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Creating Successful Online Communities
Rohit Bhargava Vice President of Interactive Marketing for Ogilvy Public
panel at CommunityNext, an event focused on everything about online communities coordinated by Noah Kagan at Standford University on February 10, 2007.On his return home Rohit began to pull together everything he had heard at the conference and came up with a list of lessons learned from some of the "stars" of the Internet world. Below are some of the words of wisdom that Rohit distilled from the speakers dubbed the "10 Secrets for Success" in building online communities.
- Avoid being just "niche" - Over and over from founders of online communities was the desire to do away with the word "niche." It seems to stem mostly from the assumption that niches are small things, whereas each of these online communities is spent bringing together anyone with the same passion - not just people from "niche" groups. The lesson here seems to be - don't think small.
- Listen to your users - If there was one thread heard over and over throughout the day, it was the power of listening to your users. Each of the featured sites had amassed significant numbers of passionate individuals who provide their time and energy to the site and the community. They are highly likely to share their opinions, and most likely to appreciate and publicize it if you actually listen to their opinions.
- Use accidental marketing - An interesting panel question Guy KawasakiSlide shared that they didn't do any marketing because "the service already was viral." Well, I would argue that viral has to do with word of mouth, which some would consider marketing - but the interesting thing was that most founders didn't seem to feel there was a way to plan marketing, it just happens. Not sure I agree with this view, as I think smart marketing has a lot less to do with ad buys and a lot more to do with doing things that are noteworthy ... but it was interesting to hear their experiences nonetheless. asked at the end of the day focused on the fact that members of companies on the founding panel didn't seem to need or value marketing very much.
- Get smart on recruiting - Everyone is recruiting, and many of them are seeking the same types of people ... but the theme of the event seemed to be positioning your community as a great team to join. It was an interesting angle on "sales" - as usually these events are focused on sites recruiting either members or advertisers. Here, I think any of the online communities would have been happy to find the right person to join their team out of the event.
- Forsake VC funding - I felt a little bad for Guy in the last panel as he heard from company after company that each had avoided taking venture capital funding. Of course, there is still a big place for VC and leveraged correctly, it can really mean the difference between success and failure. But there was a vibe running through the event that most folks starting online communities would do anything they could to avoid taking VC funding. It seems to have become a last resort.
- Have a passion - This was one of the points made very early on by Josh Spear and Aaron Dignan in their opening presentation about Brand Utopia - and repeated throughout the event. Passion in what you are doing may come from different places as founders of online communities shared. For some, it's a personal passion. For others it comes from seeing the way that users embrace a service and feeling connected/responsible to those users. Either way, passion is a prerequisite.
- Master the emotional return - One of the best points made by Premal Shah as he talked about Kiva was that the model and concept of the site had mastered the art of providing people with an emotional return as an incentive that was far more important than a financial one. For those unfamiliar, Kiva is a site that allows people to provide micro-loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Of course, everyone needs to make some money. But a successful online community is one that can consistently provide that emotional return to users. That's the most important ingredient - and if you don't have that, then the financial aspect will not last that long.
- Don't lose the fun - James Hong of HotorNot.com was the chief brand ambassador of fun on the final panel of the day, and his site reflects it. In an entertaining way of describing the mission of this site, he noted that it was to "waste as much of corporate America's time as possible." It's a classic rebel mission, and one focused on fun as a paramount concept. The fun factor can be the toughest element to keep as a site grows. James has a lesson for any online community worth heeding.
- Keep it real - From using error messages with personality, to not being afraid to have a voice as part of the community - keeping it real is a big deal. Part of the appeal of many communities is the personal story behind it and the founders. That's what gets people engaged to start with, and that's what keeps them engaged throughout. Communities are made up of real people. To succeed you have to start real, and stay that way.
- Be better than you - I kept this point last because I thought it spoke well to the future of online communities and how they must always be evolving. The guys from Threadless were probably received as the most popular of the day (aside from Guy Kawasaki, of course) - and one of the most entertaining of their slides was the growth chart which plotted time on one axis, and awesomeness on the other. Over time, they have basically gotten more awesome. But a key ingredient in that is always improving - because any competitor gunning for you is aiming to be better than you. So you have to aim for the same thing.
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, Mar 2 2007, 7:51 PM EST
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