4 Techniques For Community Managers To Create Engaging Online Discussions

Have you realized how difficult it can be to get members to participate in the online discussions?  Though membership management software is essential, creating engaging discussions is important too and it requires a great content strategy that focuses on issues of common interest.  The discussions you start and the articles you post also need to grab the members’ attention.  What techniques are effective towards making that happen consistently?

 

Many people enjoy answering questions as it makes them feel useful and helps them relate more to the issue being discussed.  Often, there are headlines online that are meant to trigger your interest and you may not have noticed it.  By employing the same technique with discussions on your online community, you could see more members become engaged.

 

Before starting a discussion, make sure there’s a clear objective which could be to change a perspective, connect people, or provide a solution.  Also, the title needs to be worded in such a way that the reader promptly knows how the discussion will impact them.  Consider the interests of your audience then use a headline that indicates a potential impact on their life.

 

There are thousands of other activities that a member could take part in on the internet aside from reading your discussion.  For that reason, use a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 250 words to draw their attention.  If you need ideas, check out popular forums and use them as a guide.  What is your community about and what type of members does it usually attract?

For example, if it targets software engineers, a discussion about gardening would be irrelevant and would likely get zero comments.  As a community manager, it is imperative you know the discussions that increase engagement and which ones fail to engage members.  To do that, ensure the membership management software you use is well suited for your membership needs!