Community Memo #7

Welcome to the seventh issue of Community Memo!

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This month, we are covering how to foster diversity and inclusion in customer communities and the science behind surprise and delight.

Let's dive in!

Why surprise makes your community a better one, nerdy edition!

Insight from Harvard Business Review

As community managers, we've all heard about the magical power of surprise & delight in keeping communities engaged, right? But let's be real; when it comes to budget allocation, surprise campaigns tend to get the short end of the stick. Why? It's much easier to justify spending on software upgrades or new automation.

We're diving into the science behind why surprises can be one of the most powerful tools to build an engaged community so that next time, you'll know how to make a case for those surprise campaigns in your budget battle!

Surprise is addictive.

Surprise is like candy for our brains. Scientists at Emory and Baylor gave an experiment participants fruit juice and water either in a predictable pattern or a totally unpredictable one, and could see the brain's reward centers lit up like a Christmas tree when the patterns were all random and surprising! We're hardwired to crave surprises, and businesses like Birchbox and Phish have built their models around this insight.

Surprise changes behaviour.

Surprises give us something new to chew on, forcing us to adapt our beliefs and behaviours. Wael Asaad, a neurosurgery professor at Brown University, says that unexpected events drive learning. Based on that, we can shake things up in our community strategies. For example, we often ask, "What do we need to say to make our members do X or Y?" But we can focus on “How an unexpected event can give our members a chance to learn a new behaviour?”

Surprise is cheap.

You can make someone's day with just a dime. No kidding! Psychologist Norbert Schwarz did a study where he put a dime near a copy machine and could show that the folks who found the dime expressed significantly higher life satisfaction than those who didn't. To boost engagement and retention in your community, you don’t necessarily need flashy in-person events. Maybe a tiny surprise will do.

If you are not convinced, check out the full article here to read more on how surprises can also turbocharge emotions and fuel passionate relationships. 

Embracing all voices: diversity and inclusion in customer communities

Insight from Bettermode

You know what makes internet a wonderful place? It's an amazing melting pot of ideas, cultures, and perspectives. But let's face it, creating a welcoming online community, where everyone feels safe and heard can be challenging — challenging yet crucial.

Fostering a diverse and inclusive online community makes it more engaging and leads to better problem-solving, innovation, and a sense of belonging. So, buckle up and check out these secrets for building a diverse and inclusive customer community! 🌈

Set clear community guidelines

Set up clear community guidelines that champion respect, empathy, and inclusiveness, and show zero tolerance for hate speech, discrimination, and harassment. But remember, it's all about enforcement, not just decoration!

Prioritize diverse representation

Encourage participation from folks of different backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives, and aim to have a diverse mix of community moderators, leaders or guest speakers.

Recognize and celebrate differences

Acknowledge and appreciate your community members' unique qualities, experiences, and achievements. Celebrate cultural events, holidays, and milestones that are important to different members.

Provide accessibility options

Make your community a welcoming space for people with disabilities by offering accessibility features like screen readers, captions, alt-text for images, and a colorblind-friendly palette.

Offer language support

If you're catering to a global audience, language barriers can be a bummer. To keep everyone connected, implement translation tools or multilingual support, making your community accessible and delightful for all.

Fun stuff