joe cothrel - how to increase engagement in an existing online community

how to grow Joe Cothrel Chief Community Officer

Lithium Confidential

we’re talking about a. enterprise b.  large c. public

your community wants to grow

target attract convert engage

superengage

100,000

10,000/mo

500/mo

250/mo

1.25/mo

2 ways to measure target

1. customers

2. digital customers

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

100

0

B2C

B2B

B2C

community visitors as % of website

traffic

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

100

0

B2B

B2B

B2C

community registrations as % of customer base

works for service companies, harder for product companies

works for any company

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target audience a.  large (>10,000) b. addressed c. complete

car vs golf cart

audience is inseparable from focus

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promotion a. measured b. prioritized c. effective

ways to promote

website priority 1

email priority 2

everything else

priority 4

social web

priority 3

organic search traffic mature public communities typically get 70-80% of traffic from search

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draft off events and issues

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registration a.  integrated b. easy c. unitary

registration SSO gotchas

§  Popping registration for visitors can double your abandon rate.

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

100

0

LEADERS

LAGGARDS

typical registration success rates

§  Wording your registration as voluntary can double your success rate.

AVERAGE

unitary registration

In unitary systems, you become a community member when you become a customer.

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engagement a. calls to action b. notification c.  recognition

calls to action §  placement §  size §  color §  wording

experiment until you get it right!

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superengagement a. offered b. renewed c.  rewarded

superusers

§  annual process §  identification §  invitation §  engagement §  reward

Questions