Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (6-7)

Seven Essential Steps Required to Launch and Grow a Successful Social Network (3-5)

6. Determine Rules and Enforce Them.

Determining the terms and conditions for a site sets the tone for participation. Enforcing those rules has a direct impact on who joins and who abandons the site. To protect yourself, have Rules of Conduct in place from day one, explaining the provisions for policy enforcement and the repercussions for violating the policies. And most importantly, follow through and enforce your rules of conduct. Failing to enforce the policy will alienate rule-abiding members, changing the personality of your network and jeopardizing your business goals.

For example, for one popular social network, terms and conditions stated that the site was to be used by those 18 years and over. Initially, the site was used by adults. However, if a member reported an underage user, no action was taken, and soon the site was dominated by teenagers. No adults wanted to use the site. The goals for the online community were never met.

You must also set workflow rules prior to launch. Workflow refers to the business rules that determine how content is filtered, when it goes live, and when it gets pulled. For an enterprise social network, determining workflow practices can be challenging. Various departments (e.g., marketing, creative, legal) often have varying perspectives, which must be resolved before launch.

For example, one online community may allow all content to get posted instantly and only get reviewed if it is reported as offensive by other members. This set-up encourages the most activity, but with little filtering and moderation, a large segment of the audience may be turned off and seek another community. Another online community concerned about brand image may filter every comment before it goes live. This opposite approach does provide pure content but inhibits the flow of expression and opinions commonly sought in a social network. The challenge is to achieve the right balance for your community, meeting the overall goals of the site and conforming to the appropriate company standards and culture.

7. Include a Post-Launch Focus in Your Marketing Plan or "If you build it, they still may not come."

A common misconception exists when it comes to social networks-because social networks grow virally and are so popular, no marketing strategy is necessary once the site is launched. Just turn on the site, send out a few invitations, and you’ve got yourself a social network. Not true.

Make sure your marketing plan includes post-launch activities. Seed the community once it is publicly available. People are more likely to join a populated site. Make sure your plan is designed to attract people who fit your ideal member profile. The first thousand members can shape the personality of the network, and even if the network is designed perfectly, appealing initially to the wrong market can jeopardize the success of your community. Some techniques include:

• Search the blogosphere for individuals who write about your topic and who may have influence and a platform for expressing their opinions.
  
• Identify a subset of your customers to approach first.
  
• Provide early members with incentives and rewards to participate, and then recruit like-minded members.
  
• Build an incentive contest for inviting the most friends, with the right profile of course.
  
• Integrate the site with other communication vehicles owned by your company. For example, if you’re a retailer, attach a flyer promoting the site to every purchase.
  
• Promote at targeted industry trade shows.
  
• Recruit celebrities for your particular niche as early adopters, and leverage their credibility and popularity.
  
• Visit other websites that may appeal to your target audience, and recruit the most active members whose ‘voices’ you like the most.

Once you’ve passed the seeding stage, the next goal is to reach critical mass—the point where your online community can sustain itself and continue to grow on its own. Recruit moderators from within the community. Pay close attention to community activity, and you will quickly notice several members who actively participate and want to see the site succeed. Recruit these users as community moderators. They can also serve as the eyes and ears of the community, providing valuable feedback. The more empowered they feel, the greater their personal stake in your success.

Developing a core group of enthusiastic users goes a long way to reaching critical mass.

A social network done right can generate value for the enterprise now and far into the future. Follow these steps and you’ll have an excellent chance of building a thriving, popular online community that will meet or exceed your goals.

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