i’d love to be able to list a ten step guide to building a successful community, the problem with that is that if you followed it step by step, you’d probably fail because it’s about taking each situation on it’s own individual merit and adapting your approach to suit each.
however, there are some key considerations that you should always remember…
DECIDE YOUR TARGET MARKET
trying to appeal to a mass market is always going to be a tough challenge and not one that many can succeed at. find your niche and stick to it. think LOLCATS – a specific phenomenon with a huge effect – heck my mum even emailed me in lol language the other day (that or she was in a rush and just not very good at spelling). have a clear idea before launching or re-branding of who it is that you want to use your product or service and why they would want to. have a friend that knows nothing about the web ask you all about it and if you can explain it clearly and with conviction, that’s always a good sign!
RESEARCH THE MARKET
find out where your target audience is communicating, what they’re talking about and the tools that they’re using. by listening and contributing to these conversations, you’re more likely to pick up on something that they feel is missing in the market which enables you to provide that niche product that everyone’s been waiting for.
you can’t build a site or service and just expect people to come to you – you have to be prepared to interact with the community members in a place that’s convenient for them. above all else, you have to be genuine about wanting to be in the chatter, contributing something of value and not just posting a link as a thread in a forum.
LOOK AT YOUR SITE
i know how ridiculous that sounds, but so many people build their site to please their desires rather than what their users actually want. build tools that encourage the behaviour that you want to see on your site – think instant messaging facilities, rating, sharing etc.
MONITOR FEEDBACK, MONITOR FEEDBACK, MONITOR FEEDBACK
whenever and wherever possible, open the floor up to your users – whether that’s through emails, feedback boxes, surveys or whatever, just make sure you’re doing it as much as you possibly can. getting the feedback is just the first part though, if you don’t do anything with that feedback, it’s a pointless exercise and you’re community won’t feel listened to.
if you can, incorporate the feedback at each release that you can. if there’s a reason that you don’t want to include some feedback or can’t, don’t be afraid to say that – whether that’s to the individual or on your blog. people will understand if they know that they’ve recognised their feedback.
if people give you feedback, they’re buying into your product/service – they want you to succeed and in return they’ll become your best advocates with a much further reach than you could ever hope for on your own.
THE FUTURE’S BRIGHT
of course, there’s a lot more to it… and it is time consuming but the rewards can be huge – i’m not talking financially, but bringing people together and watching them interact – what can be more satisfying than that? if you don’t have time to do this stuff, then at the very least pay someone to do it. the effects can be just as great as that of a really good pr firm but the loyalty will be much greater and longer lasting. communities rock! 
Jorge says:
Really liked this post Mel!
I agree with you in all that you’ve stated up there. I think the best way is to be part of the community and to put an example let’s use Gary Vaynerchuk and the way he gets feedback through forums, comments, Ustream, twitter and so on.
I’am trying to build a show that is based on community trying to talk what they want and to get as much feedback and though we’ve just started it’s important for us to listen to every person that goes there and interacts with us. For doing that we’ve got lot’s of advice and ideas to go on.
August 26, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Christopher Smith says:
After running an online options community site for the past several years, I can validate your observations. There is something subtle that occurs when building these virtual communities, which boils down to what I can only describe as a trust factor.
That trust develops when a core component of the community, perhaps at first it’s just you, demonstrates an earnest desire to participate and benefit the other members of the community. What’s really cool about it, is that if you are successful in developing something of a critical mass you can almost step back and watch the community grow on its own as other members begin taking an interest in the mutual support of their online neighbors.
Regards,
Chris
August 27, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Rich says:
I’d be fascinated to hear your thoughts on the point at which your community grows into something you no longer like, and what to do about it? People like yourself work really hard to create vibrant and engaging communities. But I wonder how many site owners start off really proud of their community, only to grow to hate it over time (the larger it gets).
For example I do wonder if Kevin (maybe you could ask him?!) is pleased at the overwhelming quantity of idiots that post hateful, rude, crude and downright senseless messages onto Digg. It’s not like traditional “old school” trolls, that could be easily moderated out either. They are the vast vocal numbskull majority.
Digg is no exception – view any popular YouTube video, and the comments you’ll mostly read are of the same ilk.
If I had created Digg I honestly think I’d be genuinely upset at what it had become. If i had created YouTube, I honestly think I’d remove the comments feature fullstop
I’ve witnessed time and again smaller communities grow, flourish, and then disintegrate as the masses move in. How would you protect against that? Or do you think it’s just a natural evolution, part of the community life-cycle?
September 1, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Mel says:
Thanks for the great comments guys.
Rich in answer to your question (be warned, it’s a little long winded)…
I think that there’s no doubt that often sites can change dramatically, both in their user base and furthermore the activities that you see on them – especially so when the growth reaches the level of Digg, as per your example.
However, I think the key is communication and positive rewarding. Let me explain… it’s critical when you’re setting out to think ahead to envisage what the site could grow to become. In doing this, you will ensure that you demonstrate the kind of behaviour that you expect from the community from the outset (this can be done in a number of ways, from tone of voice, to ensuring features encourage supportive as opposed to competitive behaviour, to even ensuring that the first people using the site are your friends and are interacting in a way that you want in the future).
I know that sounds incredibly simple, but getting that right from the outset it critical. I know that it wasn’t until recently that with Digg for example the top users were accumulative meaning that anyone new joining the site would never be able to play catch up with the number of front page stories that they’d received. This would therefore cause tension and meant that people started trying to game the system. So thinking ahead about the worst possible behaviour that you could expect from your users and trying to plan for this will go a long way.
The other key factor is open, honest and clear communication. If you really don’t want users making derogatory comments to one another or being incredibly negative then let them know that. Use the site’s copy to let your users know what you’re expecting of them and don’t be afraid to contact them if they’re not behaving in a way that you think is appropriate. Just deleting a comment is going to cause backlash, but if you email them and explain why you couldn’t leave it up there, it’s likely to reduce any comeback and gain their respect (as long as you’ve spelled out your user policy upfront – and not in some long T&Cs document that people are unlikely to read).
Obviously my last solution can’t be used when it’s a wholy community driven site like Digg as then you’d be seen as having some editorial rights over the site – but I think it’s important to realise how effective that method could be.
In answer to your last question – sites do grow, they often go from being niche sites to mainstream but hopefully along the way you’re gaining advocates that will be trying to look after the best interests of the community and if you can grow in a way to gain good karma along the way this will be encouraged more so.
In my honest opinion, as soon as a startup gets taken over by a large organisation (that tries to change or adapt the proposition in some way) then the site is going through a natural evolution and the community can become diluted (with YouTube for example). The issue with YouTube is that everyone recognises there are better video platforms out there (I heart Vimeo), but the site had gained enough traction that anyone wanting to get their stuff seen knows that YouTube = eyeballs. However, where identity it maintained, for example Flickr… this doesn’t have to be the case.
Hope that answered your question a little, but happy to discuss some more and to get your views
September 17, 2008 at 7:10 am