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Why You Can’t Build an Online Community Overnight

July 19th, 2011 | Posted by GovDelivery in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

By Lauren Modeen, Manager of Online Strategy, GovLoop

I've seen folks build a beautiful online community interface and outreach strategy. They have their mission defined, the blogs and discussions open for action, and their server prepared for activity overload. It goes live and – - – and – - – and – - – wait for it – - – and – - – WHAT? Nada. They wonder: hey, I thought if I built it they would come? Why no immediate, overflowing, amazing activity?

Building an online community is hard. It takes: relationships, trust, constant value, and a reason to come back everyday. It must be done slowly, purposefully, conscientiously, and authentically.

Here are 5 reasons building an online community takes time, and thus, cannot be built overnight.

1. Engagement is about individual outreach.

2. Nothing replaces face to face connection.

3. In-person celebrations are crucial.

4. Members are collaborators, not just listeners.

5. Don't just ask members to do something for you – do something for them.

Are you guy #3?

July 15th, 2011 | Posted by GovDelivery in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

By Lauren Modeen, Manager of Online Strategy, GovLoop

Putting yourself out there, feeling uncomfortable, without any assurance or predictable outcome is really hard. But without a guy #3 (watch the video below, specifically around the 1 minute mark), we, as a whole, would never start anything or do anything remarkable. Now, read this blog post by Seth Godin. To create something great, someone must to put himself out there, take a stance, and, with conviction, stick to it. Someone has to then believe in this conviction for himself, and join in. Then, a third person has to tip the scale, and watch the masses come.

Watch carefully for the 7, 8, and 9 dancers…and then watch the first person to actually run over to the dancers. Once he runs over, more start running. Soon enough, people are sprinting down the hill. People see how something collective has taken root, is validated, socially accepted, and exponentially, more realize they have to be in on this deal. This is how trends and change usually starts. Wouldn't it be cool if you were guy #1, #2, or #3?

5 things to consider when developing your communications plan.

By Mike Bernard, Digital Marketing Specialist

For the last few weeks I have been slowly building a deck on my house. Since I’ve never built a deck before, I did a lot of research, gathered all my materials, looked into regulations, drew up plans and got down to the hard work of getting the deck built.

I’m nearly finished and the process got me thinking about communications (full disclosure, I’m always thinking about how to communicate better!). I think organizations oftentimes approach their communication strategy the way I approached my deck – a vision of what the end product will look like, but not really certain about how to get there.

Here are 5 things to help you develop a communications plan that removes the uncertainty of how you will accomplish your vision:

1) What types of information do your stakeholders want? Brainstorm the types of information you think is most important to people (don’t forget to take what you are hearing from your customer service staff into account). Don’t let your brainstorming be limited to what you already have; allow room for “What if…” questions. You never know, that off-the-wall idea someone had might end up being your most popular item.

2) What’s the best medium for distributing the information? There are two points to this question. 1) What is the best way to get the information out? In some cases it can be done through email or monthly newsletters – in other cases, text messages, RSS feeds, podcasts or social media might be a better way to go. Try to determine what the people in your area will be most comfortable with. 2) How will your staff get information out in an efficient and effective way? You need to find systems that are simple, direct, and fast – with a minimal number of hurdles to overcome. It should also easily integrate with existing systems so you don’t create communication hang up silos. Remember: Simplify, simplify, simplify! The more difficult a system is to use, the greater headache it will cause for the people who have to administer it.

3) How will you inspire and energize staff to take communication to the next level? This is where you can really start to have fun. Encourage staff to create content that is user-friendly, human, and personal. Move internal information, experiences, learning, ideas, direction, and feedback equally well in all directions — up, down, and across the organization. A free flow of information will help everyone problem solve and inspire new, innovative ways of doing things.

4) How will you measure success? This is something that is too often left until after a project is completed. Knowing what outcomes you are looking to achieve from the get-go will help define what results to look for and how you will make improvements to achieve your goals. Are you looking to increase website traffic? Do you want to grow the number of subscribers to your monthly newsletter? Are you interested more in broad coverage so you hit everyone, or depth that provides the people who care with exactly what they are looking for? Do you want to try to capture people’s information so you can connect with them in the future? How will you determine what message delivering mediums are working and what are not? Once you figure out what you want to measure, make sure you are monitoring the metrics that will allow you to know if you are being successful.

