Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Building An Online Community

Posted by Lorenz Lammens on 7/5/2006 at 10:25 AM ET 125 Points
I have been propositioned to take part in the creation of an online community site with a novel topic. My question: if a community site starts up and has 0 members, why would anyone want to join and how can it ever be a success. How does one build that critical mass required to make the site interesting?
P.S. the site does not require a payment of any kind.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by MANSING on 7/5/2006 at 11:57 AM Member
    Hi,

    Nice question! Let me tell you one thing - If Yahoo can do it… you can do it! It is all about what are you giving them? Who you giving?when are you giving? what are the benefits? where you giving? why you giving?

    As your company is leading national media contractor for washroom advertising in the UK, so you know who is your customer? You can start the Community under the name of “Connect-Contractor”

    In UK we have online community for www.freecycle.org ; Word of mouth plays a big role to build the numbers / members for this kind of site. Every thing starts from big “0”; for example; Games – cricket, football and tennis. Every one counts there salary in Zero.

    If you thing you will do it – you will! It only takes efforts and right path to follow.

    I hope this will help!

    Regards,

    M Bhor
  • Posted by Lorenz Lammens on 7/5/2006 at 12:28 PM Author
    Replies to your comments:

    1. The community site is not Admedia related. Without giving away too much it concentrates on the live your life to the max, allowing the community to give each other tips to that regard, and fulfil their ambitions through the bells and whistles of the site.

    2. I'll happily get involved if I can see it working, so tips as how to grow a community fast and where to source them are welcome. Audience would likely be 25-35, but if you feel I am targeting the wrong age group, please point me in the right direction.
  • Posted on 7/5/2006 at 1:17 PM Accepted
    This is a fantastic question.

    Although a broad answer, it all comes down to content. Once a solid subscriber base is created, community info sharing will be valuable and will give users a reason to keep coming back - if you've been able to capture share of mind for your users' daily / weekly internet usage. However, until that base is established, relevant content will be needed to engage potential subscribers.

    I'd like to refer you to https://www.sparkpeople.com.
    This FREE lifestyle management site is both community and content based. The huge value to subscribers prior to community set-up was a personalized fitness and nutrition program (AT NO COST) with a variety of tools enabling subscribers to reach their goals.

    If you can clearly articulate your target subscribers (demographically & psychographically) and define what you can offer them (in terms of site content) that hits a relevant need of theirs, selling people on subscribing should be a cake walk.

    best of luck!
  • Posted by Lorenz Lammens on 7/5/2006 at 2:01 PM Author
    Lara, you offered me a great idea. I can see a personalized fitness and nutrition program working out brilliantly after December.

    Any idea what sort of program can be offered during September-November, in the runner up to Christmas.

    For this, our target audience would mainly be 35-45 year old women with a high disposable income.
  • Posted on 7/5/2006 at 2:23 PM Member
    The way we start up an online community is to email our names already collected on our site. (The purpose of most sites is to collect names - that's the general Online currency) and mailing those names with your announcement means you can start the online community immediately with the response to your email.

    Anyone then clicking on your forum link will see lots of questions and postings and join in.

    And that's the way it's done.

    Let me know how it goes!

    Peter Hobday

  • Posted on 7/5/2006 at 2:37 PM Member
    I agree that creating a 'buzz'...and some kind of PR/marketing campaign is still needed...even on a 'free' site! In the current lingo, this will probably use viral and/or social marketing techniques to secure your primary target audience and convert them to regular users. After that, it is a continued effort to build up a community of core users with an assorted pool of lurkers and

    There are few good sources on building online communities, you might try:

    Building Online Communities by 'chromatic' (web article)
    https://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/10/21/community.html

    Building Virtual Communities by K. Ann Renninger (et al)
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521785588

    Online Communities: Designing Usability and Supporting Sociability by Jenny Preece
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471805998

    HOW NOT TO BUILD AN ONLINE MARKET by Peter Kollock (UCLA, web article, pdf)
    https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/kollock/papers/How%20Not%20to%20Bui...

    ...however, none of these are new enough to cover some of the newest techniques and theories...for that, try:

    Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars by Mitch Meyerson
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419505017

    How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website with Little or No Money by Bruce Cameron Brown
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0910627576

    I'd be interested to know what kind of market research the founders/creators of this proposed site used to identify the 'novel topic' to which you eluded. Something in that research should have also told them who their potential users would be coming from and how to reach out to them initially. Whether or not you ultimately join them in their efforts may well hinge on the answers you get...I know it would me...

    Good luck,
    Debi Brady
    Writing & Marketing Consultant
  • Posted by Lorenz Lammens on 7/13/2006 at 7:10 AM Author
    Thanks to all for your efforts. I'll drill down the knowledge offered with further questions soon.

    Cheers,
    Lorenz
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