Building Online Communities

Ian DommettDirector, Cor AgencyMarketing Director, Yes Scotland

What is an online community?

From ‘tech-based’ to ‘people-centred’ web

sites

Channelling the power of social media

It’s not ‘data’, it’s relationships

Online communities in an offline world

Starting points for an online community

Easy to Find

Easy to Understand

Easy to Engage

Objective Shift

From ‘Size of Audience’ to ‘Engaging Individuals’

From Passive to Active

From Destination to Hub

Online Community Platforms

The ‘active circle’

1. Organise

2. Connect

3. Support

4. Target5. Enhance

6. Interact

7. Value

1. Organise

2. Connect

3. Support

4. Target

5. Enhance

6. Interact

7. Value

8. Communicate

The ‘active circle’

Organise

Connect

Support

TargetEnhance

Interact

Value

Prototype and Evaluate

Constantly test, refine and test again.

Obama campaign emails had up to 18 different test

versions

Your web site is now a dynamic community

Summary and Conclusions

• The web is now run by communicators, not technicians

• A platform such as NationBuilder connects all online activity

• Share, enhance, value, reward all interactions

• Think of it as your own media channel: constantly changing

• Test, test, test: like any media, it’s never ‘finished’

• Puts PR practitioners at the heart of the relationship