Earlier this year, we signed a new
@StateshiftHQ client who wanted to build a small, specialist community from scratch. They had never done it before, had no idea what to do.
The culmination of this work: consistent growth and 60% active users...
...this is pretty much unheard of in communities, where you usually get 20-25% active users.
We did this by:
* Defining their brand positioning and messaging
* Helping them choose the right platform (we went with
@MightyNetworks )
* Kicking off an early adopter initiative to gather feedback, work out the kinks, and dial things in
* Testing topics, gathering data, and iterating on member interest and appetite
* Weaving in online events as a deliberate driver a of body language to build trust and then interconnecting into the community platform
The key here is in being deliberate: "if you build it...they will come" doesn't work.
"If you build it, differentiate based on uniqueness, measure it, gather feedback, identify blind spots, iterate regularly, infuse with high-bandwidth content...they will come" does work.
I love our work with Stateshift, it is super-rewarding to be a part of these journeys.