1. Building a community
to drive positive change take over the world
@PaddySteen, Which? Supporter Engagement Manager
2. Which? helps you pick the best washing machine, sure...
...but ever since we started in a garage in Bethnal Green in 1957, we've been
campaigning to make lives fairer, simpler and safer
Which Which?
Which? is a commercial business, with 1.5m magazine
subscriptions…
...but we’re also a charity, with 500,000 campaign supporters
3. A community for all ‘consumers’
o We launched Which? Convo in 2010 as a
place for everyone to debate topical
consumer issues
o Adds a human voice to Which?, where our
experts can show their personality
o Arms us with views from real people when
we quiz companies or the government
o It allows us to test ideas and unearths new
investigation opportunities
o We offer guest spots to brands, MPs &
celebs
4. Bringing people together
Thousands came to share their consumer problems and debate the issues that
mattered to them, from the mundane to the serious:
Action from Trading Standards, Google
and government on copycat websites
6. 30,000 comments
“I have been off work for two weeks due to fact that my father died and my
mother is seriously ill. Every day I receive cold calls regarding PPI despite
being ex directory. This is very distressing. I dive to my phone every time it
rings in case it is my mother needing help,” Caroline
260,000 petition signatures
“I have a children’s toy that at a press of a button give out messages from
Captain Kirk on the Enterprise. There are several messages such as the BEAM
ME UP SCOTTY ! which are useful during a conversation,” Jon
9. It’s not all smiles
Your community doesn’t always agree with you (it would be boring if they did)
“When will you stop spouting the drivel you are spouting and listen to the
population who are against these intrusions into our home,” Daver22
10. The relaunch
o No more drive-bys - all newbies see a simple
registration overlay after commenting
o No more generalists - the site’s been
restructured around clear topic areas
o No more desktop only - optimised for mobiles
o No more silos - integrating community with our
Campaigns and Consumer Rights sites
o No more control freaks - we’re handing more
control over to our community. They can share
ideas and write their own convos
11. Data, data, data
We now use Blue State Digital for our community
member’s data, meaning we can see:
➔What issues they care about
➔How active they are
➔Whether they’re campaign supporters or members
Tip: build data over time and only ask for relevant info
What if we could contact energy enthusiasts about our new campaign on energy
bills? Or get in touch with car owners about the VW emissions scandal?
12. Déjà VW
“This was a numbers game right across the world. It was being watched, that I
am sure of. I have read Which? for some time but only recently contributed
because of this subject. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me,” DeeKay
600 comments
10,000 poll votes
13. Takeaways
o Your community needs a shared purpose and they need to know what that is -
what are we trying to achieve together?
o Show your community’s achievements back to them. Prove to them that we’re
more powerful when we work together
o Listen to your community - they need to have a leading hand in its direction.
And don't be afraid to let go
o Your biggest advocates can be your biggest critics, but your biggest critics
can also become your biggest advocates
o Be honest and admit when you're wrong - they'll respect you more
14. Takeaways
o You don’t need the latest software to build a strong community. Give them the
features they want, not just the ones you want
o Don’t let data go to waste - the more you leverage what you know about your
community members, the more success you’ll have
o Don't hide your community away - it’s a huge asset to your brand so surface it
on your most important websites
o You might find it hard to convince people inside your company that
your community’s important. It is, and it can help your brand bring
about change
Editor's Notes
Historical campaigns:
We launched the Great British car rip-off campaign in June 1999, after finding that Britons paid more for cars than EU consumers. We invited you to import your next car using our Carbusters service, saving an average of £4,000 per car.
We were one of the organisations that helped to persuade the government to extend rear seat belt regulations to adults as well as children.
We carried out our first full test of child car seats in 1967. Since then, we've maintained our position as the only UK organisation carrying out extensive crash safety tests of child car seats.
Children's health used to be at risk from the lead paint used on toys. We campaigned for toy safety regulations to stop manufacturers using lead-based paints, making toys safer.
Since 2010, Which? Convo has had: 8m visits, 300,000 comments, 400,000 poll votes, 200+ authors, 4,000 conversations
The community furthers our mission to make people as powerful as the organisations that affect their lives. When used well, the site adds volume to the community’s voice and lets us bring about change together
Our community has helped shape our move to campaigning with consumers. The community stopped the abolition of cheques, and directly influenced the launch of our Fixed Means Fixed, Costly Calls and Nuisance Calls campaigns.
Our community members can become case studies to talk about our campaigning issues with the media.
Comments about smart meters convinced us to launch an investigation in the smart meter roll-out:
“Our last couple of Conversations on smart meters – one on our challenge to energy companies, and one on the smart meter roll-out as a whole – have received a huge response. And we know a lot of you are simply not convinced about the benefits smart meters will bring – as well as the cost that their introduction may add to our energy bills. So we’ve decided to take stock of what’s happened so far and conduct an investigation into whether the current plans for the roll-out are really up to the job.”
We encourage users to register and make regular interactions. Registration will be their first step into a meaningful relationship with Which? 50% of new commenters are registering.
The site is structured around clearly defined themes, bringing in consumers on the issues that matter to them, where they can find like-minded people and discover solutions for their problems via linked content.
Creating Which? advocates - by surfacing our community on other Which? sites we can move more of our visitors and members from being passive to active, thereby starting a more meaningful relationship with our brand.
Valuable user data - we have thousands of users discussing issues that matter to them – collecting this user data can help us better serve their needs and contact them with relevant content.
We can make our community more powerful when they’re in need, such as with the VW scandal. A popular poll on Which? Conversation helped us launch the issue into a full scale campaign.