6 Tips On How To Be A Successful Online Community Leader
Online groups of any nature all have one thing in common: they are powerhouses of collaboration. Okay, they have one more thing in common: they all have a fearless leader.
With the demand for building communities, and the ever-increasing desire to increase engagement, best practices of moderation are often overlooked. Gimmicks, games, and luck aside; sustainable online community building takes skill in order to create a productive and safe environment for members.
GetAssist was created due to the lack of space in the online marketplace for people to make meaningful connections with the people in their social networks. It is a platform that, used properly, helps users to find their voice and begin important discussions. It injects life and value back into the dying purpose of large-scale social media networks.
Unlike other platforms, GetAssist recognizes the value of community in social networks. The strength of collaboration cannot be denied, and we should not ignore it. Rather, we should embrace and use social media in the way that it was intended, in a cooperative way.
Cultivating Communities
The goal of a community leader is to bring out the community’s own internal direction, character, and energy while allowing an insider’s perspective to lead himself to the discovery of what the community is about. The following 6 tips offer practical advice on how online community leaders can foster and encourage a safe, inviting environment for all:
1. Shepherding the evolution. For communities to develop, they usually begin by building on preexisting networks. But as they grow, and new members are introduced to the group, inevitably the new dynamic influences the direction of the community organically. The primary role of this tip is to catalyze the evolution.
2. Open a dialogue between perspectives. A good community leader brings information from outside the commonwealth into the dialogue. The well-connected manager is concerned with developing the community and encouraging a deep understanding of the issues.
3. Welcome various levels of participation. Many members of online groups sit silently, keeping to the sidelines. They watch the interactions but rarely participate. The key to encouraging community involvement is to devise activities that allow all participants to feel like active members. Rather than forcing participation, thriving communities “build benches” for those on the sidelines. They make opportunities for participation.
4. Develop public and private forums. Similar to offline activities, dynamic communities happen both in public and in private spaces. This is why GetAssist gives community creators both options. The heart of online communication is on the Web, but the dimensions of the community are interrelated. As relationships between the members become stronger, community events become richer. Participants that know each other well will often come to more community events. People start to interact and network with each other. The more new connections there are, the better the meeting was.
5. Concentrate on value. Communities thrive when they produce value for the members. A successful leader creates events, activities, and relationships that help value emerge autonomously.
6. Drive excitement. Energetic communities combine both simple and compelling events for community members to grow and network. Excitement is a vital element for members to become fully engaged. Although routine activities provide stability for relationship-building connections; exciting events offer a sense of joint adventure.
The ongoing goals are authentic conversations, shared commitments, collaborative effort and civil discourse.
>>>To see what it’s like to be moderated by a successful host, join a few groups that capture your interest on GetAssist and experience strong community connection today.