6 Truths of Building a Successful Online Community

This guest post was written by Mack Collier (@mackcollier.) Mack is also the moderator of #blogchat, Sundays at 9 p.m. EST.

Whether it’s a ‘community site’, a Facebook fan page, or a blog, many companies are looking for a way to create an online community. But most of these efforts are really bad, and it’s usually because they violate these six truths of building a successful online community:

1 – You need to find the ‘bigger idea’ behind your efforts. What will people GAIN from visiting your site/page/blog? Why should they care? You need to look at your efforts through the eyes of the people you are trying to connect with. Because communities do not form around the idea of being monetized. A perfect example of finding the bigger idea behind your content is Kodak’s A Thousand Words blog, which doesn’t focus on its cameras, it focuses on making you a better photographer.

2 – You have to fish where the fish are. Two of the greatest misconceptions about social media is ‘If you build it, they will come’, and ‘Content is king’. While great and valuable content is absolutely essential to building an online community, people still have to know it’s out there. If you want to build your community site, you need to interact with the people you are trying to reach in THEIR space. That means being active in other Facebook groups. Leaving a lot of comments on other blogs. All of these interactions get you on people’s radars. It gives us a reason to check out your site/page/blog.

3 – You have to be active in the community you are trying to create. You can’t stay up in your ivory tower and hope that the people below will form a mass that you can monetize. You have to actively engage with the people you are trying to reach. You have to show us that you are ‘one of us’. Being in constant contact with your community also helps you better understand the people you are trying to reach, and improve your efforts.

4 – You have to encourage feedback from your community, and then ACT on it. This is very important, and ties into the 3^rd point. First, by asking for feedback/input from your community, it shows your community that you care about what they think and want. BUT, you still have to ACT on that feedback. When you do that, it shows that you RESPECT and VALUE what your community wants. Even if your community wants something you can’t do, explain to them why it’s not possible.

5 – You have to shift ownership of your effort to your community. This is not YOUR effort, it’s OUR effort. Highlight the people on your blog that are leaving the most comments. Put a focus on the community members that are interacting with content the most, the people that are commenting, that are ‘Like’ing pages. The ones that are writing the most posts or starting the most threads. These are the people that are ‘buying in’ to what you are doing, and are assuming ownership of the community. They WANT to see the community succeed, so you need to empower these people. They are your superstars, and they deserve to know it. And when your community succeeds, make sure they understand that THEY did it. Not you. Because they did.

6 – You have to realize that It takes time and passion to build a successful community site. It won’t happen overnight, and if you are overly concerned with making money from your efforts, you’ll want immediate results. This will doom your effort, because you will focus on what’s best for YOU, instead of the community you are trying to cultivate. You have to dedicate yourself to creating something of value for others. That’s how you build successful community.

In general, create something of value, interact with people on and OFF your site, and acknowledge and empower the people that are making your community successful. Follow these simple steps, and your community-building efforts will be well on their way!

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Kelly B -- Be A Fun Mum

Excellent post! I especially liked "shift ownership of your effort to your community".. this is true. Thank you.
jnamaya

very good advices, I will keep them in mind on my next community project. thanks.
uptraffic

Thats cool
dawn

Mack (and friends), thanks for the valuable information as well as the great comments/ideas. The suggestions were fab...esp the friday list, guest posting and working to get the word out about yourself/blog posts.
As a small biz owner with limited time it is sometimes a juggling act to "be out there meeting the people where they are". Do u suggest concentrating on one area over another (such as FB community over Twitter) or trying to do a little everywhere?
journik

Succinct.

But #3, while correct, is not accurate.

I have 2000 active members at http://journik.com - its a social site for young philosophers.

In the beginning I had to create discussion. Foment debate. Encourage deeper relationships.

Now, My level of involvement is to make sure I say out of the way. The community has blossomed its own thought leaders in their own vertical spaces.

Religion is popular only because God stays out of the way.

- wan qi kim. http://journik.posterous.com
Adine

Great list Mack. Much of the conversation in the comments is also very relevant for me -- niche industry and no interesting conversations to join. Our blog has been growing slowly, but we're not seeing as many comments as we would like. We do make an effort to comment on and link to other blogs. Might give your Friday list idea a try. Thanks.
Beth Oppenheim

These are great ideas. I especially like the point of meeting people where they are. It is actually used as a way of building nonprofit community (i.e. donors) as well. It's always a good point - as people are more likely to congregate/connect in the places they already form these relationships.
Great ideas!
Mack Collier

Thanks Beth! Unfortunately, too many companies/people believe "If you build it, they will come". The problem is that now almost everyone has the tools necessary to quickly and easily build a community site/blog/etc. So as more choices are available, it becomes more important than ever for these people to 'fish where the fish are'.
Jan Triplett, Ph.D.

Liked these points a lot. Agree with all but #3 - being in "constant contact" with your community seems a bit too much. If you are a small business owner, even trying to do this would mean other parts of the business would fall through the cracks.
Mack Collier

Hey Jan! I don't think that 'constant contact' needs to mean that your community has 24/7 access to you, and vice versa. I think it means that you need to be connected to the effort you are trying to nuture, and what's more, your community needs to know that you are and WANT to be connected to them. If they see that you are a part of what you are trying to create, it really helps you establish credibility with them, plus your efforts will be more effective because you will have a better understanding of the people you are trying to connect with.
KDF

Mack,

Thank you for the response, I apologize it took me this long to reply. I do spend much of time off the blog on twitter trying to find industry relative conversations etc. I think the problem that I am seeing fright now is that my particular industry (Large Format Printing, Vinyl Graphics, Vehicle Wraps) is either A.) Not that exciting to discuss, very small niche following or that B.) there seems to be a lack of clear cut leadership especially on twitter it seems to focus mainly on self-promotion which I try to avoid doing too much of. I am often trying to engage in conversations on other blogs in the industry, but they seem to suffer from the same problem I am experiencing.

