Communities, like anything else in life, change and evolve. While we always optimize for things going right, truth is sometimes you need to roll up your sleeves and address the challenges that may pop up.
For many people, the challenge isn’t in building or growing a community; but in reviving a once active and thriving community. And that’s my focus today.
“Where do I begin?”
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Get back to the blueprint
The first and most important step is to go back to the blueprint of your community.
What is the purpose of your community? Has this evolved over time?
Why must your community exist?
Who are you bringing together and why would they be interested in coming together?
How do you hope to achieve your purpose with these people?
This step amplifies the importance of never losing sight of the ‘WHY’ behind your community.
Re-assess your community with these questions and pay attention to how your answers have evolved over time.
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Analyze the Community
Take a close look at your community and analyze member engagement, activity levels, and the overall experience within the community. Then identify areas where the community is lacking or struggling.
Then from the questions you answered in Step 1, assess whether the core of the community changed. If the core has been lost and can't be recovered, then change it and make it better and more relevant to your members. If it remains the same, present it differently your members and evoke their participation - add something different to what it used to be.
The point here is to give your community members a strong reason to return and participate once more.
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Contact key members
Every community has those members who engage and contribute more and it’s expected that you keep them close and maintain a connection with them. If you haven’t done do before now, it’s never too late to start.
Reach out to these members, check in with them, and share your plans to get the community back up. Ask for their insights and feedback. Depending on the type or size of the community, you can also ask for their help in rounding up some older members.
This opens up the opportunity to create a sub-community or super user program for these key members, where you can keep them updated on the progress and continuously seek their valuable feedback. Just ensure that they want to be a part of that sub-community and conversation.
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Re-engage the community
With your actionable plans in hand, you can begin to engage the larger community again. But don’t dive in headfirst, start with something simple and build momentum.
Share a detailed announcement or something of some sort sharing why the community went silent.
Share the results achieved so far as a community, and the plans in place to get things running again.
Keep engaging them around that daily and watch how people respond and show up.
P.S. Not everyone will come around at first and that’s fine. Also, you might have lost some members already and may lose more especially if your purpose has evolved and they no longer resonate with it.
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Collect Feedback
This is a great way to hear from your members and understand their needs, expectations, and pain points. Make use of survey forms or open discussions to gather their thoughts and preferences, and gain insights on what to do, what to improve on, or what to forgo.
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Update Content and Programs
With all you’ve gathered individually, as a team, from key members and the general community, give your content and programs a refresh. This includes written content, events, engagement programs, etc. Ensure that your content and programs align with the community’s goals and are making members take actions that help them in their journey.
Also review your content library and resources, if you have one, and ensure that they are still relevant and accessible. Remove obsolete resources and add new, relevant ones to keep your community valuable.
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Spread the word
Once you’ve begun to get things running again, share about your community’s comeback through social media, email newsletters, and other marketing channels you have. Highlight the changes and invite both new and existing members to come experience what’s new.
Reviving a dormant community is a rewarding journey- it may not come off easy but it's going to be worth the effort with the right approach.
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This content was originally published in November 2021 and has been updated for freshness and accuracy.