5) How will take what you are measuring and adapt in order to get better? You need to have a plan for how you make improvements to what you are doing. If you’ve tested something for 3 months and there has been no improvement, try a different approach. If you don’t adapt, based on what your measurements are showing, you will never get better.

Creating a well developed strategy, before implementing it, can help you realize your communications goals.

Dealing with negative feedback in social media

By Lauren Modeen, Digital Strategist, GovDelivery Professional Services

Regardless of whether you are representing yourself, an agency, a company, a non-profit, or a campaign online, you will most likely encounter negative digital feedback. While you cannot control what the world puts in front of you, you can control how you respond. In fact, how you do so might say more about your character than when you are just humming along. Below are some examples and tips for Facebook and Twitter, but they also apply to other social media networks:

Twitter

1. When you read content directed at you that immediately raises your inner flag (i.e. it is negative), simply re-read it. Avoid jumping to unnecessary conclusions too early.

2. After you read it the second time, if it is in fact, negative, or unproductively critical, take a deep breath, step away from it for a few minutes, and then respond. No impulsive, angry thrashing out! Keep your cool.

3. If the person appears to be legitimate (see point C below), calmly analyze the tweet and respond in a constructive, non-threatening manner. If the person continues to engage (as long as it is not profane or otherwise abusive), continue to briefly interact with them until they give up.

Posts to block:

A. Those containing profane language

B. Those attacking anyone personally

C. Those that appear to be a spam account (can usually tell by the content of their tweets, 0 or < 10 followers, no profile image)

D. Anything else that appears to be completely inappropriate

Facebook

Follow the same three steps as above. Also, consider adding a Facebook policy to your page. Here is an example:

Sample Member Conduct Policy

[Name of organization] on Facebook is moderated. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, [Name of organization] expects that participants will treat each other with respect. [Name of organization] on Facebook will not post comments that contain vulgar or abusive language; personal attacks of any kind; or offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups. [Name of organization] on Facebook will not post comments that are spam, are clearly “off topic” or that promote services or products. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also be subject to review.

Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other nongovernmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using [Name of organization] on Facebook.

Here is a summary of the guidelines we abide by:

The use of vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language is prohibited. Public comments should be limited to comments related to the topic. [Name of organization] on Facebook is not the proper place to express opinions or beliefs not directly related to that topic.

[Name of organization] on Facebook is not open to comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing any ballot proposition. [Name of organization] on Facebook is not open to the promotion or advertisement of a business or commercial transaction.

Have you dealt with negative feedback on Facebook or Twitter? How about in comments on your organization’s blog? How do you deal with this?

communication, digital, Facebook, feedback, GovDelivery, government, social media, Twitter

Five key ways to create amazing customer service wins

By Mike Bernard, Digital Marketing Specialist

About a year ago I ordered a custom designed t-shirt from an online printing company. When the package finally arrived I was extremely disappointed. The graphic was crooked and the ink was all cracked. It looked horrible. In a state of annoyance, I expressed my frustration on my social networks – 274 people on Twitter and 975 on Facebook!

Imagine my surprise when a representative from the printing company contacted me about my bad experience. They said they would fix the problem and send me a new shirt in overnight mail. Two day later my shirt arrived. The new one was perfect! I was pumped. The new shirt was nice, but finding that level of customer service these days was mind blowing. For the next three days, I told my story to anyone who would listen. By providing me with excellent customer service, the printing company took my poor situation and turned me into their biggest champion.

In April, President Obama issued an executive order around improving customer service for federal agencies. By the end of the year, all agencies must have a plan to “provide services in a manner that seeks to streamline service delivery and improve the experience of its customers.”

So let me ask this, “Does your organization have a plan to turn poor situations into amazing customer service wins?”

Here are some things to keep in mind when developing your plan:

1) Listening is key! Sometimes that means trying to determine the underlying issue at the root of the problem. Sometimes that means listening in different ways. That printing company would have never known about my situation if they hadn’t been monitoring Twitter. Don’t limit your “ears” to what you hear on the phone or in person. These days, people are doing more and more talking on the web.

