1. Building Online
Business Communities
Crispin Butteriss PhD
Chief Practice Officer
Bang the Table

2. Quick Poll
Are you an ACTIVE member of an online business community?

3. …a little about me…
Co-founder of Bang the Table
Currently “Chief Practice Officer”
Ph.D. in community engagement (adult & org learning)
www.bangthetable.com
Online Community Engagement Linkedin Group

4. …please get in touch…
@what_if_we_did
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crispinbutteriss
crispin@bangthetable.com
NOT Facebook

5. “Successful online communities don’t just happen by themselves.
They’re the result of a carefully executed strategy, solid design,
and patient nurturing.”
Anna Buss & Nancy Strauss
Online Community Handbook

6. “FeverBee took a close look at data from Brand Republic and
found that out of a random sample of 875 communities, only 12
had over 100 active members -- that's just 1.3 percent..”
Richard Millington
Ning

7. Seven preconditions for a
successful online business
community

8. Preconditions for success
A (untapped) niche topic
A strong and lasting purpose
Enough interested people to overcome the 90-9-1 rule
A clear motivator to participate
An ongoing promotional strategy
Enough people, time and money to keep it going
Time to grow

9. Questions?

10. Seven strategies for
nurturing a successful online
business community

11. Nurturing for success
Seed the feed…
Make your network “indispensible”
Ask the group direct questions via email
Thank every new member (automagically)
Have rules and stick to them
Controlled self-promotion
Physical and online events

12. Questions?

13. Seven mistakes to avoid
when you're setting up your
online community

14. Avoid this…
Being blatantly self-serving
Unrealistic expectations about everything
Isolating yourself from your crowd
Focusing on growth at the expense of activity
Letting your group manage itself
The sound of silence
Changing your community raison d'être without asking

15. Seven examples of thriving
online communities to
model

16. Success stories
http://litreactor.com/ - How to be a writer.
http://magazine.good.is/ - How to make the world better.
http://www.classroom20.com/ - How to use social in the
classroom.
http://www.triiibes.com - so good, you can’t get in!
Linkedin – eTail Conference – 8000 members
Linkedin – Digital Marketing – 588,000 member
There are HUNDREDS of conference based groups on Linkedin

17. Questions?

18. Thank you
Remember to connect….
@what_if_we_did
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crispinbutteriss
crispin@bangthetable.com