From Discussion to Insight: Best Practices in Building Successful Online Communities
I'm starting with this because it underscores the importance of focused intimacy - the reality of today's social driven world is that consumers expect to feel like the brands they frequent, purchase, and engage with are putting them first. This means that the companies who understand what it means to put people first will be the winners.
The Connected Consumer
In today's age of the connected consumer, it's a business imperative that brands engage their consumers in the decision-making process. And as the statistic above shows, putting customers first, pays off. So let's explore how the use of private communities is core to a customer-centric brand strategy - and that by applying some proven best practices, community can have great returns.
I'll ground this in tenets of social media, but first I want to address why you should be thinking about Private Community for research, and the benefits it can deliver to your brand. The concept of community is not a new one, and in the online environment, there are many types of communities - the community of fans your brand has on Facebook, the community of moms I consulted on BabyCenter when I was an new mom and had no idea what cradle cap was, the community of friends and acquaintances that are a part of your Instagram feed.
When we talk about Private Community, we are specifically talking about a custom recruited group of people, brought into an online environment that is password- protected. Membership is invite-only, and content is curated by the host of the community, generally the brand, or Ipsos on behalf of the brand.
The Big Three Benefits
We often get asked the question on why use a private community - and while I could spend days discussing the benefits I see in leveraging private community, for the purpose of this article, let's focus on three core benefits:
It's Focused: the conversation can be focused on the objectives that matter to you. In public environments, trying to control the conversation can easily backfire. In a private community you have the opportunity to set expectations upfront, so members know the purpose of their participation is focused on impacting business decisions you are making.
It's Fast: private communities are a 24/7 resource, always on, always ready providing immediate access to your target audience. The ability to tap a pre-screened audience at a moment's notice helps companies stay agile in their decision-making process.
It's Flexible: we use multiple engagement levers allowing for dynamic collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. Knowing not every business question can be addressed with the same set of tools, and that every member doesn't always want to engage in the same way, this flexibility allows companies to address a wide span of questions connecting with a diverse set of members.
The Social Media Landscape
Let's take a quick step back and look at the broader social media landscape, specifically the core of community and social media which is connection. Social media is about people more than technology.
Social media has proliferated because it is giving people a way to connect, and a way to express themselves. It's about people who post, discuss, comment, share, like and create content! You'll find them on websites like Facebook and Twitter, but also on forums, blogs, news websites. Social media is about people engaging and interacting with each other, brands, content.
There are many sites in the social media sphere - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Blogs, WordPress, Tumblr, Pinterest and Forums. All of these are key social media channels where consumers are talking about your brand -whether it be positive, negative or otherwise. And let's not forget that the reason why there are so many, is that people have different reasons, needs and motivations for using specific platforms, in helping to fulfill their needs and aspirations.
Up Close and Social
Let's specifically look at a few key social media sites and the motivations behind using them. To do that, I'm going to leverage the work of our Ipsos ASI team and a study they did last year on why people use different social networks, using our Censydiam model, essentially looking at the motivations behind why people do things. I'll limit this to three of the most popular social sites to illustrate the point.
First is Facebook. Think of Facebook as the backyard barbeque. People's motivations for using Facebook are around sharing enjoyment with friends and others around you. And their top five motivations are to share experiences, feel connected to what is happening around them, to strengthen bonds with close family and friends, to have fun with others, and simply for enjoyment.
Twitter, is like a cocktail party. It is open to the public and is more about discovery and connection with like-minded people. The top five motivations for using Twitter are to discover new things and ideas, to feel connected to what is happening around you, to share experiences, to connect with like minded people, and again, to enjoy yourself.
Looking at LinkedIn, it is like a business conference where users are buttoned up and presenting their professional selves. We see some similarities to Twitter, but with greater motivation for recognition and control. Top motivations for using LinkedIn include building relationships, connecting with like minded people, organizing connections, demonstrating knowledge and expertise, and discovering new things and ideas. Where you saw Facebook and Twitter being used by people to enjoy themselves, you see LinkedIn has a more serious focus.
Social Motivations for Research Insights
When we look at the motivations behind using social media, it really informs how we engage in our private communities. Putting people first is the core to this. So when we think about this in a research context we are looking to build on those motivations for engagement and apply that to what we are doing in our communities. Social media is about empowering you as a person!
Each type of site enables different aspects of expressing yourself, sharing your emotional experiences, and being creative. And this connection gives us an opportunity as researchers to gain more understanding into what's being said, and mimic the dynamics of the social web to do in-context research.
So we're really building off these motivations to engage our members and ultimately learn from them.