2) Be proactive and anticipate needs. Oftentimes you can prevent problems before they start addressing common issues. Dig into your data on this one. Find out what the top 10 complaints are and put solutions right on your website. Better yet, put systems in place that allow you to easily and efficiently get important information out to citizens so they don’t need to come to you, you go to them.

3) Make people feel important and appreciated. Too often, government gets a bad rap for treating people like annoyances. I understand. It’s not always easy dealing with upset people. That’s why you must prepare. An organization with great customer service takes time to train workers to be patient and willing to work to find a great solution. People will appreciate that you are working diligently to solve their issue.

4) Help people understand how complicated systems work. Government is good at providing information. Government is not always great at providing information in a way that average citizens can digest it. Think about ways to creatively communicate common hang ups for people. Imagine how much better a four-minute video would be explaining how to fill out a 1040EZ form than a paper booklet of instructions. How about an online survey that asks people a series of questions and, in the end, tells people where they can vote and what type of information they need to bring with them? A little creativity can remove a lot of complexity for people

5) Solicit regular feedback. Ask people how you could be doing better and they will let you know! But, it doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve asked, let people know you are working to improve things. Then once you make changes, celebrate the people who helped you get better. Maybe in your monthly newsletter you could have a “Thanks for the Suggestion” section where you give a special shout out to someone who submitted a great idea. On your website you could have a page called “Awesome People Who Make Government Better” where you highlight what someone told you and then demonstrate how their suggestion has streamlined operations or saved you money.

So don’t focus on improving customer service simply because the president says you have to. Improve customer service to improve people’s perception of your organization… it can lead to some amazing results: Decreased staff turnover, cost savings, shorter lines, less angry phone calls, increased revenue , etc. etc.

Increasing online subscribers with content-rich, in-person events

This is the first tip in a series of 22 Ways to Increase Fans, Followers, and Subscribers originally presented by Steve Ressler, Founder, GovLoop.com.

How do you increase your online subscribers with content-rich, in-person events? I am often amazed by the content rich presentations, events, or simply meet-ups I attend where no one asks for my email address. If I attend willingly, learn new things and express enthusiasm, I am most likely sold, and I’d most likely be happy to establish a recurring relationship with you.

From the perspective of the organization, when you have a targeted, sold audience, capturing their email address is one of the most essential tactics you can perform if you desire some action from them down the road. It’s just math. The more people you create a recurring relationship with, the more desired results you'll see later.

Here are some simple methods you can use content-rich events to drive more online subscribers.

First, host an in-person event that delivers real value to your audience. Get your experts and best people to demonstrate thought-leadership that is not easily attainable elsewhere, or describe your mission and why you need help from the audience. End things with them wanting more.

After the rich content or conversations, explain that you would like to continue the conversation offline with a newsletter or email. Pass around a sign-up sheet or have attendees drop their business card in a bowl on the way out explaining that they should expect follow-up content in the next few days (or even be signed up for an online community if that is your forte).

A few days after the event, begin communicating your content with your new audience. Thank them for attending the event, and deliver content the same caliber as at the event. Include a link to your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or blog if you have those properties, as well as possible quotes from the event (approve with owner), and a link to a picture album from the event if you took pictures.

Make sure you deliver this first outreach no more than 2-3 days after the event so your audience is still fresh on the value you provide. As you start to build an audience, be very thoughtful about what you deliver, when, and always make it value, value, value.

Online webinars can be handled slightly differently, and will be discussed in another tip.

Why I can’t subscribe to AlphaGov

June 20th, 2011 | Posted by GovDelivery in E-Government | GovDelivery | Government 2.0 | Web 2.0 - (4 Comments)

By Dave Worsell, Director, Government Solutions, GovDelivery UK

There have been a lot of things said about AlphaGov since its launch in April. For the most part, reaction to AlphaGov has been very positive. The accomplishments of the team have been highly impressive given the scale of the nut they are trying to crack so all the praise they’ve received is well deserved.

It’s still in the very early days for the AlphaGov concept, so what should they include as they move into the #BetaGov phase? The solution could be both very simple and very effective.

Paul Clarke tweeted at the recent MailCamp event, “A #mailcamp thought: if @alphagov got into the business of catching an email address for alerts/tailored comms,wd that be useful experiment?”

