Jason Hansman helps run Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and keeps people coming back with fresh content. Visit IAVA.
Sophie Martin went through a process of analyzing real data to see exactly how people were using their Main Page. Visit Duke City Fix.
How much time do you have to persuade a visitor to join your Ning Network before they hit the back button or move on to another Web page? Five seconds? When one of your members returns to your Ning Network, are they going to see the same static content? Or will they immediately see new blogs, discussions, photos, videos and profile comments that pull them in?
First, your Ning Network should load super fast. Not every member has access to high-speed Internet and we’ve found that slow load times lead to high exit rates. How fast are we talking about? Data shows you have about four seconds to make an impression. Second, don’t overwhelm your members with over-the-top design or lots of text above the fold (what a visitor will see in their browser before scrolling down). Instead, focus on showing all of the great new content and comments your members have recently posted above the fold. Make the content and features easy to find. If your members can’t find a reason to be on your Ning Network right away, you’ll lose them, maybe forever.
Do this
- Highlight your Activity Feed: The Activity Feed is what tells potential members that your Ning Network is an active, happening place. Highlighting it helps showcase what active, engaged members are contributing. And, our data shows that 40% of pageviews on Ning Networks happen on profile pages — so why not give your members an easy way to access them?
- Content above the fold: Remember when we said don’t make it all about you? Use the Feature option to highlight content contributed by your members. You can use the Feature option both to reward members who provide the best content and curate the content that’s posted to your Ning Network.
- Showcase your members: Just as your Activity Feed highlights your members’ recent activity, the Members module shows newcomers that interesting members have already signed up. Ning Networks like TuDiabetes place their Members module up high on the Main Page.
Don’t do this
- Make a massive header: Your header says a lot about what your Ning Network is about, but if it’s too big, it will push your content, activity and members below the fold. Make sure your header is small enough that your Ning Network’s great content is visible without scrolling.
- Use excessive Flash or embeds: Your Ning Network is only as fast as its slowest embed. Flash can look awesome if done right, but it can also slow down your Ning Network’s load time. Since data shows you have only four seconds to capture the attention of a prospective member, the faster your Ning Network loads, the better!
With over 25,000 members, GovLoop‘s challenge is cutting through clutter and getting members engaged. To help reach their goal of becoming a “Facebook for Government” they implemented a Main Page redesign that emphasized their hook, organized content and focused on creating user flows to guide people to important sections of GovLoop. They also changed the Members module to indicate “25,000 members” instead of just “Members,” which helps draw newcomers in. All those government employees might want to look for people they know (or might want to know), so why not make it easier for them to connect? They’ve also made sure they’re putting compelling, very clickable, regularly updated content above the fold. After their front-page redesign, they saw a 66% increase in page views in the first month alone. Members are having an easier time navigating this Ning Network, deciding on which content they want to engage with and therefore having a better overall social experience.
Friends or Enemies provides a “Backstage Pass” for people who want to follow the off-stage lives of some of their favorite musicians. They’re offering exclusive content and access, and they do a few key things that really make their home page work for them. They use text boxes for splashy content. Since their site is all about music, they use a widget to create a radio station that plays music from all of the artists spotlighted on Friends or Enemies. They know their members thrive on news and commentary, so they make sure to put regularly updated news and commentary from their VIP bloggers front and center on the Main Page.
If you’ve been diagnosed with Diabetes, you probably have a lot of questions. And you probably could use some great advice from people who have already been there. TuDiabetes pools together not just friendly and helpful people, but a wealth of research. To help first-time visitors dig into all of these resources, TuDiabetes has wisely created a separate navigational scheme in the left-hand column. Links in this navigation bar lead to informational FAQ-like articles, which in turn link to related discussions, blog posts, groups, etc. It’s a great way to lead new members down a path from curious visitor to subscribing member.
Fashioning Technology is a Ning Network where curious people make tech-savvy clothes, housewares, toys, and accessories out of circuits, sensors, and cloth. You won’t find anything quite like it anywhere else. Since much of this techno-crafting has never been done before, there’s a big focus on tutorials, which you’ll find all over the main page. Some of these “smart” crafting projects look positively out of this world, so it makes sense for them to stock the main page with fashion photos and blog posts with big, interesting images. Fashion is by nature a subjective topic, and they wisely incorporate a simple survey on the main page so members can vote on designs and designers. Voting like this promotes tons of member engagement. The makers of this Ning Network have published a book, which you can purchase if you like, but they also include links to crafty “Books for Inspiration” their members might enjoy via an Amazon.com affiliate widget. Smart, indeed.
