Oh how many times must I tell prospect? How many bloody ways are there to inform a potential client that a website is not a community and a community is not the instant way to gain and keep users ? Loads!
In the past I've used the 'Field of Dreams' analogy when clients and prospects have wanted to build a community site. The expectation back then was that users will just arrive automatically once the site was delivered. But this was sorely not the case and a lot of white elephants got built and subsequently junked.
Move forward a few years to the present and the Field of Dreams analogy is as relevant as always and still basically sums up my approach. Building a community is not just about designing and developing a website... It's about what you do to create & maintain visitors and their engagement.
If you do not plan to keep the community healthy and give them a reason to return... and this means a commitment of effort (time and / or budget), then don't even bother starting one in the first place!
2 comments:
At last! Thanks for posting the truth! I built and managed a web community of 5,000 members. The amount of patience and diplomacy needed to deal with a community of active posters is daunting. Although I learned a great deal, the amount of energy I poured into the community 24-7 left me breathless, and broke. I'm fortunate to have made many friends, and survive the experience.
Clearly, it's not the proper role for a local company - leave it to Facebook, etc!
No, they really don't want to handle a community - even if they could find enough participants. I was the creator of a 5,000 member forum, that was an incredible challenge on a twenty-four hour basis. Patience, forbearance, and charity towards your fellow man are requirements. I learned a tremendous amount, but was left drained, and broke.
You are correct; local and national companies have better things to do with their time and money.
Thanks for telling the truth.
Post a Comment