Criteria for an effective community Communities exist for member engagement and for your organization to remain close to your constituents. Engaged members are 6X more likely to spend with your organization and they drive event attendance. These are not stats to ignore.
Your organization should not spend financial and human resources on a community if your goal is to simply provide a member benefit. Rather, communities should only be deployed if you are looking to create a data-driven member experience.
There are many ways that organizations are breeding community today. They include DIY digital communities, leveraging social media sites, off the shelf community platforms, CampfireSocial’s professional networking model, webinars, and even in person meetings. All have their inherent benefits that bring people within your industry together to form meaningful connections. Yet not all work to drive deeper relationships that in turn can provide your organization with data, insight, and revenue that can be used to create a richer member experience. Being thoughtful about your community approach is vital.
As you think through your community approach in our evolving & hybrid world, I wanted to share what I’ve learned from studying communities and how they impact trade & professional associations and event organizers.
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COMMUNITY LEADERS
DEC 21
Here are 10 elements that should be top of mind in your community selection process:
1
YOUR ORGANIZATION IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF YOUR MEMBERS ALONE
Communities should be inclusive of your members, exhibiting sponsors, staff, students, and all who touch
your industry vertical. Take your exhibitors for instance – they can provide more value than just check writing. Exhibitors can provide content, trends, and are incentivized to lead discussions as they want to use content & relationships to drum up new business. Everyone in your organization adds value. Be sure to provide them the mechanism to do so.
2
DIALOGUE SHOULD START AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL
Allow your users to generate the conversations that matter most to them rather than trying to control the conversation by dictating themes or topics. People are more inclined to contribute when they set the stage for what they want to discuss. Plus, your organization will have the opportunity to listen and learn about what matters most to them. If you are concerned about spamming or inappropriate dialogue, you can find a solution that
