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engagement (8)

Upcoming Webinar: The Community Lifecycle

Posted by Allison Leahy on August 21, 2013 at 4:32pm
The Online Community Lifecycle is the single most important thing a community manager can know. Attend our upcoming webinar on August 29th, and at the end of one hour you will have a full understanding of this concept. It might just completely change the way you approach your community.
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Why Do So Many Communities Fail? Conceptualizing a Framework for Communities [Video]

Posted by Allison Leahy on July 18, 2013 at 5:54pm in community management talks
An online community is destined to fail if there is not enough interest in the concept for the community. So what does it take to create a community with a brilliant concept? Richard Millington explains.
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Community Spotlight: Enrique Iglesias Rocks Over a Decade of Fan Engagement to Become One of the 50 Most Influential Celebrities on the Internet

Posted by Allison Leahy on July 15, 2013 at 9:10am in community spotlight
Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias can teach us a thing or two about community: He's recognized as one of the 50 most influential celebrities on the internet and there has been some semblance of an international fan forum present at EnriqueIglesias.com since the late 1990s. We caught up with Enrique's management team to chat about the engine that powers all that activity and the motivations behind the recent site redesign.
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Facebook vs. a Custom Community: Quantity vs. Quality

Posted by John McDonald on July 12, 2013 at 7:00am in social media
“Why should I invest in a custom community on Ning – why not just focus on my Facebook Page?” It’s a question I’ve heard frequently since I joined the Ning team in 2009. While there isn’t just one answer, custom communities do offer several unique benefits including complete ownership of the relationships and membership data, the ability to communicate with fans when and how you want, the chance to create a branded destination, and the freedom to monetize fan activity. However, the most important reason for investing in a custom community is the outcome – higher quality engagement with fans, peers, or customers.
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How to Make Social Work for Your Community: Ted Rheingold at ForumCon 2013

Posted by Allison Leahy on June 13, 2013 at 9:26pm in social media
A breakdown of Ted Rheingold's ForumCon 2013 presentation "How to Make Social Work For Your Forums" including a definition of sociality, a look at the three levels of sharing, how to avoid platform fatigue, and engagement hacks for optimizing your community's presence across popular social platforms.
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The Ultimate Welcome For Your Online Community's Newcomers

Posted by Richard Millington on April 8, 2013 at 12:23pm in best practices
Most communities are setup to repulse newcomers. You have to complete dumb questions when you join. Then you’re asked to introduce yourself to others. You should welcome members, not out of obligation, but with the firm intention of ensuring they begin participating and making friends within your community.
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Community Picks

Webinar: Community Platform Design and Development

Community Spotlight: The Peace and Collaborative Development Network

Series: Organizing an Unruly Community

Trending: First Class Lessons from the Ritz-Carlton Employee Community

Infographic: The Value of Online Community

Ning News: Unleash the Power of Groups on Ning 3.0

Every few weeks, Ning invites a leading expert to discuss trending topics and best practices for community management. Watch the recordings here.

More than two million people have built a branded social network on Ning. Many of these customers now enjoy thriving online communities. You can find a few of those success stories here.

Learn what it takes to thrive and see what it is possible to achieve with Ning.


Growing a thriving online community is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

Our goal at Ning is to make building a community dead simple. We provide an incredibly reliable, popular, and easy-to-use platform so you can focus on cultivating your community.

Learn how to start your community in minutes.

Have you considered monetizing your community? Download your free copy of Monetizing Online Forums by Patrick O'Keefe to learn what methods are available, how to implement them, and how you can benefit today.