What Community or Forums Management Related Topic Would You Like to Know About?

One thing I’d be very interested in, something I don’t think you’ve covered here, is an article about how to get a community started. If a community is like a fire that you have to cultivate and maintain, I want to know how to light the spark so to speak including getting the first members, encouraging the start of the conversation and so forth.

If I missed that article point me to it. Because this is something dear to me.

Thanks Jonathan! I’m sure I’ve covered some aspects of that but I’ll cover it head on. :) Thanks again.

Hi Patrick,

maybe an article about combining other social media platforms with your forum software would be interesting. How to use twitter, facebook and others to generate additional value for your community. I have some accounts on these platforms but don’t really know how to use them. My Forum sends every new topic to twitter, but that is not a great additional value, isn’t it!? Maybe you have some good ideas how to use these channels right!?

How about how brands can work with communities, Patrick? Spamming forums is a huge no-no, but most sites don’t understand that display ads are a very poor substitute when a brand wants to have conversations not just blindly wave a logo in people’s faces. So… what’s the solution? Should more forums / communities be opening up sponsored posts, perhaps? Or introductions between the brand and the users by the admin team?

Thank you very much for the comments, Udo, Ren and Nibor. I really appreciate it.

Udo, good one. I have written that down.

Nibor, here is a post that I wrote that relates to this topic:

https://www.managingcommunities.com/2011/01/13/quick-and-easy-guide-to-company-and-brand-engagement-on-communities-you-dont-own/

I can go in another direction with it, as well, and your comment has inspired me to do so.

Thanks again,

Patrick

Hey, Partick

Yep, I remember reading that post when you wrote it – and it was really great – but I’d love to see what else you come up with!

Big Best,

Nibor

Thanks Nibor. :)

Patrick

One thing that I don’t think you’ve talked about is how to turn registered members into active members.

Thank you, christofian! I appreciate it. I received a similar suggestion here and I plan to write about it: http://twitter.com/Shopmaster/statuses/99212559068041216

Thanks,

Patrick

I’ll second the request about how to get registered members more active, especially in terms of starting new topics. I have far less of a problem getting people to reply than to start new topics. And when people do start them, oftentimes, the topic starter post is simple, such as “Check out what’s going here” with a link to a news article. I want new, rich topics started by a large number of my registered members.

Other requests:

– Monetizing a discussion board. Not just with ads, but more integrative ways that don’t turn users off. As part of this, are any affiliate programs especially applicable to discussion boards?

– How to motivate users to see the value of your board when many of them don’t seem to “get it”. I sometimes wonder if my site’s mission is lost on people, even though I have striven to make it as plain as day.

– Is it worthwhile to promote individual forums within a board, and make at least one very popular, even if the other forums don’t get as much attention?

– How to get people who are afraid to participate because of fears with regards to being public, especially with regards to their employers or political connections.

– What discussion board features beyond hot conversation attracts the most new users, or the most activity.

These are just off the top of my head.

Thanks so much for taking the time to make these suggestions, Steve. I really appreciate it.

I started, but have been slow to add to, a post series on monetizing your online community. I plan to talk about ads, but also everything else! I hope to restart it at some point here. I appreciate the push to do so. I had some follow up questions for you!

How to motivate users to see the value of your board when many of them don’t seem to “get it”. I sometimes wonder if my site’s mission is lost on people, even though I have striven to make it as plain as day.

With regard to this: “How to motivate users to see the value of your board when many of them don’t seem to “get it”. I sometimes wonder if my site’s mission is lost on people, even though I have striven to make it as plain as day.” Could you elaborate a bit? I’d love to hear some more detail on this.

Thanks again!

Patrick

Thanks for the response.

I’ll make it a point to look back on what you’ve said previously about monetizing.

As for motivating users to understand my site’s mission, I mean more specifically: How can I get people to appreciate that they have an open discussion space for discussing local issues (or any subject as it applies to other sites), and the power that lends them? It seems like so many are lost on the power of public discourse.

I hope that clarifies.

Thanks Steve!