8 Overlooked Elements Every Online Community Should Have

Most communities overlook a number of elements that would increase engagement and participation. Here are, by far, the 8 biggest elements every online community should have.

1. An epic community history. Your community should have a written epic history which all members can read. This history should be easy to find on your page.
2. A who’s who of members. You should feature prominent members in your who’s who of members. This will create interest and desire to be featured in this list. You can have a selection criteria.
3. A list of upcoming events. Every online community should have a list of upcoming events/activities taking place. They can be hosted by your community or, more broadly, events about the community’s topic matter. Don’t have any? Start some.
4. The big issues page. What are the big issues in your online community at the moment? You should have a page or box dedicated to the big issues in your community along with an invitation to give an opinion on the issue.
5. Plans for the future. When members join a community they’re investing their time to be a co-owner of a better future. You need to outline what the future for your community looks like.
6. A useful FAQ. Most new members usually ask very similar questions (they might have joined solely to ask the question). So put together an FAQ solely about these questions. On Commania this would have included: “How much should I charge for community building work?” and “What platform should I use to create a community”. Compile these questions and link them to where they have been answered.
7. Be more involved page. Every online community should offer ways members can be more involved.
8. Your contact number. This is your job, your members are your customers, they should be able to reach you by phone to resolve issues. Talking by phone also builds a stronger connection than by e-mail. Buy a SkypeIn number if you have to – but offer a number members can call.

You will notice nearly all of these elements provide members with ways to learn more about the community or become more involved with the community in the future. This is how it should be and where you should always be focusing your efforts.

Comments

[Runtzka]

This information couldn't come at a better time for me. I've just gotten the go-ahead to create a fb page to complement the web site our local field naturalist's club already has. These tips are relevant to both. I hadn't thought of a who's who of members yet it's a perfect fit with our club, which has an amazing representation of knowledge across many areas. What's equally wonderful is that we also have a good representation of people with limited knowledge but a love of nature and a desire to learn more.

[Jennifer Koren]

Agreed that this couldn't of come at a better time for me either. I'm in the middle of creating my company's first external community for clients and posts like these are so helpful.

[Tia Fisher]

Thanks for this - very useful. Re: the phone number - do you think it would be a good idea to also publish 'Office Hours' (and timezone) when you can be contacted, and make sure you really are availble at those times? Doing this will make everyone's life better - including the community manager's family! - and community members will have managed expectations.

[Richard Millington]

Hi Tia,

Yes, but as long as those hours coincide with the hours that members are most likely to be logged into the community. If your members are going to be at work all day then evenings are the best office hours.

[Terri L. Maurer]

Excellent, and very useful list! Thanks.

[Andrew C Abraham]

Good Tips Rich.

What I like is that they are all self-explanatory yet often forgotten. It's not until you compile a list like this that you realise what you need to do.

Cheers

[Irene Diamond]

Hi Richard,
You nailed it- simple list, but really important.

I'm gonna go right now and make sure #4 and 5 are up on our site.

Thanks!
~Irene
http://www.successfulMassageTherpist.org

[Marycollin]

Great article. Simple, concise and easy to put into practice. Thank you for great advice. I'm signing up for updates :-)

[Mowers]

Especially the contact number and email, is the first thing I check on my new website. Sometimes I forget to add this information.

[Reviewer]

The epic history is a really good idea, not seen this so far.

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