If you had to pick only one thing, what would you say is the best way to grow an engaged online community?

The best way to build an engaging audience is to lead with value. You want to provide others with more value by sharing relevant content and information. A great way to do this is through social media platforms such as Facebook. Going live is a great way to connect with your audience and give valuable content. I suggest going Live at least 3 times a week. Another tip is to make sure that you are providing good, valuable content when you do so. Don't just go live, just to go live. You want to keep them engaged and interested on your topic!

I would say foster connections between your community. If they come back to not only engage with you, but each other, you will increase the overall engagement.

Be proactive, be personable and be human. Understand why people are joining your community and reach out to them personally. Some of them will become advocates for your brand and community and can help you recruit new members and also help you create content and keep the community engaged.

1 > Get them involved. They're already interested, so this should be easy. Give them a plan to follow.

2 > Have them share their experiences following the plan. What struggles and successes did they have? They can make videos and write posts to share.

3 > Reward them for sharing their experiences. Give them individual feedback.

4 > Give them something to buy. A course, coaching time with you (group/individual), products related to the focal interest.

5 > Give them a reason to share with outsiders. Give them a program, a membership trial, a document, something to entice other people they think would be a good fit to come into the group. Give them reasons to share their own content, the "struggles and successes" video, perhaps, outside the group so others can see it and be filtered in.

6 > Reward them for sharing the content outside the group and bringing new members in.

Be genuine.

I have a strong online following, a very active Facebook group, and webinars that each book well over 1,000 registrants.

The reason I've been successful is that I've been me. The good, bad, and ugly.

I've given freely of myself, but I've skipped the polishing and filter. I've shared my successes but also been very honest about my failures.

This helps people relate to me - the person - and want to be part of things I offer. It builds trust and encourages them to engage.

And most important is the fact that they that the community is a safe environment that is worthy of their time.

Provocative content that will increase number of discussions.

Find out where your community hang out and engage (interact) with them in order to build relationships.

Help community members by providing helpful answers, reach out to influencers, share actionable content etc. If you provide enough value they will want to find out more about you and you can grow your own online community.

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Rob Stephens
robstephens.com

Engagement starts with value of the thesis. People make an "economic" decision with their attention. Are you offering something greater than the next thing - it's only a click away.

I recently helped a client grow a super engaged community of 22k followers from 0 in the month of July on Instagram. (@SlimeChimp)

Depending on the platform I'd say understanding who exactly your serving and tailoring every single posts objective to create value & facilitate conversation. Before posting a piece of content understand what you want that person to do next.

Instagram, now more than ever, is highly preference driven. There is an algorithm in place that scores the relevancy of each piece of content you post, to each one of your followers interactions individually.

Say you posted a photo/video/infographic that others shared with their friends by tagging them in the comments section- Because the post was relevant to them they visited your profile & chose to click the follow button under the assumption that you'd be providing more content like what they just interacted with.

If you keep varying your content without an ideal audience in mind- you'll lose.

I love strategizing on Instagram- reach out if you need any help!

-W

PS: If you'd like to read further into Instagram changes-- check out my latest article
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stop-using-instagram-like-its-2016-warren-k-carlyle-iv

My one tip would be to read the book, Buzzing Communities. I'd been looking at ways to develop my marketplaces and social networks and the information was gold!

Invite members to share their story of why they are part of your community and their journey. It works wonders to give space for sharing. Ask direct, provocative questions, lead with honesty and vulnerbility and the rest will take care of itself.

Document and share experiences of interest to the group. Give attention to members. Encourage interaction by being approachable. Create opportunities for group events whether in person or online. Teach & Show and invite community members to share, show and teach.