Making Online Community Work [SMO] in 4 Phases
Researchers from various disciplines are researching the conditions that make online communities successful. As a result, a set of guidelines have emerged where some factors have derived from different perspectives of sociology, psychology, management and economy. Here, I have compiled some of the factors which play a prominent role towards making a successful online community. By community I imply a group of people coming together for a similar cause- be it political, personal or as in the case of a product based community. The compilation is categorized into 4 phases.
Phase –1: “To define the core of the community”
A core is a spinal cord that determines the Psyche of the community. It attaches a purpose with a community that subsequently follows a particular set of etiquettes. Just like any offline community, there have to be a set rules and rituals.
Identification of users is done, and a sound business model needs to emerge. Metrics are defined to measure the levels of purpose achieved by the community.
Phase-2: “To create and experiment”
All infrastructure, hardware and software needs are finalized and procured. A test community is built which uses all the tools and techniques needed to carry out the group’s purpose. Based on user experience and usability, user interfaces are created. They are then recreated and experiments done to figure out the community’s uniqueness and users’ affinity with the group. The product is also tested for technological and usability aspects.
Phase-3: “Growth”
Once all the experiments are successful and the user Interface is ready, the Community starts yielding signs of achievement. It is time to scale up. Focus is given to attract more and more users. Based on the success metrics, steps are taken to achieve their goals. Some of the factors in the check list are:
- Attracting Members
- Integration of new members with existing members
- Regaining old Members [Motivation and awards]
- Content management [Getting quality and updated content]
- Facilitate Communication and interaction b/w the members
- Building Trust
- Personalization of the profiles and product offerings
- Offline interactions
Phase-4: “Earn”
Implement ways and techniques to yield benefits by:
- Offering new products, customized products, support and services
- Motivating users to work towards a common cause
- Adding more sub-Groups and related communities.
- Finding resources and potential future employees.
- Creating brand awareness and promoting ployalty.
- Getting future ideas or a product roadmap.
The list is endless!
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