Neil Williams made similar comments in his recent blog post “If you started today, you would never build what we’ve got. You would build Alphagov.” where he identified the lack of content alerts in the current iteration.

So why are subscription services important?

AlphaGov, like many other government websites, doesn’t address the need for proactive public communication. AlphaGov is certainly visionary in its approach, but is still reactive in the way it communicates with the public.

Many government websites rely on users finding information when they know they need it. In this respect AlphaGov moves the game on significantly as the content I know I need is very simple and easy to find.

The trouble with this approach is that users often get essential information when it’s far too late…or never at all. For example, I’ll look for flu information when I or someone I know is taken ill, however, prevention is much better than the cure. Ideally it would have been much more beneficial to have this information before the onset of illness.

There are lots of examples like this. How do you find out about changes to the Highway Code? Do you know you need to renew your photo ID driving licence every 10 years? How do benefit changes affect you? Proactive communication is essential. An informed public makes better decisions and this substantially reduces costs.

To address this issue, governments need to maximise direct connections with the public. An anonymous visit to a government website isn’t a direct connection; it’s a fleeting, transient interaction that doesn’t lead to long-term engagement. There is only a small lasting benefit.

By direct I mean the ability to develop relationships and send highly personalised communications to known individuals on specific topics of interest to them. Personalised, proactive communication keeps the public informed, enables them to make informed decisions and encourages more cost effective use of public resources.

Governments must encourage the public to subscribe to the online services they offer. This doesn’t need to be a complex user registration form. Capturing a simple email address or mobile number can be enough.

Once government has established a direct connection with its audience it has the keys to the digital communication door. Government can then use this connection to encourage subscriptions to other areas of interest to maximise communication reach and promote efficient and effective engagement.

Like most members of the public, I won’t use AlphaGov every day. Checking for new public service information is very unlikely to be top of my daily agenda. When updates do occur I won’t have the time or awareness to go looking for them even if they impact me directly.

For AlphaGov to become a useful tool in meeting my ever-demanding needs as a U.K. citizen, wouldn’t it be fantastic if it could inform me proactively when the information I need to support my daily activities is available before I need it?

I’d definitely subscribe to that.

Examining software industry changes and trends – present and future

By Scott Burns, CEO and co-Founder, GovDelivery

What will the software industry look like in 3, 5, even 10 years from now?

Enterprise customers have learned that, for many applications, software that is light and nimble can support even the most complex business processes. I see enterprise software continuing to become more specialized and better tailored to address specific business problems while offering customers flexibility to innovate and customize on top of the off-the-shelf capabilities. This shift will have an incredible impact on the public sector clients that GovDelivery serves.

From the largest federal agencies to the smallest cities, public sector organizations have an opportunity to transition technology from a support function to a strategic function. In some cases, this will mean leaving behind legacy systems and bringing new systems online that support mission results. Software can be more specialized now because disparate and specialized systems are increasingly able to work seamlessly together due to web services and other tools. Our industry should continue to focus on integration options that allow each of our solutions to work well with solutions created by other providers or custom built by our customers.

What customer demands and business trends will drive changes in software products, how they’re developed, and the industry that provides them?

Even five years ago, enterprise customers, including our public sector client base, were accustomed to delayed deployments and software that lived up to some, but not all, of its promise. Those days are rapidly coming to an end. This change is driven by the openness with which most software companies now operate and the high standards we must live up to in order to gain traction in the market. Recent trends, like the rapid adoption of software as a service and other forms of cloud computing have brought the customer and provider together in an ongoing partnership. The SaaS business model creates a healthy incentive for customers to provide regular and actionable feedback, and for providers to deliver high quality support and ongoing innovation.

Software as a Service companies like ours can see when clients are struggling to use our system well, and we’re likely to pick up the phone and help them before they even think to call us. Our success depends on taking ownership for the results our clients achieve with the software we provide to them.

Another important trend is the growing adoption of open source technologies, both by our customers and our industry. Our company takes advantage of many open source technologies today, but we know that for enterprise solutions, both open source and commercial options require a support structure behind them.

Open source software requires more staff and integrator support over time which raises the total cost of ownership in comparison with commercial software. For this reason, I believe that customer-focused commercial software providers are in a great position to deliver amazing value even as the customer gains influence and considers open source.

