Year: 2011

Amateurs succeed where professionals don’t when it comes to developing a community.  Brands usually build the website, find lots of people to sign up, publish

Promoting your community is part of your job. Aim to get promotion in trade publications, newspapers, radio, TV. Continually comment on topical stories. Issue statements

Lets banish two phrases from the branded community vocabulary.  “Tell us what you think”  “We want to hear from you”  (or any mixture of the

Outsourcing your community to a marketing agency is a terrible idea.  There are many, many, reasons for this. 7 of the most important are: Agencies

People join communities to learn. Your members are thirsty for knowledge – especially about your community’s topic. Your community must provide that knowledge. You must

The overwhelming temptation for brands is to push to get the benefits they want from a community. You want feedback right? Perhaps increased sales? Maybe

This is an extreme version of how most brands go about starting discussions and increasing activity in their community. Please don’t do anything like this:

Launch your community on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.  I prefer Tuesdays.

Asking members to tell their friends about the community never works. Members might tell their friends, but not because you asked them to. So stop