Creating and Maintaining Online Communities

This is a printer-friendly version of a page on the GBdirect web site. The original page may be found at https://consulting.gbdirect.co.uk/website_visibility/creating_online_comunities.html.

Creating and sustaining virtual communities directly associated with your company and its products can be an invaluable way of promoting your web site and the products or services that it sells.

Controlling The Message

Unlike using existing online communties, if you host your own, you can strongly influence or directly control the messages exchanged within the community.

Creating and Maintaining Communities Can Be Expensive

It’s only really worth it, if members are sufficiently motivated to sustain the group themselves, or if the company attaches sufficient value to direct and intensive communication with a compact customer base.

Mailing Lists

Mailing lists can provide the best ratio of investment to revenue, but typically have the lowest spin-off effects in the wider community. They are particularly useful for selling to stable customer communities, directing them to your lower cost web distribution channel and away from expensive offices or call centres.

Unless they cross-link with other groups, they will not be good at improving your general web visibility.