If you want to initiate discussions which get a good response, you need to know a few things:
1) What do your members really care about?
2) What are your members’ biggest problems?
3) What do your members do? (habits online/offline)
Once you know this, it’s relatively easy to initiate discussions along these lines (and highlight discussions initiated by members along these lines).
- For example, what is the best way to…?
- How many of you have found {x} is really difficult?
- Have you ever found that….?
You don’t always need to ask for the solution, you just need other people to identify that they also have the same problem.
Ask a few members what their biggest problems are, ask what they really care about, ask what they do online/offline relating to the topic?
Or if you want to simplify the entire process, got to a relevant sector event, keep a list of what people are discussing (not the lectures, but informally), and build discussions around that.
