Successful online communities don’t just happen by themselves. They’re the result of a carefully executed strategy, solid design, and patient nurturing. Though they may seem like a lot of work, the benefits an online community can bring to your brand make the efforts worthwhile. This book will provide you with the essential tools to build online communities. You’ll learn how to: • identify the business objectives for your online community • develop a community strategy to recruit and retain members • create brand loyalty, bring in new business, and offer value to customers that your competitors cannot imitate • take advantage of free advertising opportunities • use communities to gain market insights and establish a direct line to your customer base In addition, you’ll discover the risks and costs of an online community project, how it can end up saving your company money, and even how it can become an important new revenue source of its own. You’ll also be inspired by exclusive interviews, where the people who manage thriving online communities share the lessons they’ve learned and the secrets of their success.

Successful online communities don't just happen by themselves. They're the result of a carefully executed strategy, solid design, and patient nurturing. Though they may seem like a lot of work, the benefits an online community can bring to your brand make the efforts worthwhile. This book will provide you with the essential tools to build online communities. You'll learn how to: · identify the business objectives for your online community · develop a community strategy to recruit and retain members · create brand loyalty, bring in new business, and offer value to customers that your competitors cannot imitate · take advantage of free advertising opportunities · use communities to gain market insights and establish a direct line to your customer base In addition, you'll discover the risks and costs of an online community project, how it can end up saving your company money, and even how it can become an important new revenue source of its own. You'll also be inspired by exclusive interviews, where the people who manage thriving online communities share the lessons they've learned and the secrets of their success.

This book is an in-depth tutorial on how to make communities work to really improve business performance. It covers principles and proven practices that ensure community success and longevity, provides tips and techniques for leading communities and communities programs that the reader can apply immediately, looks at different types of communities and the technologies that support them, and illustrates communities in practice.

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version. Successful online communities don't just happen by themselves. They're the result of a carefully executed strategy, solid design, and patient nurturing. Though they may seem like a lot of work, the benefits an online community can bring to your brand make the efforts worthwhile. This book will provide you with the essential tools to build online communities. You'll learn how to: identify the business objectives for your online community develop a community.

The Online Community Blueprint is a practical guide to the plans and processes to put in place before launching a private and branded online community for your company.Branded online communities, where customers, members, or partners come together to share ideas, get support, and collaborate, are increasingly at the center of customer engagement operations. Both businesses and nonprofit membership organizations, like associations and user groups, are leveraging their communities to drive revenue, create more innovative products, and nurture their advocates.However, like any business initiative, online community strategies contain risk. What if nobody visits or contributes to your online community? What if your customers say something negative? What if your CEO asks how the user community fits into your bottom line?This book provides a foundation to address those questions before they become an issue for your organization. With advice ranging from getting buy-in from your executives to creating a content calendar, you'll get a proven framework for planning and launching a successful private online community.