Think about the thing you enjoy most in life and then think about the people you would like to share that with. That’s the dream of social media that attracts people. Everyone has part of their life that they would love to do more with and that they would love to share with others. So they start a group.

But it’s not always a smooth ride. Passion is only part of how successful groups are formed and why they grow. Once the group is established, it takes incentives to attract other people. Let’s face it, why would I want to join your group is the question that comes up first. Yeah, you have your passion and you’ve done some leg work to start up a group, but after it’s launched what happened.

             online community

Here are four of the most common problems people have once they’ve started a social media group and how you can use each of these problems to leverage success.

 

Getting More People To Join

 

Here’s the biggie. What’s worse than arranging a party, sending out the invites and then having no one show up? It doesn’t feel good. But let’s look at that again. What was the invitation all about? Have you been presenting material, opportunity, news, and support in your area of interest that no one could miss and everyone wants. Probably not. So that’s the answer, plain and simple. Offer those items. But let’s look at those missing items a little closer so you can find a strategy for offering them.

First off, what opportunities do you think everyone wants? How about making money in their area of passion? Think about it for a minute; that’s the best opportunity out there. So let’s start by considering how you might monitize your group so that others can make money and so the group pays for its own growth, and so you can make some money too. That would be the easiest and best way to kick off a membership campaign.

So rather than getting busy calling and emailing and whatever else you are told helps boost community growth, let’s start by thinking about and researching how online groups are monitized. Here are some resources that can help.

 Ten Ideas To Make Money From Your Community

How b-to-b publishers are starting to monetize social media

More Social Media Innovators Choose Peanut Labs Alternate Monetization

 

Your Group Is Getting Hijacked

 

If you find some of your members spend all of their time promoting their business services on your discussion threads, then your crisis is structural. You must provide a place for your members to offer their services and set firm rules against self-promotion anywhere other than in your “services offered” area.

 Yeah, it’s annoying when an opportunist sees the purpose of your group as his personal advancement. Everyone else suffers and you lose control of your group. The next thing that happens is the quality of everyone else’s comments declines and before long your group is an advertising board.

 However, once you setup a seperate “services offered” area within your community, you become more attractive for everyone who wants to promote their business. You also become a referal service for your members. Everyone wins.

Here are a few resources that can help.

8 Tips for Managing a LinkedIn Group

Snakes on a Social Media Plane: When Your Brand Gets Hijacked

Not Much Activity – Getting Intense Participation
 

There are some fundamental reasons why people participate in groups. You need to focus on these reasons as you select your methods to increase participation. Basically people want: recognition from their peers; to participate in a fun group that offers them a sense of community and finally, to influence other group members.

 A simple competition can get good participation simply because group members like showing off what they know (influence). News about a groups members, even simple stories, helps build a sense of community and allows spotlighted members to gain recognition. Debates encourage recognition and influence. And, contact from the leadership members to the newer and less active members produces a sense of community.

Try to remember the primary reasons people participate and select tools and methods accordingly.

Here are several resources that should help you.

The Secret Of Awesome Content

Social Media Contests — Participation is Not Always Easy to Come By

Don’t build a boring online community

My Group Is Active But Chaotic

 

Try to view your group as others view it. What do they see? What is their experience like? What I’m getting at here is about structure. Is your group easily navigable? Do the rules make sense and are they easily available? Do people have fun or is it frustrating just finding out what’s going on among other members?

The design, and guiding rules of your site are important. Study how to arrange the site so it best fits the unique needs of your group and you gain an advantage that other groups don’t offer. That’s the opportunity you are looking for.

Here are several resources that can help you.

Social Media Policies of 113 Organizations

How To Handle Troublemakers

Improve your online community in five easy steps

 

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