participation from its members, so trying to attain a magical formula just because you're told that you should is taking you away from the things you should be spending your time on: welcoming members, <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/20-fantastic-content-ideas-for-your-online-community" target="_self">coming up with great content</a>, <a href="http://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/14-events-you-can-organize-and-celebrate-in-your-community" target="_self">planning events to bring your community together</a>, and focusing on your community, not the numbers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(<i>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/christophera/3367609602/">Participation Inequality 90 9 1</a>, a Creative Commons <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">Attribution (2.0)</a> image from christophera's photostream</i>)</p>
<p><em>Edited for clarification of 90-9-1 Rule, 7/14/13.</em></p>
</div>Setting Objectives For Your Online Communityhttps://cultivate.ning.com/ning-blog/setting-objectives-for-your-online-community2013-07-03T17:30:00.000Z2013-07-03T17:30:00.000ZRichard Millingtonhttps://cultivate.ning.com/community/RichardMillington<div><p>Fight the pressure to set clear objectives for your online community. Especially objectives with measurable metrics.</p><p>When you set fixed objectives (e.g. get 50 great product ideas, increase repeat buying by 15%, 250 mentions on blogs) you create a chasm between what you and your community members want.</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/4881844153/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/4881844153_debf711b41_m.jpg?width=240" width="240" class="align-right"/></a></p><p>Did members join to give product feedback, buy more or get you mentioned on blogs? No. They joined to meet others like them and have a good time. When you start pressuring members to give ideas, buy more or help promote you – you’re asking them to do something that they don’t want to do. That doesn’t end well (for you).</p><p>Every major successful online community has its objectives aligned with what members want. This is usually <i>being awesome</i>, like getting exclusives, arranging meet-ups, having influence over the topic itself etc..</p><p>Here is the important thing to understand. <i>The benefits you get from thriving online communities are the derivatives of its success.</i> They should not be the objectives for the community itself. You still get what you want, but they get what they want first.</p><p>First you have to create a successful online community – then you can enjoy its benefits. If you can understand this, your online community will be so much better.</p><p>(<i>Image: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/4881844153/">Success is this way</a>, a Creative Commons <a rel="nofollow" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">Attribution Share-Alike (2.0)</a> image from rmgimages's photostream</i>)</p></div>