Deploying and managing online communities: Who, how and why?

There was an interesting discussion at Office 2.0 that dealt with the topic of online communities. There’s a lot of noise on the Web today and it’s easy for that to noise to get – for lack of a better phrase – out of control. So should a company try to control the noise?

Before any company can answer that, you have to look at the “online community” itself. Is it an internal community – possibly a feedback or knowledge sharing forum on an Intranet? Or is it a public-facing community that allows customers and consumers to chime in?  Is it a community focused around marketing efforts, the communications team or maybe even the IT folks?

One of the points raised was the difference between old word-of-mouth marketing vs the 2.0 version of it. It used to be that people shared their experiences with a product or a brand with friends, family members and co-workers and over time, the message was spread. But in social media world – filled with wikis and blogs and even YouTube vlogs – an experience with a particular brand or product can spread to millions of people within hours.  Isn’t it better to let that message spread virally in a “controlled” environment (not that anyone is suggesting that the message be controlled, of course)?

A couple of key takeaways: Engage with purpose. If a company is entering a new product category or geographic region, a community can be a good way to be transparent. You haven’t just created an online community to spew a one-way message. You’re there to learn about what the market wants or needs or what has or hasn’t worked in the past. If, through a handful of evangelists or marketing or sales folks, the company spark discussions, visitors are more likely to engage. It seems worth noting that the activity has to be there. If you simply launch a community – especially an external one – and leave it alone, you’re unlikely to succeed.

Too often, executives of a company are frightened by what a community might bring – notably, negative comments about the company or its products. But the panelists here say it’s not necessarily the negative comments in an online community that are scariest. Worse is an online community with no comments. You want people to engage – and if they don’t, why would anyone else join? It’s just easier to bash – or praise – your company, product, service or even the experiences of interacting with the company via some other online community, maybe a blog that will never reach other people with similar interests or experiences.