Enter the Private Community
For our team at Ipsos SMX, we look at private community as an intimate dinner party - a limited invite list with enough people to have multiple meaningful conversations and focused interactions. Think of it as a salon, where the purpose is to learn, and the topic is curated by the host of the party. In this case, your brand.
We leverage the drivers that create engagement in social media and apply it to an intimate setting, where the purpose is focused on learning. Keeping this metaphor in mind, it is just as important to create a meaningful experience for your guests (the members) as it is to ensure that you (the brand) are getting something out of the experience as well. Creating an intimate environment is key to an effective private community. So now, let's look at some of the best practices for throwing a great community dinner party and the keys to building intimacy that leads to insights.
BE INPSIRING
Piquing a person's interest is the first hurdle for any new community. The key to capturing attention is connecting to an emotional trigger -what is going to compel them to move further, to RSVP. We define this as our member value proposition, what is in it for the members - make this clear, show them how they will have a voice, and ensure you follow-through. Make them want to come to your party and inspire them with a meaningful experience.
BE TRANSPARENT
Respect is required to create a meaningful relationship, and when it comes to online, this comes through with clear and honest communication. Don't beat around the bush with fluffy language on why your community is so great - be clear on what's in it for them, and even clearer about what you're hoping to learn from them and achieve from the connection. In the age of the connected consumer, this is not a choice, it is a requirement.
BE PRESENT
Today, insight communities may be positioned as branded or blind, meaning members don't know the brand they are collaborating with. Ultimately true intimacy needs to involve a present brand, involvement in the dialogue and confirmation that you are truly showing up for the conversation. Even in blind communities, it is key to show involvement from key voices who can deliver on the value proposition. Involve real people from the brand or category, by having a company rep or industry expert host a blog or discussion. This direct interaction proves you are listening.
BE ENTERTAINING
What makes people talk about your party? If they had fun of course! According to a recent study by the New York Times Consumer Insight Group, people mostly share online "to bring valuable and entertaining content to others." If your members are inspired by the content that they are engaging with, they are that much more likely to come back, engage and even tell their friends. Posting content that is fresh, relevant and visually stimulating is key.
In addition to this, no one wants to feel like they are talking to a wall. If you don't respond to members, why should they keep talking? In private community, community management is a proactive approach. The community manager needs to be the perfect host, responding to members, asking follow-up questions and learning from the interaction to develop insights - sometimes the best learning comes from those conversations you never meant to have.
EMPOWER YOUR GUESTS
Hosting a great community also means giving up the reigns every once in a while - you can't be the only one dictating what happens day to day. Give your members a voice in the experience and let them have a say on what they want to discuss and collaborate on. Ensure you provide parameters as well though - you want to be able to act on members' suggestions, so ensuring they have guidelines helps rein them in. Great ways to empower members include an ongoing member suggestion box, allowing members to host a blog or discussion, or even empowering them to help name or brand the community.
RECOGNIZE and REWARD
Rewarding members for contributions doesn't always have to be a straight dollar incentive. For some members, just having their name in lights and gaining recognition from their peers can be a great incentive. Combining the benefits of both financial and social currency to create a holistic rewards strategy ensures you are hitting on the broadest set of motivations. Further, every community has its core, those active members that truly show their dedication on a regular basis. Providing them with opportunities to receive recognition, but even enter an upper echelon, are additional techniques that ensure you are continually motivating contributions. Think of it as the community VIP room.
SHOW IMPACT
In a private community, we are putting members on the spot - to share their opinions, put their voice out there, and hope that it makes some kind of impact. It takes a lot of courage to share your personal opinions, which is why it is so critical to demonstrate how member feedback is being used or considered in key business regularly in the community. An update via email, blog article, or video just to keep members informed on how their input is being put into action can sometimes be the one thing that keeps them coming back.
Last Words, First Objective
Following these best practices can help you build a community that has impact, reveals new insights, helps to inform decisions, and ultimately delivers results. It is amazing what we hear and uncover in our communities - when you do it right, people will tell you what you want to know and what you need to know so that you can do the right thing with your brand...put the consumer first!
Adapted from an ANA Webinar Presented on September 24, 2013.
Ipsos SMX, the Ipsos Social Media eXchange, leads online research innovation to provide you with a deeper understanding of your consumers through engagement based social media research.
Inspire and accelerate business growth by putting the consumers voice at the heart of your organization! In today's world people want to engage with brands in a way they define, not in a way that is defined for them. Ipsos SMX provides better ways to engage, interact and listen to your consumers, enabling you to gain better insights that inspire and accelerate business growth.