Reprinted with permission from "View from the Top" by the Software & Information Industry Association.

Community involvement pays great dividends

Access to affordable housing is a major concern in many communities across our country, and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity have significantly impacted public attitudes about this important topic.

Inadequate housing is a larger issue than mere living conditions – it impacts physical health, mental health, and the quality of educational opportunities.

As a company working with more than 400 government organizations throughout the United States, GovDelivery appreciates the critical nature of the housing issue and has chosen to support Habitat for Humanity's efforts to not only build homes, but effectively communicate with the public on the issue.

Yesterday, a group of our employees contributed their time to helping construct the "Entrepreneurs House" – a small townhome complex on a vacant lot in northeast Minneapolis. We encourage other organizations to learn more about Habitat for Humanity and get involved in their local community. Any other ideas from you on how to give back?

Five Simple Ways to Keep Your Online Community Fire Stoked

By Lauren Modeen, Digital Strategist, GovDelivery Professional Services

Building an online community is akin to building and maintaining a vibrant campfire.

Step 1: Create a plan of where to set up your fire, and which tools and resources you will use to build it (build your strategy with tactics and identified early stakeholders).
Step 2: Collect and organize the necessary materials that will initially spark the fire (prepare your launch plan).
Step 3: Prepare the fire with the larger logs (initial stakeholders) that will provide a steady flame and not burn out quickly as kindling or newspaper might (weaker, less involved members).
Step 4: Ignite the fire (implement your launch plan with a surge of communication and content).
Step 5: Watch and continuously tend to the fire with new sources of fuel and oxygen. A community can burn brightly as long as it is provided the right conditions and maintenance.

With that said, here are five easy tips to keep your fire stoked and burning brightly.

1. Build your member base slowly.

When you initially ignite your community, resist the urge to blast your concept to your entire extended network. In the beginning, the right vibrant members will do much more to initially spark the fire than hundreds of dead weight, uninvolved members. Provide the early members with attention, support, and direction. As these members take root, they will grow and spark interest in others. Working with a manageable number of members will afford you the bandwidth necessary to give your best. Focus on this basecamp first while knowing the summit exists.

2. Celebrate all of your members and reward your best.

Celebrate all of your members in your new member welcome messages, newsletters, and personal emails. For those members who go above and beyond, demonstrate meritocracy. Your best members really contribute 80/20 here, so reward them as such. Send them handwritten thank you notes, send them swag or virtual honorary gifts, feature their content, and ask them for their input as you shape your community in the future.

3. Provide an experience and tell stories.

What will keep your members coming back day after day when every other possible life event can get in the way? Work? Family? TV? Cultivate a community that constantly tells a story, provides an experience, and always has good customer service. Make it part TED talks, part Starbucks, and part Zappos. If members feel they have something valuable to contribute, continuously get something out of the community, feel rewarded when they contribute, and grow as a result, your super-user base will expand. Think hard about what motivates your members, what will make them contribute their limited time, and how you can constantly serve them in one month, six months, and one year. Plan for future success.

4. Feature good blogs/discussions.

When members contribute quality blog and discussions, make sure to feature their content. And don't just feature it, but send them an email that says something like: Your Blog was Featured on [name of community]. Why? Because It's Awesome. Keep it Up… This little action can make your members feel like a million bucks. And they deserve it.

5. Create leadership roles with specific titles. At GovLoop, we have a host of volunteer names and opportunities. But we don't just call them "volunteers." We assign specific titles with specific corresponding roles. Some example titles are: GovGuru, GovGoGetter, GovGreeter 1 – Meet 'em at the Door, GovGreeter 2 – Take 'em to their Seat…you can see the entire list here. Explain why the position is awesome, what they will do, and how it works, and what the time commitment is. Keeping your members in the know will increase the odds they will take the plunge into a leadership role because they will know exactly what they are getting into.

We hope this provides some insight. If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out to me or Joseph Porcelli.

Author Archives: GovDelivery

Why You Can’t Build an Online Community Overnight

Are you guy #3?

5 things to consider when developing your communications plan.

Five key ways to create amazing customer service wins

Increasing online subscribers with content-rich, in-person events

Why I can’t subscribe to AlphaGov

Examining software industry changes and trends – present and future

Community involvement pays great dividends

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