5 Steps to Engage Your Community
May 8, 2010 by: Shari
From Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
How do you build community from a loosely joined group of people? You need to reach into the community and learn; here’s how:
1. Listening comes first: Pay attention to where all your publics are interacting.
2. Measure the conversations: Monitor the sentiment as well as numbers.
3. Take small steps: Begin with small memorable exchanges.
4. Lead a new initiative: Becoming a does makes you a real player.
5. Profit: Being inside the right community is a great way to build business, glean insider knowledge, and get an edge on the competition.
With the advances in technology that promotes communication, we have tools that allow us to form online communities to exchange ideas and share experiences. Let’s make the most of those opportunities.
FURTHER READING:
Chris Brogan Community and Social Media
Commentary on Chris Brogan’s Guide to Managing Online Presence
Social Media Monitoring is Critical to Business Success
Think Big, Start Small: Social Media Strategy Best Practice
Listening Marketing: Hearing Before We See
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That’s solid advice, particularly listening, which is a great way to get a handle on how many conversations are happening about you, your company, brands or products, as well as competitors. It also provides some insight into whether you need to get involved in social media conversations, and who’s leading these conversations.
Mark
Mark Evans
Director of Communications
Sysomos Inc.
@sysomos
Mark, interestingly enough, the first lesson I give to my Business Communications students is Three Rules to Business success: 1) Listen carefully; 3) Read carefully; and 3) Follow all directions.
So many of us think we listen . . . but so many of us don’t know how.