February 9, 2015
– The focus of this month’s event was building strong online communities. Joining us was Moz’s Jennifer Sable Lopez, who shared several insights on how to do this effectively, including specific tactics to use throughout the process.
Jennifer began by explaining how communities can help ease your organization’s marketing efforts – regardless of the industry you’re in – and quickly dove into actionable tips to apply.
- Consistency is key.
- Encourage engagement. For example, members of Moz’s community have the opportunity to earn points.
- Follow a consistent code, or set of core values.
- Develop a content plan.
- Stick to your community rules. (i.e. Is there a spammer that should be removed?)
- Host events offline that your community can attend.
- Let your organization’s personality shine through on every channel you’re using.
- Assess your internal resources and enlist everyone in the company to participate. (Yes, even the controller!)
- Make it easy for community members to find each other.
- Utilize tools such as TrueSocialMetrics to measure engagement.
Among the night’s takeaways, Jennifer emphasized that you don’t need to do it all, all the time. Focus on getting one thing set up and once it’s established, move to the next. Start small and expand as you’re able.
Sarah is a search marketing consultant, helping clients improve ROI through paid search, SEO and social media initiatives. She is also the Official SEMpdx Event Blogger and can be found at all of the monthly events.