Online Communities and Wet Firewood
Most business owners know that the internet opens up a lot of marketing potential, and that harnessing the power of the web, and specifically social media, is important to staying relevant. However, many entrepreneurs fail in a few key areas of managing their online presence — particularly when it comes to online communities.
NOTE: This article was published in the October 2010 issue of Business Voice.
It can be very tempting to want a blog or forum on your corporate website. After all, getting customers engaged with your brand is the holy grail of all forms of marketing. Some companies opt to use Facebook or Twitter for their online business communications, avoiding the upfront development fees associated with a custom blog. There’s nothing wrong with either approach, provided you keep the following points in mind:
Commit
Too many business owners begin an online community, thinking that simply getting a site built or starting a Facebook page will be all that’s needed. At the beginning they are fired up and excited about it, so they emphatically post their first couple of entries (Usually something akin to “We now have a blog” or “Welcome to our Facebook Page!”) But then life happens, and the posts slow down and eventually cease, much to the embarrassment of the website owner.
There are a few reasons this might happen:
- You may be expecting too much of yourself and your audience. Too many owners feel they need a post or article that is lengthy and detailed. The bar is set so high for themselves that they opt to not post at all.
- You feel that you don’t want posts to be too personal or transparent; that you will appear unprofessional, or even worse (gasp!) your competitors will see what you write!
- You don’t see immediate results. Users are not commenting, and your inbox is not getting flooded with requests for work and flattering reviews of your latest post.
The latter point happens because of the former; users are not engaged because the posts are not regular, or they are not interesting. But abandoning your community is not the answer. I always tell our clients when they want to start an online community that it is akin to starting a fire with wet wood - it takes time up front, and a few failed starts, but once you commit to it and keep adding fuel, it will eventually sustain itself with comparatively less work. So what to do then?
Engage
Don’t be afraid to post brief posts with a personal viewpoint. Users prefer these types of posts because it demonstrates you. No one wants to engage online with a faceless corporation, and the big brands who have successfully started an online community have shared their personal viewpoints and helpful, interesting content that has resonated with their customers. Don’t post press releases on your site. Unless they are media contacts, most users just don’t care!
Don’t make the mistake of trying to directly market or promote yourself with your blog or social community. It will seem self-serving. But if your content is good, it will market you by default because you will stay fresh in the minds of potential customers.
Your staff represents your brand, so get them involved. If they are posting their own thoughts and ideas, or even helping customers through blog comments or Twitter posts, it can only reflect well on your company.
Don’t be afraid of your competition — they are going to see what you write — get over it!
Post regularly but make sure that even if your posts aren’t lengthy and extravagant, they are quality. It’s better to have one great post every week than one boring post every day.
Keep a notepad handy and write down post ideas as they come to you, in the shower, in the car, wherever ideas happen. You can always sit down and compile several posts when the inspiration has hit you, and then stagger when you actually release them online. This will make it appear as if you’re regularly posting, but in reality you’re cheating!
Don’t be too disheartened if no one seems to be commenting. It takes time for an online community to build momentum (remember the wet fire concept?) but you can encourage people to comment by asking questions, linking to your posts in other similar online discussions, and most importantly, responding to the occasional individual who does comment.
Don’t try to control the message. If you delete negative posts on your blog, they will only appear on someone else’s. Instead respond in a positive, humble, but truthful and genuine manner. Even better, if your community is engaged with your brand, they may even come to your defense — you may not have to say anything. You couldn’t ask for better marketing than this.
