Driving Participation

 

If you build it... they will come! May be not.... besides specific calls to action when a user is at a community page, there is a huge spectrum across demographic groups on what they do (despite the calls to action) once they are there. There are many sections of the population who would contribute content no matter what, and those who will sit and watch no matter what. So what do you do to make the place buzzzzzz....

This post edited by vsingh on 12-16-2008, 2:15 PM EST

looks like this blog didn't get any participation for over a year.....
I think to encourage the interaction, the individual must see that they are going to get value.  Otherwise, it's just a place to "waste time."  I landed here today because of a press release I read, ... something about a new Alanta office, which took me to a video about MSU (I'm an alumni), which caused me to sign up for the community because I could stay atuned to what's happening in the new social media world.  ... not sure I've received value yet ... but willing to hang in there for a while to see what happens.

And we are happy to have you as a member of The Circuit, DenDee. :)

Since we're social media friends now, please let me know what type of content you're looking for (if there is anything in particular). We have tons of social media and Gov 2.0 case studies, white papers, and videos in our Resource Library. Feel free to look around and grab what catches your interest: http://www.ingagenetworks.com/resources.

To offer input regarding vsingh's question, I'd say that one way to make an online community "buzz" is to make sure it's monitored and managed by the most active users. Reason: because the majority (myself included) prefers to listen to feedback and suggestions from their peers. If an online community destination is managed by the brand alone, you lose out on the valuable user-generated content and creation of brand evangelists/consumer advocates.

We are struggling to get any UGC in our community and are seeing content posted by a handful of staff.   I agree with Courtney that you need a consistent set of community catalysts that monitor, manage and contribute content.  Still trying to figure out how to find them.  We were hoping our catalysts would come from our issue experts and high profile members but it just hasn't happened....yet.

I remain resolved to steam-roll the nay-sayers

I would compare some of the challenges of generating activity/content from the general community (ie non-employees) to a junior high school dance.... most of the folks are sitting along the wall waiting for the first few people to get out on the floor (que the "no parking on the dance floor music here...)

Whether it's the right kind of music (user interface) or the few kids who had (I know I'm dating myself here...) watched 'Dance Fever' (the product/service champions)....it's definitely hard to find that perfect mix...and once you do, to keep it going.....

Seeding conversations (but not too much), organizing user groups and getting them excited about discussing the product/service and allowing it to grow organically/virally seem to be the current methods.   Are there others?

In the "right kind of music" department, we are getting complains about the Blog and forum editor.  It works fine if folks type straight into it, but quite often users are pulling content from existing documents and want to copy/paste.  The editor is not good at all dealing with that kind of input.  I recommend upgrading or replacing the editor.

Great points amackler.  Content is king but good content is well...whatever is more powerful then a king

Perhaps part of the challenge lies in understanding what makes good content.  Here is a great post from a subject matter expert that speaks to my point.  Peep this.

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/tony-robbins-buffalo-content-maker/

Best of luck!

 Here's an interesting (and short) article from Fast Company on how Consumer Brands can earn "Social Currency"

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/145/next-tech-five-steps-to-social-currency.html

Great discussion here! 

We just published a new white paper that will offer additional insight, "Six Best Practices for Growing a Successful Online Consumer or Constituent Network."  

  It's the first one listed (as of right now)!  www.ingagenetworks.com/white-papers



This post edited by teala_c on 06-09-2010, 10:55 AM EST

A fellow INgager came across this lisit of "10 Best Practices for Making Crowdsourcing Work." As far as driving online community participation, a few of these apply. And I'd like to share them.

Take special note of tips #4 and #5. For any brand or government agency to take part in the conversation already happening around their product or cause, it is vital to include employees in the mix. Not only is this important from a corporate perception POV, but involving your staff may unearth brilliant ideas. EX: You may be surprised to find that the intern sitting in the corner actually has some solid ideas when it comes to process improvement, etc. #5 talks about rewarding community members. This tactic is key on many levels, but mainly because reward mechanisms work.

You can review the entire "top 10" list here:  http://www.goingsocialnow.com/2010/05/crowd-sourcing-best-practices.php

 

This post edited by KristiGrigsby on 06-09-2010, 10:50 AM EST


This post edited by KristiGrigsby on 06-09-2010, 10:51 AM EST