One of the most important things we stress to customers looking to build a social media community is the benefits of thorough planning. Today I was rereading Nielsen's March 2009 report on global social networking trends, Global Faces and Networked Places, and found the section on "Factors contributing to Facebook's rapid growth" to be quite applicable to any marketer looking to launch a social media campaign or startup developing their custom online community site.
Consider these seven factors when developing your initial plan to avoid headaches down the line when your target audience changes, or scope creeps up, or any number of other obstacles, and you've already built over 50% of your site:
1) Design
Appealing design and logical ease-of-use are crucial to attracting and retaining visitors and users. We're all drawn to good design. When was the last time you used an ugly site that had no logical navigation? Consider contracting a designer or hiring a design agency, if you have the budget, to develop a look and feel that can be replicated across the entire site. Avoid cumbersome or resource-intensive user interfaces that make it hard for users to navigate and find information. Most importantly, design to your audience, your community. Flash-intensive UIs are great for entertainment or gaming sites where people have the time to peruse. They're not for information-heavy sites where you need to find info quickly like publishing.
2) Appeal
Consider the audience you are targeting and customize your social media software and features accordingly. Not all demographics share the same preferred communication methods, technology savvy or concern over privacy. Think carefully of what tools your audience needs to achieve the type of communication and interaction desired in your community.
3) Focus
What do you want members to do on your site? Network with colleagues and friends? Submit product feedback? Enter a video remix contest? Share videos and photos from their last trip? Blog about their concert experiences? The type of activity you and your community desire to engage in will dictate what social media technology will need to be present on your site. The wrong mix can send your users packing for sites that better engage their attention.
4) Architecture
What makes your community unique from a technology standpoint and why would that attract visitors and encourage repeat traffic? A flexible and extensible social media or social networking platform can keep you current with the latest digital media and social networking features. One of the hot web 2.0 tools for engagement out today is online video remixing which allows users to remix professional and/or user generated content and create their own music videos, commercials and personal endorsements. These lead to deeper engagement with your content, more time spent on your site and viral traffic.
5) Privacy
Different audiences or demographics demand different privacy controls. Determine if a public social network works for your audience or if a closed or "invite only" community makes more sense, or somewhere in between. The type of implementation also has an effect. A contest site will probably be more public than a niche community. On a more granular level, flexible privacy controls allow moderators and users to set their own privacy levels and a social media platform should provide these options.
6) Marketing & PR
"Build it and they will come" rarely works these days on the Web. How will you drive traffic to your social media community and how will you build your brand? A solid marketing plan can include any number of the following activities: Advertising, press releases and media outreach, guerrilla tactics, networking, partnerships, search engine optimization (SEO), viral content, other social media outlets. We've seen customers enjoy immense campaign success when cross-platform or cross-media initiatives were employed. Mass-aggregate social networks like Facebook or MySpace can drive significant traffic back to your custom online community, as can content aggregate sites like Twitter and Digg. It all depends on what is relevant to your audience so take some time really think this through. After all, what use is the site if no one is using it? No content is being contributed; no community is being built.
7) Monetization & ROI
This factor wasn't listed on Nielsen's report, but I feel it is an important one. Your social media community isn't free. Someone has to pay for building it, hosting it on a monthly basis, upgrades, and so on. How will you monetize your site, if that is important to you, and what metrics will you use to measure success and return on investment? Monetization can take many forms, including advertising on your site with display or video ads, major sponsorships, membership models, eCommerce integrations, or contests. Metrics should be determined based on what your initiatives original goals are. Increased traffic? Increased revenue? More customer and product feedback? Improved brand awareness? And once those are determined you should have some way of gleaning reports and analytics to see if you are meeting those metrics.
Developing a social media community takes time and careful planning. With so many other social networks competing for your audience's Internet time, your site needs to be relevant, engaging and interesting. A white label social media platform provider like Reality Digital can be an excellent technology partner, alleviating you of the headaches that can come with developing and hosting a social media site yourself, leaving you free to focus on the business aspects of your social media project. For more information, go to www.realitydigital.com.
