I'll be discussing how to "Build a Community Around your Brand" and best practices to support your customers/members and how to effectively sell your products. This presentation is not about how to monetize your community, it's not advertising! That's invasive and usually clogs activity.We're going to discuss how develop products and services that your audience really wants to buy.

1. @digibomb

2. It's not advertising.
That's invasive and
usually clogs activity.
@digibomb

3. The best way to monetize a community is
to develop products/services that your
audience really wants to buy.
@digibomb

4. Here are a few tips to get started
@digibomb

5. Charge for Membership
Pack your community with added value
less members, but more dedicated
@digibomb blog.spoongraphics.co.uk

6. Advertising & Affiliate Sales
Sponsored areas of the community
Product or service related threads
Banners
vaportalk.com/forum
@digibomb

7. According to eMarketer, social network
advertising is expected to reach $5.54
billion this year and will grow to $10
billion by 2013. While the bulk of this
money will go to Facebook, there are
still ample advertising growth
opportunities for other social
networking sites.
@digibomb

8. Aurora Energy
Focus Groups
Branded threads
Live chat
Streaming video
e-FocusGroups
@digibomb

9. Events
Bring the community offline
Sponsorship and ticket fees
Exhibitors space
wcmtl.org
@digibomb

10. Job Boards
Pay to post a job
Pay to have a featured profile
37 Signals
@digibomb

11. According to a recent report in Business News
Daily, 80 percent of surveyed HR professionals
use social network sites in their hiring process.
While the majority of those surveyed cite
LinkedIn as the main site they use.
@digibomb

12. Training
Tutorials and workshops
Seminars and classes
Lynda.com
@digibomb

13. Member Areas &
Exclusive Content
Discounts and coupons
Product and software
Exclusives for members only:
books, swag, etc.
@digibomb

14. ThinkGeek.com
Merchandise
Brand your community
Sell relevant products
@digibomb

15. SlideShare.net
Profitable Niches
Know your audience
Small audiences are dedicated
@digibomb

16. Some interesting stats ...
@digibomb

17. 91% say consumer content is
the #1 aid to a buying decision
- JC Williams Group
@digibomb

18. 87% trust a friend’s recommendation
over a review by a critic
-Marketing Sherpa
@digibomb

19. Social network users are 3x more likely
to trust peer opinions over advertising
when making purchase decisions
-Jupiter Research
@digibomb

20. How do I monetize
my community
without scaring
people away?
@digibomb

21. Disclose - Let members know
about your monetization plans
How do I monetize
before you roll them out, so no
my community
one is caught off guard.
without scaring
people away?
@digibomb

22. Disclose - Let members know Let members opt out -
about your monetization plans If applicable or monetizeyou should
How do I possible,
before you roll them out, so no allow members to opt out of
my community
one is caught off guard. certaiwithout scaring programs.
n monetization
people away?
@digibomb

23. Disclose - Let members know Let members opt out -
about your monetization plans If applicable or monetizeyou should
How do I possible,
before you roll them out, so no allow members to opt out of
my community
one is caught off guard. certaiwithout scaring programs.
n monetization
people away?
Consider rolling out
changes gradually -
Introduce it in stages and test it
first with different groups.
@digibomb

24. Disclose - Let members know Let members opt out -
about your monetization plans If applicable or monetizeyou should
How do I possible,
before you roll them out, so no allow members to opt out of
my community
one is caught off guard. certaiwithout scaring programs.
n monetization
people away?
Consider rolling out
changes gradually - Don’t intrude on the
Introduce it in stages and test it user experience -
first with different groups. Think about how intrusive
monetization schemes can
be, such as glaring ads!
@digibomb

25. How do I monetize
my community
without scaring
people away?
The rest it up to you and ...
@digibomb

26. Thank You!
@digibomb