When I was invited to attend and speak at Converge, I felt it was an exciting opportunity to re-examine the significance of social commerce and how our communities are affected on a routine basis. With this in mind, I plan to highlight a number of innovative thoughts, tools and ideas on monetizing your community and then apply these solutions to some of the greatest opportunities social technology presents. Here are a few statistics that frame the opportunity for monetizing your community: - 91% say consumer content is the #1 aid to a buying decision (JC Williams Group) - 87% trust a friend’s recommendation over a review by a critic (Marketing Sherpa) - Social network users are 3x more likely to trust peer opinions over advertising when making purchase decisions (Jupiter Research) With these figures in mind, it’s obvious that by using social technology, including online communities, organizations can increase revenue and improve long-term relationships with customers. My session will focus on how your content strategy can drive increased community engagement and in turn drive commerce (monetization). Content, Community, Commerce… A theme I’ve embraced for quite some time now!

1. How to Monetize Your
Online Community
@SterlingRaphael
President, Products
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

2. About
• CRM + Integration
• MemberFuse Community
+
• Reputation System
• Social Buyer’s Guide
• Social Media Monitoring =
• Social Content Publishing
• Social Analytics
Monetize Your Online Community
2 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

3. About
Monetize Your Online Community
3 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

4. About Sterling
• My Background...
• Find me
• @SterlingRaphael
• LinkedIn.com/in/SterlingRaphael
• Skype: SterlingFX
Monetize Your Online Community
4 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

5. Monetizing Communities
The Perfect Strategy?
?
“I haven’t failed
I just found
10,000 ways
that won’t
work.”
-­‐
Thomas
Edison
Monetize Your Online Community
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

6. Branded Community?
What about Facebook, etc..?
Monetize Your Online Community
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

7. Association Communities
• The Original Social Network
• They exist for:
• Content
• Networking
• Education
• Commerce
• Events
• Commerce
Monetize Your Online Community
7 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

8. Community Purposes
• Social
• Prospect
• Customer
• Partner
Internal
External
• Support
Employees
Partners
Customers Prospects
• Employee
• Innovation
• Learning HR
ERP
CRM
• Dating...
Monetize Your Online Community
@SterlingRaphael
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

9. The Commerce Strategy
Monetize Your Online Community
9 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

10. Content
Monetize Your Online Community
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

11. Community
Monetize Your Online Community
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

12. Commerce
Monetize Your Online Community
12 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

13. Monetization Examples
Monetize Your Online Community
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

14. Targeted Ads
• Banners 3.0
• Utilize Relevance
• Page Level & Popups
Database Interests
• Targeting Management
• Engagement Reports User Activity
• Open X Ad Server
User Centric Architecture
(UCA)
Monetize Your Online Community
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

15. Pay For Content
• Content Abstracts
• SEO of Content for
Recruitment
• Monetize Non-Members
• Show Membership Value
• Related Products Offered
Monetize Your Online Community
15 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

16. Buyer’s Guide
• Social Marketplace
• Community Module
• Social Supplier Listings
• Upgradable Listings
• Request for Info (RFI’s)
• Content Focus
Monetize Your Online Community
16 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

17. Other Monetization Options
• Job Boards
• PPC (AdSense)
• Social Shopping
• Paid Memberships
• Title Sponsorships
• Facebook App
• Others?
Monetize Your Online Community
17 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

18. The Tools
• Contently.com
• Avectra MemberFuse
• Open X Ad Serve
• Google AdSense
• Google Wallet
Monetize Your Online Community
18 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

19. The Future... (is now)
• Mobile Commerce
zencartoptimization.com
• Social Buying
• Crowd Funding
Monetize Your Online Community
19 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

20. Other Examples
(Source... JuliusSolarous.com @tojulius)
• Fon.com - Resell Wifi Community
• Fundable.com - Crowd Funding
• Yonker.com - Privatized Twitter Community
• Blubbry.com - Podcasting Content Community
• Infectious.com - Art Community
• Zlio.com - Privatized Online Story
• Xing.com - Professional Networking
• OpenAd.com - Crowdsource Agency
• Meetup.com - Niche Meeting Community
• GetSatisfaction.com - Support Communities
Monetize Your Online Community
20 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

21. Resources
• Social Commerce Today
• Chess Media Group
• Mashable
• Altimeter
• Avectra
Monetize Your Online Community
21 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

22. Words to Remember
Start Small Have a Strategy
Research
Be Agile
Measure
Monetize Your Online Community
22 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

23. Thank You
Stay in Touch...
- @SterlingRaphael
- fb.me/SterlingRaphael
- Skype: SterlingFX
Monetize Your Online Community
23 @SterlingRaphael
Tuesday, October 4, 2011