Comments on: Five mistakes to avoid when marketing through online communities http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/ Angela Connor on Growing Successful Online Communities Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:26:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Avoid These Marketing Mistakes Online | Business Idea of the Day http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/#comment-2791 Avoid These Marketing Mistakes Online | Business Idea of the Day Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:18:34 +0000 http://onlinecommunitystrategist.wordpress.com/?p=366#comment-2791 [...] Okay, so your ready to hit the ground running and begin your marketing camaign that you are sure is going to be the biggest hit ever! But have you really sat down and contemplated all aspects of your campaign and marketing in general? Below are a few online marketing mistakes to avoid that will save you time and money recently suggested on Online Community Strategist. [...] [...] Okay, so your ready to hit the ground running and begin your marketing camaign that you are sure is going to be the biggest hit ever! But have you really sat down and contemplated all aspects of your campaign and marketing in general? Below are a few online marketing mistakes to avoid that will save you time and money recently suggested on Online Community Strategist. [...]

]]> By: The Community Building Aspects of Internet Marketing: An Interview with Phyllis Zimbler Miller « Online Community Strategist http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/#comment-1854 The Community Building Aspects of Internet Marketing: An Interview with Phyllis Zimbler Miller « Online Community Strategist Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:04:30 +0000 http://onlinecommunitystrategist.wordpress.com/?p=366#comment-1854 [...] Five mistakes to avoid when marketing through online communities [...] [...] Five mistakes to avoid when marketing through online communities [...]

]]> By: The n-word, marketing mistakes and the death of the press release: My top posts from 2008 « Online Community Strategist http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/#comment-1294 The n-word, marketing mistakes and the death of the press release: My top posts from 2008 « Online Community Strategist Sun, 24 May 2009 12:32:01 +0000 http://onlinecommunitystrategist.wordpress.com/?p=366#comment-1294 [...] Five mistakes to avoid when marketing through online communities [...] [...] Five mistakes to avoid when marketing through online communities [...]

]]> By: Angela Connor http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/#comment-214 Angela Connor Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:25:44 +0000 http://onlinecommunitystrategist.wordpress.com/?p=366#comment-214 @Scott Moore You raise great points. It has been my experience that it's downhill when the intentions were solely to market and not to learn the community. It sounds as though you made major inroads finding a balance during your 7 years as a community manager and your. I suspect that some people did come around and eventually "truly belong" to the community. People don't realize the time it takes to d that, but it can be very effective and I think it's worth it on many levels. @Scott Moore You raise great points. It has been my experience that it’s downhill when the intentions were solely to market and not to learn the community. It sounds as though you made major inroads finding a balance during your 7 years as a community manager and your. I suspect that some people did come around and eventually “truly belong” to the community. People don’t realize the time it takes to d that, but it can be very effective and I think it’s worth it on many levels.

]]> By: Scott Moore http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/#comment-213 Scott Moore Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:12:34 +0000 http://onlinecommunitystrategist.wordpress.com/?p=366#comment-213 I disagree that the slew of community posts affirming their tolerance for (or against) advertising is "all down hill". It's very positive that the community is voicing their standards. If the community host takes action that affirms the community standards. It can become a positive cycle. Of course, each community is a little different so where the bar is set and what actions are appropriate will vary. For 7 years, I managed a community where I had to balance the non-profit's zero tolerance for spam against a well-defined target audience's genuine need for product and service recommendations and reviews. Through a combination of setting policy, fostering edge cases toward deeper community participation (#5 on your list) and being transparent about policy and how it's handled in general (but not by calling any individuals out), I reached a point where I was getting notices of spam from the community before I had a chance to catch it myself (and I was being emailed every first-time post). The immediate effect was that there were few examples of posts that would indicate "here is a place you can spam without participating" which discouraged but the most blatant/desperate/sleaziest. The longer term effect was that it empowered the community to handle edge cases and encourage deeper engagement. It shared the load and reinforced our goals for hosting a community. As an aside, I'm torn about teaching people how to effectively market to a community unless you truly belong to said community. :) I disagree that the slew of community posts affirming their tolerance for (or against) advertising is “all down hill”. It’s very positive that the community is voicing their standards. If the community host takes action that affirms the community standards. It can become a positive cycle. Of course, each community is a little different so where the bar is set and what actions are appropriate will vary.

For 7 years, I managed a community where I had to balance the non-profit’s zero tolerance for spam against a well-defined target audience’s genuine need for product and service recommendations and reviews.

Through a combination of setting policy, fostering edge cases toward deeper community participation (#5 on your list) and being transparent about policy and how it’s handled in general (but not by calling any individuals out), I reached a point where I was getting notices of spam from the community before I had a chance to catch it myself (and I was being emailed every first-time post).

The immediate effect was that there were few examples of posts that would indicate “here is a place you can spam without participating” which discouraged but the most blatant/desperate/sleaziest. The longer term effect was that it empowered the community to handle edge cases and encourage deeper engagement. It shared the load and reinforced our goals for hosting a community.

As an aside, I’m torn about teaching people how to effectively market to a community unless you truly belong to said community. :)

]]> By: Matt Webb http://blog.angelaconnor.com/2008/10/25/five-mistakes-marketing-through-online-communities/#comment-204 Matt Webb Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:13:47 +0000 http://onlinecommunitystrategist.wordpress.com/?p=366#comment-204 Very nice article Angela! You couldn't be more right about the people that join a community just to bomb it with their junk in hopes of nailing a conversion. It reminds me of what it looks like when a used car salesman moves from the parking lot to the internet to try and sell his inventory. Harsh lesson.... Very nice article Angela! You couldn’t be more right about the people that join a community just to bomb it with their junk in hopes of nailing a conversion. It reminds me of what it looks like when a used car salesman moves from the parking lot to the internet to try and sell his inventory. Harsh lesson….

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