Consider these seven factors when developing your initial plan to avoid headaches down the line when your target audience changes, or scope creeps up, or any number of other obstacles, and you've already built over 50% of your site:
1) Design
Appealing design and logical ease-of-use are crucial to attracting and retaining visitors and users. We're all drawn to good design. When was the last time you used an ugly site that had no logical navigation? Consider contracting a designer or hiring a design agency, if you have the budget, to develop a look and feel that can be replicated across the entire site. Avoid cumbersome or resource-intensive user interfaces that make it hard for users to navigate and find information. Most importantly, design to your audience, your community. Flash-intensive UIs are great for entertainment or gaming sites where people have the time to peruse. They're not for information-heavy sites where you need to find info quickly like publishing.
2) Appeal
Consider the audience you are targeting and customize your social media software and features accordingly. Not all demographics share the same preferred communication methods, technology savvy or concern over privacy. Think carefully of what tools your audience needs to achieve the type of communication and interaction desired in your community.
3) Focus
What do you want members to do on your site? Network with colleagues and friends? Submit product feedback? Enter a video remix contest? Share videos and photos from their last trip? Blog about their concert experiences? The type of activity you and your community desire to engage in will dictate what social media technology will need to be present on your site. The wrong mix can send your users packing for sites that better engage their attention.
4) Architecture
What makes your community unique from a technology standpoint and why would that attract visitors and encourage repeat traffic? A flexible and extensible social media or social networking platform can keep you current with the latest digital media and social networking features. One of the hot web 2.0 tools for engagement out today is online video remixing which allows users to remix professional and/or user generated content and create their own music videos, commercials and personal endorsements. These lead to deeper engagement with your content, more time spent on your site and viral traffic.
5) Privacy
Different audiences or demographics demand different privacy controls. Determine if a public social network works for your audience or if a closed or "invite only" community makes more sense, or somewhere in between. The type of implementation also has an effect. A contest site will probably be more public than a niche community. On a more granular level, flexible privacy controls allow moderators and users to set their own privacy levels and a social media platform should provide these options.
6) Marketing & PR
"Build it and they will come" rarely works these days on the Web. How will you drive traffic to your social media community and how will you build your brand? A solid marketing plan can include any number of the following activities: Advertising, press releases and media outreach, guerrilla tactics, networking, partnerships, search engine optimization (SEO), viral content, other social media outlets. We've seen customers enjoy immense campaign success when cross-platform or cross-media initiatives were employed. Mass-aggregate social networks like Facebook or MySpace can drive significant traffic back to your custom online community, as can content aggregate sites like Twitter and Digg. It all depends on what is relevant to your audience so take some time really think this through. After all, what use is the site if no one is using it? No content is being contributed; no community is being built.
7) Monetization & ROI
This factor wasn't listed on Nielsen's report, but I feel it is an important one. Your social media community isn't free. Someone has to pay for building it, hosting it on a monthly basis, upgrades, and so on. How will you monetize your site, if that is important to you, and what metrics will you use to measure success and return on investment? Monetization can take many forms, including advertising on your site with display or video ads, major sponsorships, membership models, eCommerce integrations, or contests. Metrics should be determined based on what your initiatives original goals are. Increased traffic? Increased revenue? More customer and product feedback? Improved brand awareness? And once those are determined you should have some way of gleaning reports and analytics to see if you are meeting those metrics.
Developing a social media community takes time and careful planning. With so many other social networks competing for your audience's Internet time, your site needs to be relevant, engaging and interesting. A white label social media platform provider like Reality Digital can be an excellent technology partner, alleviating you of the headaches that can come with developing and hosting a social media site yourself, leaving you free to focus on the business aspects of your social media project. For more information, go to www.realitydigital.com.
Powered by Compendium Blogware
Comments for Seven factors to consider before building your social media community