It’s no secret that groups are a fantastic marketing platform that can greatly benefit yourself and your business or brand. However, one of the remaining secrets is still making sure it can actually work.
For every successful community out there, there are at least ten who didn’t make the cut. So what’s the vast difference, and is there a magic formula?
Well, there isn’t one, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t some significant guidelines you can follow if you want to make sure you won’t join the sad statistics.
Activities
Everyone likes fun, mainly if they feature great prizes and rewards. An excellent place to start is creating an activity your team members can quickly join, with an appropriate and tremendous enough compensation for the lucky ones. Activities run from luck-based to specific actions and even competitions. A good activity will benefit your group besides the post itself – By new members who’ll join the movement, overall increased engagement, etc.
Some will directly order members to invite others to join, and some will do it more wisely and less directly – Sometimes resulting in a much better outcome.
Don’t Advertise
People hate ads, and we know you also loathe them. By keeping your group off annoying banners and other sales promotions, you’re increasing the chances people would like to read what the group holds.
Wait a minute – Many groups advertise. It’s true, but they usually do it wise: Not too much (i.e., only for a big company or once a month), as an activity (X company will pick three winners who’ll get a month’s supply of soda!) or as an “organic” way – Posts that don’t seem like an ad, but serve as a marketing tool none the less.
Keep it Together
Having the number of members rise is a great and sensual feeling, but if you want to play it smart, don’t invite people just because they can join. Make sure to pick a reliable niche (Age, interests, gender, and of course, any other combination) and add members who’re related to it and can relate to it.
Some groups have quite many members, but they didn’t get very far because no one cared enough to post something.
You Need to Start it
It’s rare to see a group that’ll have organic discussions since day 1, at least from those who didn’t start the community in the first place.
So plan a content strategy and start bombarding your group with relevant and interesting pieces, using your target niche’s language and points that’ll arise their urge to share and talk. If you did it right, you’d be an inspiration and a sign that this place may just be what they need to vent and meet.
Don’t be a Tyrant
People can deal with ads, but dictators are way more rigid. Some groups just saw an end because the moderators (And sometimes even just one of them) decided he’s the best source to determine what goes and what doesn’t.
Deleted posts and comments, keeping posts from being published, and bans without a valid reason can be easily interpreted as a sign to look for the next community. If you value your members, then don’t do things you wouldn’t have liked yourself.
We can do it!
Of course, another great piece of advice is just to take a community expert to treat the trouble and headache. At Synapse, we know those guidelines and much more of that, and we’re ready to take your community to the next levels. Ready to do it? Contact us now for all the details