8 Ways To Merge Your Online Community With The Real World

March 31, 2010Comments Off on 8 Ways To Merge Your Online Community With The Real World

There is a big problem with online communities. Members think of them online communities as places they go. Not something they are in their daily lives.

This is a shame. This relegates your online community to an afterthought. Everything that happens in your community has a lesser significance solely because it’s online. It’s not IRL (in real life).

You need to work hard to merge the two. The key to this is to have tangible real-life objects and activities. Here are 8 ideas

  1. Membership cards. Send membership cards to those who have been active in the community for three months. By far the simplest thing you can do.
  2. Text messages. Send text messages about upcoming events and activities your online community can do. Invite them to reply back with any questions.
  3. Phone calls. Phone members up. Have chats with your top members. Ask them for their thoughts and ideas. Plan things in the community together.
  4. Regular meetings. No brainer, meet up with members as often as possible. Book the venue and host the event. It’s incredibly simple.
  5. Yearbooks. Send our end-of-year yearbooks to top members. Don’t go for the cheap pdf option. Members can pay of them or you can sell advertising in them.
  6. Trophies/certificates. Send out trophies and certificates for members that have achieved something remarkable (either in the online community itself or in the broader subject area).
  7. Open a sales channel. Create a forum, page, or even a Twitter stream feed (use a hashtag) where members can sell relevant products to each other.
  8. Monthly newsletter. For some reason, seeing something in print. Something you can touch and hold just feels more worldly than any internet exposure.

The more you blend the two, the more important your community becomes to your members. The stronger the bonds, the more frequently members visit, the more active members become and it becomes far easier to sustain your efforts.

Comments Off
©2023 FeverBee Limited, Apartment 2410, 251 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 6FN England FEVERBEE
GO TO THE CUTTING EDGE OF COMMUNITY BUILDING

We’d like you to join us.

We’re a group of community professionals who push each other to the cutting edge of our work. Every day we share our experiences, highlight new expertise, and push one another to become the best community builders we can be.

The day you join, you’ll get access to 1000+ practical tips, dozens of resources, and unlimited access to the top experts in our space. You’ll also get to see how we go about building a community amongst our own audience.

It takes just 30 seconds and doesn’t cost a thing.

CLICK HERE AND JOIN FEVERBEE
Please Select Membership Level to access more posts.

Level Price  
ALL COURSES $750.00 per Month.
Select
Community Development Program $1,100.00 per Month.
Select
Director of Community $8,770.00 per Month.
Select
Free Trial - Accelerator Program Free.
Select
Community Accelerator (founding members) [annually] $250.00 per Year.
Select
Community Accelerator and FeverBee Intelligence [monthly] $45.00 per Month.
Select
Community Accelerator and FeverBee Intelligence [annually] $450.00 per Year.
Select
Full Community Upgrade (Large Enterprise Only) [monthly] $750.00 per Month.
Select
Full Community Upgrade (Large Enterprise Only) [annually] $7,600.00 per Year.
Select