As I wrote in my last post about providing real world value, I think the Association sector offers unique insight to how social technologies - social networking in particular - will be successful as it matures. As a result of attending ASAE's annual conference last month, I picked up a number of tips for helping social networking be successful. Many of these takeaways came from a great presentation by Jessica Medaille and Jennifer Ragan-Fore of the International Society for Technology in Education (ITSE) on their Second Life initiative, which I referenced in my last post. I also garnered insight from presentations made by the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and several others.
From these examples, and from a variety of other sessions and conversations at the conference, here are my key takeaways on '7 secrets' to making a social networking initiative work among a group of already-connected-to-some-extent professionals.
1. Participation profiles of real-world and virtual-world users will be different
People don't seem interested in duplicating their offline interactions online and why would they? No one has the time for that. ASCRS discovered that by offering 24x7 ability for ophthalmologists to share video and photo case studies in their (EyeSpaceMD) community, they attracted a new cadre of member in developing countries whose primary, if not only, participation is virtual. Similar results were noted by others among certain younger demographics and student populations. Though I think it is too early to tell, there did not seem to be evidence that active offline participants shift their participation exclusively to online, though it is reasonable to expect some rebalancing of time allotment might occur if they become active online.
2. Public or private networks? Both!
There was quite a bit of discussion around whether to participate in public networks like LinkedIn and Facebook or to invest an association-controlled private networks as the best approach. A "Secret Session" at ASAE which did not make it into the conference materials and was originally promoted exclusively on Facebook - and which was well attended - seemed to prove the point that both public and private networks serve a valuable purpose. While the public networks reach out and engage members, and in most cases non-members as well, where they interact with their own personal communities, the private communities offer them more focused and specific interaction opportunities. In addition to reaching different populations the point was made that engaging in both public and private participation provides the opportunity for redundant messaging. Just like a magazine ad does not provide the same potential for communication depth that a direct mail or white paper piece does, both serve their purposes and together they can be powerful for engaging your audience.
3. Use online initiatives to address unique needs and deliver 'real world value'
I detailed my observations on this issue in my last post, but in short some of the most compelling examples of social networking demonstrated how social technology initiatives can deliver real world value, but in a way that can only be delivered online. This is the social web's "killer app." The secret sauce formula for this will be unique to each community, however, so engage your community early in figuring out where the key to success lies. Let them lead you there.
4. Recruit "connectors," not just "enthusiasts"
ITSE learned a valuable lesson in that enthusiasts and champions who like your social media effort may or may not be able or willing to invest the time to really reach out to new members or facilitate regular participation - all of which are necessary to create and sustain the dynamic environment needed for success. By 'promoting' certain participants into more committed and active volunteer roles (e.g., "docents") within the community, tasked with connecting members, ITSE was able to first seed and later guide activity in the community as it grew. Recruiting, supporting and managing these connectors, just like any other volunteer corps, has helped them sustain the social initiatives' value and relevance over time and continues to help it expand its impact.
5. Create online opportunities for engagement
"Build it and they will come," is not a sound social networking strategy. Just like an lecture or seminar creates an excuse for offsides networking (often perceived as more valuable than the subject of the gathering), online events do the same thing. The fact that 24x7 availability makes your social web initiative capable of offering persistent value doesn't mean that it will do so, particularly if people have no excuse to visit and participate. Putting a real-time event (i.e., noon to 2pm, this Thursday) on their calendar gives people a reason to make the time to visit at the same time others are participating, increasing the chances they will engage socially and find enough value in the experience to come back to visit again. In addition to events, one association created wikis with "holes in the content" to give people enough of a framework for participation that they could jump in and start filling in the holes, a great example of seeding the effort and encouraging it to grow organically.
6. Encourage responsible controversy
Even though many communities (online and offline) engage in conflict avoidance, online controversy can attract engagement and become viral quickly. As the conflict heats up so do the traffic numbers and engagement metrics. From my personal experience, I would observe that people enjoy watching a good online fight when they are able to participate by observing from a "safe distance" and where they feel personally less threatened than they would in person. This dynamic can be a double-edged sword as well, of course, and contentious dialogs can easily spin out of control and become divisive public relations problems if not well managed. This is why, just as in offline meetings, online moderation is critical, as is "taking things private" to mediate and manage when necessary. The best way to prepare for this dynamic is to set out the Rules of Engagement through Terms of Service and 'plain English' ROE statements that members accept when they join and are held accountable to as they participate.
7. Be open to happy accidents - Success may be where you least expect it
ITSE reported that although they were targeting young adults with professional development offerings, their Second Life initiatives brought in members of all ages seeking social interaction with their peers. They adapted their effort to meet these needs and have a vibrant community that has contributed to their dramatic 54% membership growth in the last two years.
There were other tidbits that came out of the many discussions I had in sunny San Diego but it's now lunchtime and these represent the major themes. If anyone is curious about specific situations they confront in preparing a social networking initiative feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to share other information of relevance.