This week at the United Nations Refugee Agency we launched our Causes page. We’ve reached 50,000 members in just under 7 days, which is a huge achievement. We’ve raised just over $50,000 and boosted our Facebook fan page to 20,000 fans.
Some quick thoughts:
1) Facebook is the best tool to build a huge community at high speed. Never let anybody tell you that Facebook doesn’t work. It works if you use it properly.
2) People had a reason to join that aligned with our goals. If they’re willing to join to help raise money, will they be willing to participate? If 10,000 people join your community what will your business do? Why not start your own membership petition list?
3) Spend hours working on related causes, groups, influencers, bloggers and everyone else relevant to have a big launch. One key influencer can mean 20,000 people.
4) If you can explain why your community is going to be big, have no fear of asking for help from partners. Get yourself featured on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and anyone that might have a relevant interest.
5) The real work is just beginning. It’s easy to stop working when you get big. The truth is membership size is fantastic, but we need to work even harder to forge a community from this. The real work is only just beginning.
