Community Building Online
Hi all!
I'm currently working on a product where the main focus is to build a thriving, engaged community on our website. We have forums and user accounts, with more features for engagement coming. However, I've never tried to build an online community before, and I'm not sure what the best way to handle that is. Does anyone have any advice about how to build online communities? What types of marketing did you use? How did you motivate users to engage once they'd signed up?
Any help will be wonderful!
I did this before. I had a online forum for track cyclists. The only way I could get people using it was by posting in the forum. No one wants to be the only one using a forum because it would be pointless for getting answers or having a discussion.
This means I had to make false users and have in depth conversations about top topics in that niche.... with myself among these 'users'. Maybe get other workers to do this with you to spread out the work?
This will over time become ranked in search engines will start to find your site organically depending on how good the content and SEO.
Answering question on sites like Quora or other sites that allow you to link to or mention your site in your signature can generate users after awhile. These people might seek you out for being a subject matter expert.
I allowed certain businesses post about their businesses online sales in my 'sales' forum which wasn't allowed in other forums. This gave people a reason to stick around for the deals as well.
It took about tree weeks, but doing this nonstop started getting me users then it had a compounding effect over time. Too bad it was so much work to moderate and babysit users that I by myself got brunt out on it over time.
Good luck!
I was thinking to do something like this for a new community I’m about to launch. Did you at any time have some sort of cheating feeling or being scared of your real users figuring it out?
Did people figure out that you were basically talking to yourself? If yes was it a bad thing at all?
Roughly how many of these accounts did you need to make it look real?
Thanks
I grew my community 200 Words a Day to 450 users in 1 month from scratch. 20% are active weekly. 10% are active daily.
I didn't have any previous following. I didn't worked in any prestigious company. I am no one.
What I did:
Provide a small set of features that added value (community feed + text editor where everyone can write and share)
Communicate at EVERY SINGLE level: I do everything in public and actively share what I'm working on with everyone. 100% transparent toward everyone.
Talk to people every single day. I use the product every day as well (writing community). I ask for feedback and opinions anytime I can.
Add value. Create involvement. That's my "secret".
My community is still growing every day. I just made my first MRR a few days ago.
Stop releasing features. Stop over-thinking. Start talking. Start marketing. Great online communities are made of people who are enthusiastic about what you are doing. I don't need to motivate them. I just provide value and make sure they get it and understand it.
Sorry I wrote the previous comment on the wrong discussion (deleted now).
I like the idea of being transparent about your actions - update posts can grow a following on themselves I think.
How long did it take you to get any users signed up and how did you get them to know about your community? I'm a nobody and I find it hard to reach people to sign up - haven't really started contacting or posting anywhere since my forum and blog are currently empty, sorting out some some seed content first.
Mainly through Twitter and indie entrepreneur communities where I document my journey as a product hacker. Just share your work, add value, and improve according to feedback.
That's pretty cool idea.
This comment was deleted 7 years ago
First of all, don’t make the mistake of trying to launch your online community too quickly. Create an effective community launch plan.
Think carefully about what you’re trying to achieve and how you’re going to do it. Set up KPI for your community platform based on the SMART criteria(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and have a clear Time frame)
To do that, you'll need to set clear goals:
- How many community members would you like to have by the end of the year?
- How many leads should come from your community platform?
For more detailed information, check our 14 working tips for building the most effective online community for SaaS businesses here: https://bit.ly/2WQjmPL
It is about solving the right problem. If your product is not solving the right problem. They won't engage. You need to find out what they are having problem with and create a community around it.
What is the product that you are working on? and what is the purpose for you to build this community?
For you question here, I recommend this one here. This talked about problem space and community building https://kanglelin.com/build-your-vibrant-community-in-5-mins-reading/
I have more resources on community building, willing to help! :)
This comment was deleted 8 years ago