As for the weekly series that is great advice and I will implement it right away. I'd just like to thank you all for taking the time and offering your advice, I really appreciate it.
rinnis85

This has some great insight. I think my biggest weakness though is the fact that my site is "not" monetized.

Other than that, I feel that being active with your community, shows that you are up to date with current trends. Even if you might be the smartest person in the world, it wouldnt matter if you value other peoples opinions.
Tim Jahn

Great points, Mack! Really simple ideas when you think about it, but when harnessed properly they're very powerful.

How long do you think a community builder has to wait typically before seeing movement or progress in the growth/engagement of their community?
MattV14

Great post, very valuable and true information. My question is, or maybe I should say my current concern, is that I am trying to actively engage my community, but am seeing very limited response. I keep wondering is it a trust (or lack thereof) issue? Are they not enjoying the posts? I have been following many of these tips and I understand that it takes time, I am just trying not to get discouraged. Any advice? Here is a link to the blog if you can let me know what you think http://www.kdf-comp.blogspot.c... all critiques are welcome.
Mack Collier

Hey Matt! Ok where are you spending your time off your blog? I see very few comments on your blog, so I am going to assume that people simply don't know about your blog. Some ideas:

Spend more time interacting with people on Twitter. Find some Twitter chats and actively participate.

Start a weekly series, say every Friday on your blog, where you list the top 5-10 articles/posts you read during the week. Make sure you link to the blog/sites. This post creates value for your readers PLUS is pings the sites you link to, which increases the likelihood that they will comment on your blog.

When someone DOES comment on your blog OR link to your blog, go back to their blog and COMMENT. This greatly increases the chance they will continue to link to your blog and comment there.

Find the sites in your industry that are influential, and become very active there. Leave comments often, so that visitors recognize who you are, and this will lead them back to your blog.

In general, at least 50% of your blogging time should be spent OFF you blog.

Does anyone else have any different suggestions for Matt?
davinabrewer

For MattV14 I'd suggest that he think even further outside his industry when writing blogs and commenting on others. Step back from the trees (what he/his blog) is about and talk about that tree in relation to the forest (marketing, business). Sometimes tightly focused posts are great, but can be limiting or constraining; always good to try something different.

And to Matt Cheuvront's point, gotta get that content out there, share on other networks. That's one of my stumbling blocks, reluctant to Tweet and post my own blogs that much. As for everything else: read, share, post, comment and network; have patience and look around. What content does connect with readers, what unites other communities? Like you said Mack, keep offering value, let the community take hold and they will pull you forward. FWIW.
Rob Ungar

Once he gets some steam, he might ask if he can guest-post on the blog of someone he respects in his industry.

Keep an active Facebook page with updates related to his company/business.

Expect to get what you give. Give meaningful, useful content without an agenda.
MattV14

Great post, very valuable and true information. My question is, or maybe I should say my current concern, is that I am trying to actively engage my community, but am seeing very limited response. I keep wondering is it a trust (or lack thereof) issue? Are they not enjoying the posts? I have been following many of these tips and I understand that it takes time, I am just trying not to get discouraged. Any advice? Here is a link to the blog if you can let me know what you think http://www.kdf-comp.blogspot.c... critiques are welcome.
Matt Cheuvront

Great stuff Mack. Hope you are doing well by the way. The biggest thing people and businesses forget is that the whole concept of online community building isn't going to be created overnight. The foundation of any sound community is trust and respect, both of those take time...REAL time to earn - and that time is something a lot of folks aren't willing to wait for.

Secondly - your point about self promotion is spot on. I wrote about it last week here: http://www.socialmediamarketin... - and a couple months ago here http://www.lifewithoutpants.co...

In short, you have to let people know you're out there. Good stuff Mack!
Mack Collier

Hey Matt! Doing well, hope you are as well! You're right about the time commitment, and I think this is a big reason why there's not a lot of really successful community sites, or company blogs, for that matter. We were discussing this over at my site today, but I think too many companies believe that social media really IS free. And they think all they need to do is put a blog post out there and it will instantly 'go viral', and millions of potential customers will beat a path to their site's shopping cart!

Funny how it seems as far as the social media space has come in the last couple of years, we still have a LONG way to go...
Rob Ungar

Matt & Mack,

I see that all the time. Companies think that just because they've put something up, it's some how going to 'go viral' and their sales or reputation will shoot through the roof.

One big mistake I see is that some clients think that everyone should just come to them and then don't go out and participate in other people's forums. It's kind of a self-centered, the-world-revolves-around-me view. If you just expect everyone to come to you without taking the effort to go out and visit their sites, you're going to be in for a rude awakening.
Mack Collier

Rob you're so right, as I always say "The best way to grow your blog, is to leave it".

I recently had two clients, both were wanting to start using social media as a way to grow awareness for their business. Both were blogging as part of their efforts. I worked with both of them to get the blog started and on the right foot.

Then I told them both that the next step was they were going to have to start leaving their blog, and interacting with potential customers on other sites. I worked with them both to identify where they need to be spending their time to move their efforts forward.

Long-story short, one business completely embraced my advice, and their results shattered the goals they had set for the blog. The other business didn't see the value, and has never really embraced the idea of 'fishing where the fish are'. Their blog is pretty much treading water, as a result.

As you said, so many companies are we-centric instead of customer-centric when using social media.