A community is only as strong as its membership base. The members of any community are the lifeblood of the organization – be it online or offline. A successful community is a vibrant organism – rich with peer connections, collaboration, content and knowledge sharing. Each member who makes a contribution to the community should be appreciated for taking the time and effort to put forth some of their knowledge for others to benefit. Each contribution makes the community a more valuable destination for others. When a professional offers insight publicly, shares an idea, posts a comment, contributes to a survey, or connects to a peer the benefits ripple across the community.
Companies who sponsor or create an online community are the hosts of a potentially global, 24X7 salon of ideas. Yet, too often, community members are thought of as marketing “targets” or “constituents” and not valued for the contributions they make to the community. Ironically, the more senior the professional, the more “targeted” they often are – which is exactly the wrong approach with relationship building. This was reinforced by the New Symbiosis For Professional Networks research that Don Bulmer and I recently completed where professionals reported that the most important thing a professional network can offer them is access to information they couldn’t get elsewhere, whereas the primary goal of many companies is to market to members!
Community members – especially those within professional networks – need to be properly valued and thanked for keeping the community alive. A great social infrastructure without members is an empty place. There are many ways that a company or community host can show appreciation for their community members. When developing community operations, Member Retention Programs are essential and should become a visible part.
1) Select key community leaders or newcomers to the community and feature them – Showcase their knowledge in order to validate their efforts.
2) Issue them “knowledge-gifts” – Share information or content from your organization that they couldn’t get elsewhere that could make their jobs easier, e.g. a product roadmap, an article or something of intellectual value
3) Provide them access to a thought-leader – If a community member holds a key IT role within their organization, for example, they may benefit from being virtually introduced to an esteemed peer or someone within your company who can help them do their job better
4) Send a thank you note to key contributors to let them know you value their efforts – Heck, paper and pen still work and can be an unanticipated treat!
5) In-person events are always appreciated – Host a reception at an industry event and invite members to attend a private event. This allows you to meet them in person and it is always fun to be invited somewhere.
6) Be accessible and supportive when key contributors’ participation drops off. Typically, when an active member of a professional community wanes in participation, chances are they have undue work burdens or a problem they are dealing with. Reach out to them and offer to be of assistance. Perhaps they need some information or content from the community to support their work challenge but don’t have time to gather it. Such assistance can get them through a tough time.
While these efforts can seem daunting with larger online communities with many members, it is important to keep in mind that they can be applied selectively and over time as part of a Member Retention Program. In this age of digital scale, we are programmed to think and service customers and clients with batch processes. However, at the end of the day, each and every community member matters. The sum is greater than the parts.
Thank you for reading Building Online Communities for Business by Leader Networks. We are a research and strategy consulting company that helps organizations succeed in social business and B2B online community building.
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It’s also important to think about your portfolio of reward options in the same way as you think about your portfolio of communications media. Depending on the culture of your organization (simply the sum of its parts), a nice pen might be seen as a fantastic reward or as an insult. The key thing with reward structures is that they need to work for the *recipients*, not the rewarders. (This is just like holiday presents, and don’t forget that I don’t need any new socks.) Too often, the people who manage the process give out things that *they* think are rewarding, only to have it backfire. (How many of those little office tchotchkes you’ve been given over the years do you actually value?) Put yourself in the community’s shoes, and give them something they will value. And don’t forget to think outside the box on this one: a car wash from the CEO? a day off over the holidays? a donation to the recipient’s favorite charity? their photo on the home page? The possibilities are endless, but the success rate can be awfully low if you aren’t mindful about it.
M.