Building an online community

Nicole JensenSocial Media Strategist

Why bother?

• Social psychology• Need to belong

• Consumer behaviour• Creating desire• Justifying choices• Creating urgency• Removing roadblocks

• Market research = service improvements

Engagement vs Broadcast

Engagement vs Broadcast

• Engagement is best when clients or stakeholders have differing needs and values• More consultation?• Cost more?

ROI

• Value engagement over reach• Engagement of any type is based on ‘emotion

in context’• Privacy can hide data• Retweets to private accounts• Shares only visible to friends

Community Criteria

• A bigger picture• Business objectives• Marketing plan & other efforts

• Guidelines• Community terms and conditions• Internal processes

• Willing participants with mutual interests• Succession/exit plan (sometimes)

People

• Personable managers• Get senior management on board

• Influencers• UGC: user generated content

• Comments are potential leads!• Check regularly• Respond on time• Match context - no sales talk

Content Design

1. Relevance• Solve problems• Who are my clients?• Is there a scary part of the buying

process that I can make easier?• Don’t self-promote• “You’re only as good as your last post.”• Watch for relevant trends

Content Design

2. Usability• Allow shares and

interaction• Streamline posting

processes• Promote elsewhere• Buttons > text

Content Design

3. Simplicity• Drop industry lingo• Be concise and sincere• Consider learning types– Visual: graphics, charts– Auditory: videos, podcasts, webinars– Kinesthetic: surveys, polls, virtual reality apps

Post Ideas

A. Statement update• Excited to be launching our new plans next

week!• Often limited engagement

B. Q & A post• Hey, NZ! Where do you suggest we all go for

drinks after the APSMA masterclass?• Polls, images help greatly

Post Ideas

C. Social/discussion post• @user: here’s the whitepaper you wanted:

[link] Enjoy!• Phrasing matters - no copy/paste!

D. Distribution post• See @nicolejensen’s presentation from

yesterday on Slideshare [link]• give credit to partners, influencers

Case Study: Too Big To Ignore

• Aim: to make sure that small business gets and stays on the political agenda

Case Study: Too Big To Ignore

• BCM Partnership, 2013

Case Study: Too Big To Ignore

• BCM Partnership, 2013