The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.
Sarah Ban Breathnach
The reasons people run away from Facebook and other similarly huge networks are plenty. People run away because they are looking for privacy. They run away in fear of fake news. They’re looking for a place where they can feel safe. Where like-minded people can focus on that particular topic that makes them tick.
Most people don’t care about cat photos, baby pictures and random stuff shared by their Facebook friends. Plus, their algorithms for showing ‘valuable’ content is pushing on users the things they’re not interested in anyway. In which case they are forced to hide or unfollow people because it’s just… annoying.
There are a million reasons that could easily be listed that are in favor for creating your own community. First of which is, there’s no one good reason against it. Why your blog needs your own social network was covered in one of my previous blog posts and I’ll try not to repeat myself to save your time. But if you haven’t read it. Please, by all means, follow the link above and catch up!
I’ll be here 😉
All caught up? Great! Let’s get to it then.
You Already Have Your Own Community!
If you already have a WordPress blog and people are commenting on your posts, sharing them with their friends and most of all visit your site on rather regular basis, that’s already your own community. All they need is the right tools to express themselves beyond the blog post comment section. People love to be heard. They love to share opinions, ideas and get involved. The times where people just read newspapers and commented on the content only in their thoughts is long gone. Those were the dark ages, really.
What Community Should You Create?
Isn’t that the question. It largely depends on the website that you’re already running. Possibilities are pretty much endless. But just to be clear, if you have a blog where you write about cars, it’s probably a good idea to stick to the same or similar topic when it comes to your community. Don’t try to convince them to join on a conversation about gardening. That probably won’t end too well. But hey! You can always start a brand new one.
Rules For Creating And Maintaining Your Social Network
- Be Original
Don’t create yet another community for gardeners. However, if you decide to start one anyway, make sure to stand out. Your Community should have the best… everything and it’s you’re job to make it happen. - Start Small. Dream Big.
Forget about a huge launch. Just don’t. Many company giants have tried huge launches and it almost never ended up well. People came in huge numbers, saw that there was nothing happening and just left. Start small, make your community exclusive. - Create Worthwhile Content
People might come to your community because of curiosity. But they will keep coming back for the great content. You don’t have to create all of it yourself. That’s where your Power Users step in. - Identify Power Users
With small start you get the chance to identify your power users. Make sure they feel welcome and they feel the sense of ownership over the community. It will not only result in their larger engagement and contributions but also will keep them coming back on regular basis. - Let Your Members Help Each Other
It relates to the #3. People love to be heard and love to give opinions. Don’t try answering everything yourself. Also when answering questions, tag other users, ask their opinions, make them feel needed and included. They will generate more engagement and traffic to your site. - Listen To Your Members
People love to be heard. But there must be someone willing to listen. When you’re creating a community revolving about a product, much like we do here with PeepSo listening to our members comments is really important. Make sure that they’re not only heard but there’s something done about it too.
Just in addition to #5. Recently when we’ve finally released search and hashtags plugin, I have used the search function, gone through posts sometimes as old as few months. Dug those old posts back and added comments saying: hey, we have this and that feature now. Check it out!
It did generate notifications and those members came back to the site and thanked for the update. It was a great day and all of us loved it. Those who got notified about it especially, they didn’t feel neglected and just left with the previous comment saying: we’ll add it to our todo list. After it’s finally done and released, you let them know. They appreciate it and come back.
What Type Of Community Should You Create?
There are a few types of communities that you might not be aware of, but once you read about them it’s one of those: oh yea! moments where it’s so obvious. The community depends on one of the types of communities which can be divided into:
- Action
They campaign for social change. Their unity comes from a shared value. The challenge for the community leader is to maintain interest even when that change is slow to come. - Local
Focus on a small area. They provide a way for neighbors to exchange news and information. While these communities often have local leaders, they also have plenty of grassroots support and no shortage of interaction. - Professional
Let people doing similar work share advice and experience. Make sure that your content and the information available in the community is welcoming to new members but also advanced enough to interest experienced professionals. - Communities based on circumstance
Those gather together people who share a particular situation, such as motherhood, drug addiction, disability or other. Members of these communities are often looking for information, safe space and support. - Interest
Are focused on a particular passion, hobby or brand. Much like our very own community revolving around PeepSo as a product and a brand. You can see our own community in action. It’s free for all. Anyone can join.
Take Action Today. Listen. Learn. Adapt.
The world belongs to the people who do. Thinkers have achieved everything in their dreams. But at the end of the day they’re still just dreams. They have no influence over the real world and most often than not are kept in one’s mind. You don’t need to wait for the right moment. You don’t have to wait days, weeks or months. It takes not more than a couple of minutes to get PeepSo set up.
Get started with your community today. It doesn’t have to be perfect right away. That’s where your community steps in. They will tell you what you’re doing well, what’s great, what needs to be changed, tweaked and adjusted. This is exactly why starting small and growing over time is the best way to go.
That way your community feels more like family at first and that feeling just gets stronger over time. People care about it, feel the sense of ownership and responsibility. By starting small and growing organically you’ll get the best possible results. Your members will invite their friends who are interested in the same things and steadily and surely Your Community will only grow stronger.
