9 Characteristics of a Successful Branded Online Community

By Barb Mosher (@barbmosher) Jul 11, 2011

I don't think I really have to tell you that the phrase "if you build it, they will come" is a lot of crap when it comes to building a successful online community. So let's look at some things you should do if you want to be successful.

I had the opportunity to talk to Cecilia Edwards, Senior VP of Client Services for Telligent — provider of community software for enterprises — about some research Telligent did on world-class communities. Here are some of the key takeaways of that discussion.

First, Telligent's definition of community so we are clear:

The definition of community is regular interaction, a common objective, and relationships

Social Ecosystem

9 Characteristics of World Class Communities

As an outcome of their survey Telligent identified 9 characteristics of successful communities. They focused on communities that were:

Company-owned
Relationship oriented
Had an active membership
Were built for the long-term impact and not a particular campaign

1. Identified Business Objectives

Successful communities drive long-term value and therefore need to be aligned to business objectives of the organization overall. There was a time when the focus was on the technology and everyone used (and sometimes still uses) the term "collaborate" on its own. But the big question really is "collaborate for what purpose?". You need to design your community to achieve your business objectives.

2. Being Personal

The focus is not on the brand or corporate message. You need to put a face in there to ensure a higher level of trust. The community manager is seen as the face of the brand, so that person needs to real, active and good at fostering participation.

3. Culture of Belonging

Relationships need to be encouraged. New users should be helped to get started and things like automatically friending of people who manage the community should be employed. According to Telligent, the relationship is the enabler, not the objective (as it is in social networks).

4. Relevant Content

Although the community will generate much of the content within it, the organization must also ensure that relevant content is provided. Much of the content within the community can't be found elsewhere and it's key for organizations to ensure the information community members have come to find is there.

5. Leveraging the Wisdom of the Crowds

The organization doesn't always have to be the first to contribute content to the community. It must allow room for the community to contribute, and often before the organization does itself. Sometimes even the organization posts the questions for the community to answer.

6. Highlight Influential Members

Recognize your VIPs, those that contribute the most value to the community. You want to make it easier for them to contribute and be found by other community members.

7. Reward with Pixels

Offering promotions to join a community doesn't typically work — people will pick up their reward and often move on. You need to reward participation with things like badges — people who engage want to feel valued and appreciated, to feel like their opinion matters.

8. Establish & Enforce Guidelines

To ensure a sense a culture, you need to publish community guidelines and and publicly correct members. This does help get rid of trolls and bullies, but is not meant to get rid of constructive negative feedback to the organization. As the community develops it often become self-policing as well.