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Building Online Communities
April 2009 | Volume 7 Issue 4
Today savvy organizations realize that merely building a web site and hoping an audience will appear is simply not enough. More and more organizations are investing time, energy and creativity into cultivating sites that build relationships between their audiences and the organization or brand. In this issue of CW Bulletin, our experts provide tips—ranging from creating a strategic plan to gaining followers on Twitter—for building a vibrant, lasting online community.
Natasha Nicholson
Executive Editor
Amanda Aiello
Associate Editor |
Features
ONLINE COMMUNITY PLANNING
by Jason Falls
Of the hundreds of online communities that have failed in the last three years, each can likely trace its biggest flaw back to the lack of one critical ingredient: strategic planning. Online communities quickly became the hip, new trend among cutting-edge brands and corporations, so everybody had to have one, even if there was no real sound reasoning attached. But like any other large-scale communication tactic, online community-building without proper strategic planning is a recipe for failure.
TWITTER COMMUNITY
by Barbara Gibson, ABC
When I first tried Twitter, it felt a lot like the first day at a new school, but starting a week later than everybody else. It seemed like everyone already knew how things were done, and I didn’t. I signed up for the free account, I sent a tweet. No one answered. I felt like an outsider, not part of a community.
Six months after my initial effort, I tried Twitter again, this time with very different results. Here’s what I’ve learned.
BEST PRACTICES
by Michael Wilson
Despite the current economic climate, companies are continuing to invest in creating branded online communities (also known as social networks). The reasons why are simple. When compared to traditional marketing methods, managing customer relationships and fostering collaboration, online communities are a highly efficient vehicle for better understanding, engaging and serving your audience.
CREATING CONNECTIONS
by Dave Wilkins and Drew Darnbrough
In the relatively short time since it became available to the masses, the Internet has connected more than 1.5 billion people and profoundly changed our world. For businesses, the most significant results have been immediate access to a wealth of knowledge and the advent of new business models. Today, the latest incarnation of the Internet—the social Web—gives people and business instantaneous access to shared brainpower, feedback and insight through live interaction.
CASE STUDY
by Peter Cripps
Tourism New South Wales (NSW) in Australia saw a major opportunity to encourage skilled migration visas and tourism to Sydney and the rest of the state, following the introduction of new arrangements for a working holiday visa between the U.S. and Australia. The organization identified social media as the ideal, cost-effective tool for reaching young Americans en masse and encouraging them to visit.
Columns
How to Make the Best of a Tough (Communication) Situation: Communicating about layoffs
by Wilma Mathews ABC, IABC Fellow
Editor’s note: This article is the second in a three-part series about communicating during a downturn.
Over the last year you have done an excellent job explaining the changing marketplace to your employees. You’ve covered import/export imbalances and how they can affect your company. You’ve made sure employees know what’s happening in your industry, especially with your competitors, customers and clients.
But now that the time is here to make the announcements about layoffs and closures, it seems that no employee can remember ever having read or heard about those indicators. And, because of that rampant amnesia, employees then move instantly to “Why me?!”
The Photo Whisperer: Help for the point-and-write communicator
by Suzanne Salvo
No budget for new photography? I’m hearing that a lot these days. But I’m also hearing that the need for good images to support marketing and publication efforts still exists. Some companies are attempting to get around the problem by pressing a camera into the hands of a staff corporate communicator and hoping for the best. Expecting stellar results from such a situation, particularly without any training, is optimistic to say the least. But with decent gear, some advice on good techniques and lots of practice, there is hope.
Are Your Employee Surveys Really Helping You Manage Your Internal Communication?
by Peter Hutton
Does your employee survey consist of just a list of statements, an agree/disagree scale and virtually nothing else? If so, you are missing a big opportunity. For some reason, this particular question technique has taken hold in the employee research world, sometimes to the exclusion of other, often superior, research techniques.
- “The Deloitte Film Festival,“ Deloitte LLP
- “Best Buy Employee News Intranet Site,“ Best Buy Co. Inc.
- “Antarctica Marathon Media Relations,“ Capella University
Communication in the News
Related Resources provides additional articles and resources for understanding this month’s topic of building online communities. You can also find some of these links alongside each corresponding feature article for quick reference. Links include:
- “Why Most Online Communities Fail,” by Ben Worthen
- “How to Build Community on Twitter,” by Sarah Evans
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