The role of your online community’s central news page is almost identical to the role of your community’s local newspaper. Most communities would benefit from acting more like a newspaper.
The news page should mix information with entertainment. It should embrace content about the community. Spend five minutes in your local newspaper and you will probably find a combination of the following:
- News (about people in the community, not products)
- Interviews
- Selected letters/e-mails from members.
- Classifieds (highly relevant in some communities)
- Relevant event listings
- Birthdays
- Competitions/Quizzes
You should act more like your local newspaper. You can embrace all of the above elements in your community. Go beyond simply publishing news about product updates and really take the step to create content your community values.
Great points made in this article. I have been sending one monthly email newsletter to my online community via iContact.com for over a year now. It has made a huge difference in community engagement. Thanks for the post.
Posted by: Greg | Monday, 21 December 2009 at 19:41
Great post... it is also helpful for some types of communities to even send a monthly or quarterly community newsletter in the mail. Imagine that. The newsletter can highlight featured blog entries, members, or interesting discussion threads. Each of them then point back to the community for further engagement. Mix it up as they say.
Posted by: Lauren DeLong | Tuesday, 22 December 2009 at 13:41