How to build online communities.

1. BUI L D I N G C O M MUNITIES
What I learned from fashion bloggers.
How to build for engagement.
Some community management tips.
weardrobe

2. MAK E YO U R S E L F CHOOSE
1. DEFINE A SINGLE AUDIENCE ARCHETYPE:
- it will force you to focus on the most
i m p o r t a n t ( b l o g g e r, d e s i g n e r, t e e n y b o p p e r )
- it is ok to have multiple archetypes as long
as you speak to each effectively
2 . F O C U S O N O N E R E A S O N W H Y:
- why you are building the product
- why would your audience use your product

4. D E F I N E & M E ASURE
Visitors Contributors Distributors
“Users” “Advocates” “Evangelists”
an opportunity to they defend your product they actively promote your
definition build advocates and give feedback product to outside users
activation view a photo post a photo share a photo
submit “hi-res” photo share/embed a photo
retention visit 2x/mo. for 2 mo. every mo. => drive 500 visits/mo.
metric (=> 1,000 visits/yr) for 3+ mo.
kindly borrowed and tweaked from 500 Hats.

5. WH AT D R I V E S USERS?
Positive Emotions Negative Emotions
pleasure pain
hope rejection
belonging fear
(use these emotions to (use these emotions to
encourage engagement empower users to police
with features, interviews, content as well as keep
badges, points, ratings the community in check)
and comments)
there’s also greed (to make $, get prizes, etc), but that’s another analysis to look at ROI.

6. W H Y E N G AGE?
1 . A N T I C I PAT E D R E C I P R O C I T Y
- want comments, feedback, attention
2. INCREASED RECOGNITION
- want you to drive traffic to them
3. SENSE OF EFFICACY
- want to make a difference for others
4. SENSE OF COMMUNITY
- want to feel part of something bigger

7. L E T T H E M E AT CAKE
Pa r t o f b u i l d i n g a c o m m u n i t y i s a l l o w i n g u s e r s
to manage themselves, which fosters a sense of
o w n e r s h i p f r o m t h e u s e r.

8. G E N E R A L TIPS
R e s p o n d t o e v e r y e m a i l , e v e n i f i t ’s h e l l o.
B e t r a n s p a r e n t a n d h o n e s t w i t h y o u r c o m m u n i t y.
Manage with a light touch (with curation).
G i v e u s e r s o w n e r s h i p o f t h e c o m m u n i t y.
Keep them updated to changes and features.
Update your blog or link to your own blog.

9. S AY S O R RY
Saying sorry goes a long way (be cute,
cheeky or really desperate).
“ in our services and products, we try harder.” - Avis

10. S AY T H A N K YOU
Always remember to thank your users
for all that they do (emails, snail mail,
gifts, meetups, shoutouts).

11. C ON TAC T
QUESTIONS? SUGGESTIONS? IDEAS?
@suzannexie
suzanne.xie@gmail.com