DRIVING

ONLINE
COMMUNITY
ADOPTION

HOW-TO GUIDE
 Driving Online Community Adoption
HOW-TO GUIDE

Creating and maintaining an online presence has become a priority for marketers. Today, many
businesses are turning to online communities as a way to connect with ideal users of their product
or service. An online community develops from identifying common interests your audience
shares about your company, product, or service. You can analyze the information you gather from
your community and use it to inform the business and help make strategic product decisions.

Regardless of how social media evolves, online community management can continue to deliver
valuable customer interaction experiences for your brand. As many marketers seek to create
online communities and drive participation in them, the initial challenge is finding the right people
to join and promote your online community.

This How-To Guide will provide tips to help you develop an audience, increase usage, and craft an
action plan with tactics to help you drive adoption for your online community.

Developing an Audience
Be Unique
Prospective members need to see how your community can provide more value than another
established community.
Provide compelling and original content that members can send around the web to create
interest in what your community can provide.
Find something that no one else is doing.

Be Yourself
Ensure that the strategy for managing your online community accurately reflects your message,
purpose, and its identity.
Stay true to your brand so you can increase your brand awareness through your online
community.

Be Dynamic
Promote your strategy through every channel at your disposal in order to reinforce your position
and key messages.
Use a blend of social networks, e-mail lists, and press releases to keep your communications
mix dynamic.

2 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

Superfans
Superfans have a strong passion for your product. Make sure you know who they are and
reach out to them regularly through your online community.
If you provide encouragement, they will spend a lot of time talking about their experiences with
your product or service and promoting it to others.
Superfans can act like greeters when new members arrive to your community, and can help
you guide new members through.

Two Ways to Increase Community Usage

Content
An important way to increase the usage of an online community is through the content that you
share. It is through your content that you keep customers engaged. You can use various types
of content to attract members. Examples are blog posts, webinars, guides, e-books, white
papers, discussions, podcasts, videos, surveys, and polls.

Encourage members to add comments so you can continue to provide the most effective,
relevant content to meet members’ needs. The more interactive and creative you are with the
content you share, the better you can engage your members. Increase the new member conver-
sion rate by highlighting useful content in your community and encourage members to share it.

Engagement
Online communities provide more opportunities to engage members than other social media
networks like Facebook or Twitter. These communities create opportunities to involve members
in a two-way conversation. Having your members engaged helps drive your business goals.

However, just because people are participating frequently in your community doesn’t neces-
sarily mean that you have high engagement rates. Members must have an emotional connec-
tion or attachment to something you are providing, giving them a sense of ownership. Build
the ideal level of member engagement through interactive content and positive reinforcement.

Bottom Line
To drive adoption for your online community, it is important to have valuable and interactive
content, engaged members and compelling conversations. If you can provide something
valuable to a member whether it is through content, positive reinforcement or gamification,
you can attract new members. Following these steps and keeping it fun will help drive new
member growth and help retain existing members of your online community.

3 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 1 - Registration

1 Registration Learn How Other

Organizations are
Managing their Community

2 Recruitment
Make the registration process
as easy as possible. Don’t
discourage potential new
members with a registration
3 Follow-Through process that makes them jump
through too many hoops to join.
Make newcomers feel
special, and create a place
in the community for new
4 Delegation
users. Provide some content
specifically to help newcomers
understand more about the
community they just joined.

5 Keep in Touch

6 Gamify
The State of Online Communities for
Customer Support Benchmark Study

VIEW RESOURCE
7 Freebies

4 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 2 - Recruitment

1 Registration Organize the Launch of

Your Community to Drive
Recruitment

2 Recruitment
Spread the word to as many
friends and colleagues as
you can. Ask them to make
posts and respond to them
3 Follow-Through right away. This tactic will
encourage conversation
immediately.
Go beyond the website; target
people for inclusion in your
4 Delegation
community through Facebook,
LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Introduce a community
hashtag and encourage its use.
5 Keep in Touch

6 Gamify
Online Community Launch Checklist

VIEW RESOURCE

7 Freebies

5 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 3 - Follow-Through

1 Registration Be Sure to Set the Rules

for Engagement in Your
Community

2 Recruitment
Guide new members
through the process
of joining your online
community.

3 Follow-
Through
Nurture them by sending
messages, and asking if they
have any questions or feed-
back. Helping new members
will make them feel engaged
4 Delegation
right away.

5 Keep in Touch

Online Community Policies & Guidelines

6 Gamify
VIEW RESOURCE

7 Freebies

6 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 4 - Delegation

1 Registration Document Tasks

Related to Managing
your Community

2 Recruitment
When your community starts
to grow, it may take more
than one person to manage
it effectively. Staff at the
3 Follow-Through proper level to ensure the
success of the community.
Delegate tasks to ensure
everything gets completed

4
and all questions are
Delegation answered promptly.

5 Keep in Touch

Community Manager Job Description

6 Gamify VIEW RESOURCE

7 Freebies

7 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 5 - Keep in Touch

1 Registration Plan for Engagement

by Creating a Posting
Calendar

2 Recruitment
Keep in touch with regular
users.
Read every comment posted
in your community and
3 Follow-Through respond in a timely manner.
Open communication will
kick-start the nurturing
process and keep the
engagement level high.
4 Delegation

5 Keep in
Touch

Social Media Marketing Calendar

6 Gamify VIEW RESOURCE

7 Freebies

8 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 6 - Gamify

1 Registration Learn More About How to

Gamify Your Community

Gamification is a process
2 Recruitment
where users are rewarded for
being an active member in the
community. Providing rewards
and positive reinforcement for
3 Follow-Through those who actively participate
builds loyalty.

Different types of gamification

include giving out rewards,
badges, or points. Consider
4 Delegation
using a leaderboard to
encourage participation.

5 Keep in Touch

GAMIFICATION

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

6 Gamify
Gamification Technology Overview

VIEW RESOURCE

7 Freebies

9 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

 Action Plan
STEP 7 - Freebies

1 Registration Create Valuable Content

to Drive Engagement

Write a free report or white

2 Recruitment
paper that new members can
download.
Send out a free invite with
every purchase to create a
3 Follow-Through referral system.
Allow members to send out
one free invite per month to
use.
These freebies will help
4 Delegation
attract new members and
encourage existing members
to invite others.

5 Keep in Touch

6 Gamify White Paper Template

VIEW RESOURCE

7 Freebies

10 DRIVING ONLINE COMMUNITY ADOPTION HOW-TO GUIDE

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