So You Want to Launch a Community?

Remember that email or phone call from a fellow staff member or senior leadership – they want to start a community based on a topic or segment of membership. What is your community governance strategy? What do you tell them? It is great to see staff excited about the power of community and wanting to create more spaces for engagement. However, it is important to be realistic about the time and effort it requires to nurture a community. You can build it… But chances are they won’t come! Well, at least without a solid community strategy. 

I have seen far too many groups and subgroups set up in our community platform that were done on a whim. The staff who asked for them had no intention of engaging or nurturing the group, they were expected to be self-sufficient. However, the members never asked for the community and had no intention of participating. How can you communicate constructively about the guidelines and expectations for creating successful spaces in your online community?  If you do not already, I recommend having a document in place that governs why and how you establish subgroups within your community. Here are a few things that we include in our governing documents. 

Requiring resources 

Successful groups have successful leaders. Someone to welcome you, show you the ropes, communicate, and address any conflicts between group members. This takes support and resources from both staff and volunteers. We require the following: 

• Dedicated staff time 

• Group of volunteers to champion the group

• List of SEED questions

• Editorial plan to develop, nurture, and promote

These resources will not guarantee success of the group; however, they ensure you have a solid foundation when launching. 

Statement of purpose

Why is the community being launched? Who is the target audience? There is nothing worse than putting in time and effort in creating a space that no one wanted! Before you create a subgroup, speak to the target audience, and determine if there is an actual need and what the audience believes would be the purpose of the group. Community is about the people. You cannot create a community without their input and involvement. 

Goals

What do members and staff want the community to accomplish. It is important to state your goals, the tactics to achieve them, and the metrics to measure them. You will also want to set a clear timeline for when you want goals completed. Don’t forget, it takes time to build and establish a community. Set attainable goals. 

Competing communities 

Are there similar groups in your community? I am always very cautious about setting up additional groups where the same goals can be met in existing communities. It is better to connect the needs, staff, and members to partner and work together instead of creating a separate competing community that members won’t understand the difference. Which do I join? Where do I post? Are there similar communities from other organizations or on social media? Be aware of the other offerings out there. There is a lot of digital noise. You want to know what you are up against. Identify how your subgroup will distinguish itself from these competing groups. How will you attract people to your space and keep them engaged?

Editorial Plan

What type of content do you want the community to feature? What types of questions do you expect will be asked/answered? To be successful, you will need to work closely with the advocates for the community to develop a game plan. Remember, content always creates more content. Don’t forget to build on the questions and answers being shared in the group. Listening is the best way to engage the community and grow the audience.  

In closing

There are so many aspects of community governance, managing your groups and subgroups is an integral part of that process. If you have groups that are so segmented, members will start to feel disconnected and unengaged. You want to introduce them to the most vibrant resources where they can learn, grow and knowledge share. I am not suggesting that creating subgroups is a bad thing. Rather, you need to be diligent and strategic in doing so and that starts with communicating to staff the elements to consider when building successful communities.

I would love to hear what your process is for creating groups and subgroups. Please share them in the comments below.