How to Get Users to Participate in Your Online Community

When it comes to the new social Web, everyone wants you to join their club, participate in their community, add your thoughts to the conversation, upload your content. Unless you’re running a Web site, and then YOU want everyone to participate in YOUR community.

Content is valuable and takes time and effort. So why do end users readily input their thoughts, insight and experiences, for seemingly no gain, into these sites? What mechanism is at work that gives the incentive for users to participate by the millions?

Here at the agency, we craft something we call a Participation Strategy for our clients’ community sites. Over the course of reviewing dozens of best practice sites, we’ve seen some definite patterns, and we use those patterns to create a unique approach for each instance. There are several key strategies that successful community sites use in combination to get users to participate. Most sites use two or more of these approaches — to great effect.

1. Managed controversy. If your content is all uncontested, obvious information, you’re not bound to get much response. Fire up your audience by giving them something to react to. People are much more likely to throw in their two cents when they have something to say about the matter.
2. Connect with your niche. Users are much more likely to participate online if they feel like they belong somewhere, a place they are qualified to add value. If you’re building a site about dogs, don’t be “Animal Information Site,” be the “Dog Lover’s Hangout.”
3. Cultivate the magic 10%. Sadly, 90% of your users will never contribute anything, no matter what you do. Set your expectations accordingly and cater to that 10% that will contribute. Use their input to craft value for the other 90%.
4. A little bit of fame. Among the 10% of your active users, a tenth of those will contribute more than the rest combined. Shower them with praise. Highlight them on your site, give them merit badges, give them roles at your user conferences. If you can convince this 1% slice of your audience to contribute 20% more, your overall contribution goes up nearly as much.
5. Keep it easy. click…click…click….aw, forget it. Attention spans online are short. However users participate with your site, it has to be incredibly easy. Capture their quick impulse to respond to you and your community.
6. Put community first in your design. These days, plenty of sites include the ability to comment, post, upload, etc. But only a select few really leverage that participation in their design and bring it out front. Show your users the best comments, latest posts and most interesting conversations right up front, as part of the main purpose. Relegating all your great community tools to the footer at the bottom of your content isn’t nearly as effective (and we could probably do a better job of this here!).

Finally, don’t forget that content always comes first! You can have the greatest community design, features and strategy, but without quality content you’ll have no audience to participate. It’s a dialogue, and starts with YOU saying something interesting.