Online Communities Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web

Online Communities Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web

by Anna Buss, Nancy Strauss
Released March 2009
Publisher(s): New Riders
ISBN: 9780321619624

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Book description

Successful online communities don’t just happen by themselves. They’re the result of a carefully executed strategy, solid design, and patient nurturing. Though they may seem like a lot of work, the benefits an online community can bring to your brand make the efforts worthwhile. This book will provide you with the essential tools to build online communities. You’ll learn how to:

• identify the business objectives for your online community
• develop a community strategy to recruit and retain members
• create brand loyalty, bring in new business, and offer value to customers that your competitors cannot imitate
• take advantage of free advertising opportunities
• use communities to gain market insights and establish a direct line to your customer base

In addition, you’ll discover the risks and costs of an online community project, how it can end up saving your company money, and even how it can become an important new revenue source of its own.

You’ll also be inspired by exclusive interviews, where the people who manage thriving online communities share the lessons they’ve learned and the secrets of their success.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Foreword
  3. About the Authors
  4. Introduction
  5. Online Communities
    1. What’s an Online Community?
      1. What’s an Online Community?
      2. Features of an Online Community
      3. Types of Online Communities
      4. The Power of Online Communities
      5. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    2. What Can an Online Community Do for Your Company?
      1. Business Benefits of an Online Community
      2. What’s the Downside?
      3. Preparing for Success
      4. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    3. How to Set Up Your Community
      1. Define Your Community Strategy
      2. Get Started
      3. Analyze Your Competition
      4. Define the Role of Your Brand
      5. Plan Your Website
      6. Plan Your Infrastructure
      7. A User-Centered Approach
      8. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    4. Member Recruitment
      1. Recruitment Strategies
      2. Registration
      3. Launch Strategy
      4. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    5. Motivating Your Members
      1. Get the Most Out of Your Members
      2. Managing the Membership Lifecycle
      3. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    6. Care and Feeding of Your Members
      1. Community Management
      2. Who Can be a Community Manager
      3. What a Community Manager Does
      4. What a Community Manager Needs
      5. Efficient Community Management
      6. Peer Management
      7. A Well-Managed Community
      8. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    7. Monetizing Your Community
      1. Profiting from Your Community
      2. Saving Money with Your Community
      3. Earning Money with Paid Subscriptions
      4. Earning Money with E-Commerce
      5. Earning Money with Advertising
      6. A Project that Pays for Itself
      7. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    8. Growing Your Online Community
      1. Measuring Success
      2. Keeping Your Website Fresh
      3. Keeping Community Management Fresh
      4. Adapting Your Infrastructure
      5. Recruiting More Members
      6. Internationalizing
      7. An Asset for Your Company
      8. The Chapter in a Nutshell
    9. Social Networks as a Platform for Your Brand
      1. What’s a Social Network?
      2. Why Market on Social Networks?
      3. What Can Your Brand Do on a Social Network?
      4. Are Social Networks Right for Your Brand?
      5. Chapter in a Nutshell
  6. Real World Lessons
    1. Ciao.com
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    2. 11870.com
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    3. M Power World
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    4. Pro-Age Netzwerk
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    5. Xing
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    6. Ecademy
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    7. Minube.com
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    8. Toprural.com
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    9. Interview with Leesa Barnes
      1. Interview
      2. Lessons Learned
    10. Web 2.0 Glossary
  7. Index

Product information

  • Title: Online Communities Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web
  • Author(s): Anna Buss, Nancy Strauss
  • Release date: March 2009
  • Publisher(s): New Riders
  • ISBN: 9780321619624