How to Develop the Ultimate Online Community
How to Develop the Ultimate Online Community
This is a guest post by Michelle Salater, president of Sūmèr, LLC. Michelle is a forward thinker in the marketing world and has won numerous awards for her writing.
I consider Michelle to be a close friend and highly admire the work of her and her team at Sūmèr. Go check out their site and blog now because in a few weeks it is going to get a massive face-lift. I’ve had the chance to take a peek behind the design curtain and it is amazing. If you want to see how a proper web redesign is supposed to be handled, stay tuned to their site for the upcoming change.
So…without further ado, here is Michelle.
How to Develop the Ultimate Online Community
I’ve found that many small business owners think it’s fine just to be present once or twice per week on social media, blogs, and forums. Unfortunately, one or two times per week isn’t going to cut it. In order to see the success that you desire, you need to first and foremost be online.
Once you’re committed to being present online then it’s time to start taking action. Below are a few tips to help you integrate yourself into the rapidly growing online community and see the results you desire:
1. Comment on other blogs:
One of the best ways to get your foot in the door with other industry professionals and influential peers is by reading and commenting on popular blogs. This increases your online exposure and gets you in front of powerful bloggers. Once bloggers know you exist, they may even comment on your blog or continue the conversation on their blog.
2. Watch your network closely:
Keep tabs on key influencers and industry professionals and their activities online. This helps you to see what these individuals are doing throughout the day and what events they’ll be attending or hosting. Discussing their upcoming activities and interests is a great way to break the ice, introduce yourself, and build lasting conversations. We use tracking sites such as KnowEm and Collecta and create Twitter lists to keep ourselves in-the-know about key influencers, bloggers, media professionals, and industry professionals.
3. Ask questions and respond to questions:
Project yourself as an industry expert by responding to questions, and get the conversation rolling by asking prospects and influential peers interesting questions that pique their interest. You can ask and answer questions on all sorts of online channels such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, forums, LinkedIn, and more.
4. Fight the fear:
Don’t be afraid to interact with big industry professionals. Whether you want to comment on a popular blog, write on a famous mentor’s Facebook wall, or request a guest post from an industry icon, do it—what do you have to lose? You never know what could come from a simple Facebook post or blog comment. Obviously if they do not respond, don’t keep hounding them. Just break the ice once and see where the conversation goes. If it goes nowhere then move on.
5. Join groups:
One of the best ways to meet different people in your industry and increase valuable joint ventures is by joining online forum groups, interacting in Twitter groups, following Facebook groups, and joining LinkedIn groups. You don’t have to be active everyday in these groups, just often enough so that other group members recognize you.
Is there anything Michelle missed? Anything you would add to this list to make it complete? Leave a comment down below and let’s start a discussion.
About Michelle Salater:
Michelle Salater is the president of Sūmèr, LLC, a company that specializes in writing website copy, SEO copywriting, and the marketing and promotion of websites and blogs after they’ve launched. She is the author of Copy Doodle blog and weekly ezine Sūmèr’s Secrets. Follow Michelle on Twitter: @writtenbysumer.
Photo via Flickr user: lizzardo
