Tony Idem’s community sends out regular shout outs to members who submit videos — both on Ning and on other social-sharing outlets. Visit Blacktree TV.
Corentin Villemeur knows that ThisIs50 community members love to be recognized by their high-profile site’s namesake — so he makes sure to develop those relationships. Visit ThisIs50.
Manny Hernandez indulges as many ideas as his community has for new content ideas. Some succeed; some don’t — but everyone ends up happy. Visit TuDiabetes.
By placing member content front and center on your Ning Network, other members will be more likely to engage around it.
Here’s a secret that most successful Network Creators have learned: The easiest way to get a member to contribute content is make them a star of your Ning Network. It’s simple – just feature member videos, photos and blog posts on the Main Page, showing your members that you care about their opinions and efforts. Once a member has been featured, they’ll be excited, and you’ll be guaranteed to see more content from them. Other members will want to become stars and will begin contributing content.
Featured content will also create interactions between your members. By placing member content front and center on your Ning Network, other members will be more likely to engage around it, forming new relationships with the content creators.
Do this
- Highlight top members: WEGO Health chooses one member to prominently feature at the top of their middle column. This featured member not only gets their picture displayed, but also is featured in a spotlighted interview. Placing the Members module on the top of your Ning Network helps drive activity to the Members page, where people can see all current members and seek out their friends.
- Use your leaderboards: Make your members the stars by recognizing the top contributors who show up at the top of your Leaderboards. Give them an incentive to contribute so they end up on this list.
- Participate in the conversation: The simplest way to make members feel like stars is to comment on their videos, photos, blog posts and discussions. Be an active participant in the conversations happening on your Ning Network, like the community manager for Friends Or Enemies does. It will encourage members to contribute more, and it will help you create stronger ties with your members.
- Highlight member search: Jump-start member interaction by helping your members find other members near them or with similar interests. GovLoop puts a “Search Members” graphic in the center of their Main Page.
Don’t do this
- Display too much static content: Featuring your members’ content is important, but if it isn’t recent content, your Ning Network will look stale. Remember to refresh your featured content so there’s always something new to check out.
- Forget to moderate: Engaging your members is important, but you’ll always need good moderation. By promoting your most engaged members to be moderators or administrators, you give them another reason to keep coming back.
Need some ideas for how to spotlight and reward members? Check out these case studies for ideas about how to spotlight your members.
With over 3,000 members — and more stepping up every day — Tribal Running is one of the largest online communities for “those addicted to running.” Alex Hart set up the network to “help the everyday runner achieve their goals by providing a source of motivation to get up, lace up their shoes, and get out for a run.” To help motivate their members to devote more time to running and share their stories with other runners, Tribal Running makes the members the primary focus of their Main Page. The first thing you see when you visit the network is a “Top Members This Month” leaderboard on the left and the “Newest Members of the Tribe” in the center. The Activity Feed of member comment and activity is also prominently placed near the top of the page. One of the most innovative features of Tribalrunning.net is the status update box on their main page, which calls out for an energetic response: “What’s Happening and Did You Run Today?” This feature not only makes it incredibly easy for members to contribute, but it also clearly shows new visitors what Tribal Running is all about.
WEGO Health is a meeting place for health activists, thought leaders, and connectors who follow — and spread — the news, opinions, and ideas that shape the world of healthcare. Their desire to link people together demands a sincere focus on all the people who donate their time to make WEGO Health a success. To that end, they’ve created a way to spotlight members of the site in a big, friendly feature box at the top of many of their pages. Click through and you’ll find out more about this special member. You might even find an interview that goes in-depth to highlight a member’s expertise or ideas. It’s a winning way to exhibit a true dedication to the members of a Ning Network and build member engagement.
It seems like almost everything Martha Stewart has a hand in leads to success, and Dreamers into Doers is no exception. It’s a Ning Network designed to honor women who have turned their passion into a successful business or philanthropic venture. Each week, a new “Doer of the Week” get some well-won recognition, lots of praise from the community, and the opportunity to showcase their project to the world. This kind of member-driven contest results in an amazing amount of member engagement. It’s a great model to learn from and follow.
Bikers Post Youth Service America taps the bottomless potential of young people and asks them to do something good for the world by doing good for their own community. They’ve enlisted Miley Cyrus to lead the charge with Get Ur Good On, and they’re funding grants for youth-led projects. All they need now are some smart and savvy teenagers to submit ideas about how to do good — and they’re getting them. By pooling together the resources of nonprofits and influential people, they’re doing some real good in the world, while also creating a place for everyone to get involved.
The Pinup Lifestyle celebrates all things kitschy and nostalgic about a certain type of style exemplified by the pin-up calendar aesthetics of the bygone 50’s. If you’ve ever looked longingly at a Betty Page hairdo or dreamed of owning a classic car with big fins, you’ll find plenty of friends here. This culture of style leads to a real culture of friends, too. Their site has an amazing level of engagement, with their members sharing snippets of found coolness, make-up tips, and photographic ideas, to name just a few. They have contests, classifieds, and even information about casting calls. They’ve managed to go very broad with a seemingly narrow idea.
