Community Memo #6

Welcome to the sixth issue of Community Memo!

Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe today and get monthly intel on community management trends, events, open positions, and more!  

This month we are covering the best ways to show love to community members and tips for running a killer meet and greet session.

Let's dive in!

How communities show love to members

Insight from Bettermode

The question of how to show love to community members boils down to a simpler question; how do you reward, recognize, and incentivize members?

And that was exactly the topic of our special Valentine’s Day webinar with Jenny Weigle,  Founder of Jenny.Community consulting ❤️

This webinar was filled with smart and practical insights about badges, leaderboards, status, and swags. But Jenny’s points about "Celebration Surveys" and "Surprise & Delight" were the highlights of our session:

👉 Celebration Surveys

Before thinking about the different ways communities show love to members, it's important to figure out how your members prefer to be rewarded or recognized.

Jenny has a simple suggestion; Ask them directly!

A "Celebration Survey" is a fun and effective way to gather valuable information about what motivates your members, their personal goals and preferences. The survey can cover questions like "What's your ideal way to spend a day off?" or "If you had $1,000 to spend, what would you buy?" With this information, you can tailor rewards and celebrations to fit your community’s unique needs and desires.

Just remember to be respectful of those who may not want to participate, as some questions can be quite personal.

👉 Surprise and Delight

Surprise and Delight is a powerful tool in community management. It involves giving something valuable to a select group of members unexpectedly, and it can create a memorable experience that fosters loyalty and enthusiasm. Two great examples of Surprise and Delight in action are Rust-Oleum's commemorative spray cans and Freelance Founders' coffee gift certificates.

• Rust-Oleum created a special line of spray cans to mark its 100th anniversary, distributing them mainly to employees and customers. The community team gifted some extra commemorative cans to their most active members, which resulted in a surge of social media posts showcasing the new cans and the art created with them.
  
  
• Another example is from a community called Freelance Founders - during a relaunch, things were a bit quiet. The community manager wanted to make people happy and see if the community was still there for them, so he decided to surprise ten random members with coffee gift certificates. It was a small gesture, but it made a big impact and generated a ton of positive feedback.

Watch the webinar in Bettermode Hub for more insights. You'll get to learn about introducing new badges and going beyond boring branded swags.

Tips for a killer meet and greet session

Insight from Bettermode

In an online customer community, meet and greet sessions are more important than your morning coffee. Okay, maybe not that important, but close.

Whether you host an AMA session with industry experts, throw an online networking event, or showcase success stories in your meet and greet, these sessions create a sense of community and provide an opportunity for community members to connect, build relationships, and share ideas.

Running a successful meet and greet session is not that easy, though. You need to get people to RSVP, keep them engaged, and make sure everyone feels included.

Here are a few best practices to help you tackle some of these challenges:

Boost registration

The answer to a high registration rate is crafting a clear and concise agenda that outlines what the session will cover and what attendees can expect to gain. Also, consider offering incentives for attending, such as points that accumulate to get community swag. You can also gamify the process by giving specific badges to attendees.

Unleash your attendance potential

Send out reminders a few days before the session and on the day of the event to remind people to attend. You can use email or in-community notifications, and while you're at it, provide clear instructions on how to join the session. Also, ensure that the technology is user-friendly and accessible to everyone in your community.

Encourage connection & engagement

It can be tough to get some people to open up, while others might dominate the conversation. Try using icebreakers or discussion prompts to help people connect and get to know each other better. You can also use polls or breakout rooms to encourage smaller group discussions. And if you really want to spice things up, invite some community experts or influencers to join the conversation and share their insights. Plus, why not offer some awesome incentives like community points to participants?

Foster diversity & inclusion

Begin by setting the tone for the event by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment. Use inclusive language, acknowledge and respect diversity, and make sure that everyone feels valued and heard. Consider providing accommodations to ensure that all community members can participate in the event. For example, provide closed captioning or sign language interpretation if needed.

After each session, don't let the momentum stop! Follow up with all participants to show your appreciation and gather their valuable feedback. Let their input guide your future events and keep the rest of your community engaged by promoting discussions around the event’s subject matter.

Fun stuff

‍