Every day I hear from Association Executives and business owners that they want to do {fill in the blank with choice of social media tool}. Usually it’s because they have found some connection with that particular tool or they know someone else who is doing it. What are lacking in most cases are a strategy, a plan, and measurable metrics to identify if your plan is working. Not to mention, managing a community is a commitment. The last thing you want is to put all this energy into a site that isn’t engaging.

In this blog, we’ll be posting some tips that will help you think through some components of a successful engaging and profitable online community.

Tip 1. Commit for the Long Haul

You need to decide if you’re in this for the long haul. If you’re dabbling, there are ways you can do that without risking your organizations reputation. Recognize that although it’s not a full time job to sustain a community, it’s a good hobby, for sure. It’s not a good idea to kick it off ‘just a little bit’. Or to kick it off big and then fizzle out. It will affect your credibility with your constituents. You need to continually provide good content, but you don’t have to do it alone.

Tip 2. Braintrust and Community Contributions

Take advantage of the fact that people love to talk about things they know something about. End your posts with questions. Inspire participation with controversial topics. And one of the things you can do that will really help is to find some key players in your community and ask them for their commitment to contribute. You will find that the vast majority of your community will just read posts, but a small percentage will offer a lot of content on their own. Create a “braintrust” of your favorite community members to continually provide content. Hold them to certain standards to remain a part of your “braintrust”. Check back on the PKC Blog for more tips in the coming days!