Building and Sustaining Vibrant Online Communities NTEN CONFERENCE April 2009

The Online Ecosystem Organizations now have the opportunity to interact with their stakeholders beyond one website. Source: Common Knowledge

Organizations now have the opportunity to interact with their stakeholders beyond one website.

Social Media Derives its Power Thru Trust Source: Faris Yakob http://tinyurl.com/c8c256

And Different Rules Apply Confidential Source : Neil Perkin ‘What’s Next in Media’ (Slide 9)

Start with a Purpose in Mind Scan the environment Get together with top contributors, advisors, community manager Define the ‘What’ ‘Who’ ‘How’ and ‘Why’ Personalize the pitch to members Test drive and improve Confidential Can you devote enough Capacity, if not rethink!

Scan the environment

Get together with top contributors, advisors, community manager

Define the ‘What’ ‘Who’ ‘How’ and ‘Why’

Personalize the pitch to members

Test drive and improve

Slowly build your audience / collaborators The first 10 members set the tone Recruit people who set the standards for participation and achievement. Look for complementary skill sets, geographic representation, and cross-membership Build from your existing offline community Engage external communities to listen, learn, get involved, and reach out Confidential

The first 10 members set the tone

Recruit people who set the standards for participation and achievement.

Look for complementary skill sets, geographic representation, and cross-membership

Build from your existing offline community

Engage external communities to listen, learn, get involved, and reach out

Experiment & Get Tool Mix Right Adapted from: Christian Renaud, Technology Intelligence Group

Understand and nurture your community Source: Edelman

Source: Edelman

Segment Your Community Any communities have various types of users: Empower your super users Make it easy for people to find, join and act Know your community's ecology and who to give attention to.

Any communities have various types of users:

Empower your super users

Make it easy for people

to find, join and act

Community Management Are you empowering your super users? WiserEarth has Editors, Group Admins, Admins Make it easy for people to find, join and act: welcome your community members Engage with your community You need to be relevant to your community

Are you empowering your super users?

WiserEarth has Editors, Group Admins, Admins

Make it easy for people to find, join and act: welcome your community members

Engage with your community

Lesson learned with WiserEarth The purpose of what you do is more important than the tool you choose Barriers of entry are very low on the online media: Experiment , Measure, Adjust Participation online is different: reward your power users Set up modest goals at first for your community building

The purpose of what you do is more important than the tool you choose

Barriers of entry are very low on the online media: Experiment , Measure, Adjust

Participation online is different: reward your power users

Set up modest goals at first for your community building

Some Resources Beth’s blog: Beth Kanter http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/ Ben Rigby’s Book ‘Mobilizing Generation 2.0′ http://www.mobilevoter.org/book.html WiserEarth blog http://blog.wiserearth.org/ The Social Pulpit from Edelman “Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit” http://tinyurl.com/ax2b6b And of course NTEN Workshops and Webinars

Beth’s blog: Beth Kanter

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/

Ben Rigby’s Book ‘Mobilizing Generation 2.0′

http://www.mobilevoter.org/book.html

WiserEarth blog

http://blog.wiserearth.org/

The Social Pulpit from Edelman “Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit” http://tinyurl.com/ax2b6b

And of course NTEN Workshops and Webinars

TXT Your Session Evaluation! TXT NTC1110 to 69866 Or complete online at http://nten.org/ntc-eval or on a paper evaluation available in the session room. Each completed session evaluation enters you to win a FREE 2010 NTC Registration!

THANK YOU [email_address]