Communication with an
organization's audience can take place through many formats. A forum and blog site, for example, is more
than a collection of opinions, research, and comments. It is also a place where conversations take
place and online relationships evolve.
This information can then be found by others on the Internet.
In the early days of
the Internet, static web pages served as online repositories of information. With Web 2.0 came the possibility for users
to create content. This information is
easily found by search engines. Forums
are web sites where users can participate in online discussions about nearly
any topic.
Types of Community Sites
Many community sites are
divided into two types:
- Forums - Some
forums focus on rating and reviewing products, others are for answering
questions, and others are simply for discussing certain topics. Many individuals participate in these types
of sites because they like the psychic rewards that come from sharing. Psychic rewards, as defined in the book Groundswell,
are "good feelings from altruism, validation, and belonging to a community".
- Blogs - Blogs,
on the other hand, are authored typically by one person or a handful of people. Users can comment on the content of blogs. In a public relations context, blogs are
often used to relay corporate information that is too long to be included in a
press release. They can also include
product information or the state of a website.
Users generate content in the form of the comments they leave on
blogs.
Site moderation is typically
done on both types of community sites, and involves reviewing and acting upon
irrelevant, inappropriate, and negative content. It is necessary to keep users in check when
they cross the line. Site moderation
itself evolves as a community changes.
The goal is to understand and improve moderation as a function between
users (external relations) and moderators (internal relations).
Real-Life Examples
The computer company
Dell has a customer support forum where users can ask and answer questions
about its products. By helping one
another in this way, it's estimated that
this forum has saved Dell over $1 million in customer support phone calls.
Likewise, Lego spreads
information about its products through a forum called LUGNET. It uses brand ambassadors who are paid in
Lego bricks to steer the conversation within the community. It is estimated that this program has
increased adult Lego purchases by $500,000.
As these examples illustrate, forums can be used to supplement a
corporate web site.
Do you prefer to turn to an online community for answers or do you look to a company's technical support staff when you have questions?
Editor's Note: This is the first
in a multi-part series about social sites.
More entries will appear soon.
References:
Li,
Charlene, and Josh Bernoff. Groundswell. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
Press, 2008. Print.
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