Identifying How Personality DrivesWord of Mouth Marketing

for Your Online Community(How To Develop a Successful Online Community)

Led byMayra Ruiz-McPherson

Tuesday, March 24:: 8:00 – 11:00 am

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http://cli.gs/WtJEq8

JOIN ME HERE!!!

Hands On I( “community” = conference )

• Community was made accessible to you– How did you learn of this “community” ?

• Forums, emails, web sites, blogs, RSS feeds, word of mouth, advertisements, groups

– What value proposition enticed you to “sign up” (register) and become a “member” (attendee)

• Community made it possible for you to “sign up” (register)– Why are you a member of this community?– How will being an active member of this community benefit you?

BIRD’S EYE VIEW (ENTIRE CONFERENCE)

Hands On I( “sub-community” = workshop )

• Why are you a member of this sub-community?• How will being an active member of this sub-

community benefit you?

MICRO VIEW (WORKSHOP)

What is an online community?

SUMMARY

History and emergence of online communities, 2003

Pew Internet & American Life :: Oct 31, 2001

• The Getting Ahead group - 51% of Internet users who have checked out trade and professional associations or labor unions.

• The Getting By group - 43% of Internet users who use Internet groups to mange day-to-day responsibilities, such as parenting or medical conditions.

• Belief groups - 56% of Internet users who go to religious online groups or those relating to spiritual beliefs.

• Lifestylers - 28% of Internet users who go to online groups to contact people with similar lifestyles.

• Ethnic and racial groups - 15% of Internet users who have contacted an ethnic group online. This is the most racially diverse set of Cyber Groupies; this group is also younger and more urban than other categories of online communitarians.

• Civic Engagement group - 45% of Internet users who have contacted an online group such as a neighborhood association or local charitable group.

• Political Groupies - 22% of Internet users who have contacted a political group online.

• Entertainment groupies - 60% of Internet users who go to online groups about TV shows or fan sites of particular performers.

• Sports Junkies - 42% of Internet users go to online groups about their favorite sports teams or local teams in which they participate.

Pew Internet & American Life :: Oct 31, 2001

Rubicon Consulting, October 2008

Online communities vary

• ‘online community’ is a loose, broad term

• varying characteristics– physical component

in addition to virtual– software environment– size– duration of existence– life-cycle stage– culture of their members– governing policies

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• asynchronouscommunicationtechnologies– Email– Listservs– Bulletin boards– Usenet News

• synchronouscommunicationtechnologies– Instant Message– Chat– Texting

• 1991Internet born and boom– Internet telephone– streaming video– Photographs– Sound– Voice– web cam– blogs– open source movement

too has stimulated strong dedicated technical communities

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FOSE Facebookstarted w/13 friends; 6.5 weeks later @ 225 friends (confirmed guests)

• socStardom twitter account

• 150 followers within 7 days

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• Web communities suffer from “participation inequality” ... rate of participation varies on type of content

• Most companies don't understand how online communities work, how they make a difference, and how to engage with them

• Approaches that work well in one type of community may not work as well in another

• Community building and development of any kind takes time and consistent, day to day effort

• Active participants should be recognized publicly and rewarded• User populations and demographics shift and change regularly • Design, usability and ease-of-use play large part in an online

community’s success • Adding a unique voice or personality into your online community

creates more intrigue and engagement• Online community participants come from all walks of life and

cultures

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• Community users remain customers 50% longer than non-community users. (AT&T, 2002)

• 43% of support forums visits are in lieu of opening up a support case. (Cisco, 2004)

• Community users spend 54% more than non-community users (EBay, 2006)

• In customer support, live interaction costs 87% more per transaction on average than forums and other web self-service options. (ASP, 2002)

• Cost per interaction in customers support averages $12 via the contact center versus $0.25 via self-service options. (Forrester, 2006)

• Community users visit nine times more often than non-community users (McKInsey, 2000)

• Community users have four times as many page views as non-community users (McKInsey, 2000)

• 56% percent of online community members log in once a day or more (Annenberg, 2007)

• Customers report good experiences in forums more than twice as often as they do via calls or mail. (Jupiter, 2006)

The ROI of Online Communities by the Social Media Group, November 2007