Community Strategy Insights

The latest insights on community strategy, technology, and value by FeverBee’s founder, Richard Millington

Fame, Money, Sex, Power

Richard Millington
Richard Millington

Founder of FeverBee

Community members that aren’t self-motivated, are motivated by rewards. You need to create these rewards.

These members are motivated by 4 things, fame, money, sex, power. Putting sex aside, your rewards need to align with these motivations. Here’s some ideas:

Fame

  • Have a hall-of-fame for people who achieve something.
  • Organise competitions to help people become famous in your community.
  • Have high-achievers mentioned in the newsletter.
  • Let super-members write their own columns/blogs.
  • Frequently refer back to big achievements by members
  • Interview top members.
  • Host a member of the week.
  • Hold annual awards.
  • Have a popularity rating for members.
  • Send interesting stories about top members to industry journalists.

Money

  • Don’t directly pay money, it’s bad (and expensive).
  • Invite related recruitment agencies and HR types to participate in your online community.
  • Encourage members to develop products just for your community (branded please, no spam).
  • Mention members that have been hired by their community work.
  • Keep a list of community members who have been the most successful in their work.
  • Tell your members about job opportunities your client doesn’t advertise.
  • Let members arrange events for the community and charge an entry fee.
  • Create a guide for members that want to earn money from the community.
  • Report on entrepreneurs in the industry, and ask for their advice.

Power

  • Give super-members moderation duties
  • Ask super-members for their advice on key issues and even about your client’s products and services.
  • Consult top members when considering what to do about a disruptive member.
  • Give these members the power to approve comments/pictures/columns by other members.
  • Give members initiatives and projects they can run.
  • Let members run sections and elements of the community, even grow a related community using the same technology.
  • Invite all top members to a board that makes decisions on community matters. They can vote who joins the board.
  • Create a list of members who have these powers – let everyone see.

The great, and remarkable, thing about all these rewards is that they hardly cost a thing. Be generous with them.

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