Online Community Blog

If only it were that easy...

If only you could pick the right technology and young people in their twenties and early thirties would flock to your organization, starting lasting conversations out of thin air, and become the future leaders of your customer or member community.

If only Twitter was the solution to getting younger customers to use your products. If only your organization’s online community software platform was the sole key to grooming the next generation of advocates. If only your $10,000 mobile app could get and keep the attention of Millennials.

Preparation is the key to many of the world's elite performers. From the world best athletes, like LeBron James and Serena Williams, to top-tier musicians to the the best Ted Talks, preparation plays a vital role in their success.

Being prepared plays such an important role in our careers and personal lives, why wouldn't it apply to the experience your provide your prospects, customers, and partners in your online customer community?

When you launch an online customer community, you are opening up your organization and customers to a new dimension of communication.

Being an association executive or a membership professional can be tough.

While membership organizations are at the heart of every major industry, technology, profession, and cause, you are usually cash-strapped and lack adequate staffing. Managing members, keeping them engaged, and providing value in the form of a membership can be especially difficult.

Does this sound like your organization?

When you begin researching how to build an online community for your customers, prospects, members, or partners, one of the first things that you’ll notice is that it is a complex process.

According to Nielsen’s 2012 Social Media Report, over 50% of customers use some type of social channel to engage companies to report satisfaction, ask questions, and lodge complaints. One third of consumers prefer social customer service to getting answers by phone.

One of the biggest areas of confusion around social business is the differences between public social networks, like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and private online communities where most activity occurs behind a secure login.

Do you want to know how to bring down the mood at the next happy hour, cocktail party, or cookout that you attend? Bring up predictive analytics.

In reality, predictive analytics is not scary at all. Here is a great video explanation from Dr. Eric Siegel, founder of Predictive Analytics World and author of the new book "Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die."

Some of the world’s most successful social business strategies don’t revolve around employee collaboration or tracking customer behavior in social crm systems. They are online partner communities.

Is there a mainstream company or executive out there that doesn't love a well-thought-out green initiative? The PR advantages, cost savings, and good feelings that come with conservation measures are too much for most people to overlook.

Have you noticed an increase in valuable social business content? People are sharing information that goes far beyond the usual “why ever business on earth needs social media” articles. These “evergreen” online community tips are useful for businesses that are starting customer communities, as well as nonprofit membership organizations that rely on member engagement to meet their goals.