{"id":284,"date":"2011-09-12T20:26:05","date_gmt":"2011-09-12T20:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/help-o.ning.com\/?page_id=284"},"modified":"2019-08-26T13:26:24","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T13:26:24","slug":"work-portfolio-gallery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices for Member Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"best practices logo\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530687?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 1\" width=\"100\" \/> Member engagement is more than just social networking buzzwords. It&#8217;s the difference between a successful Ning Network and a stale Web site. Once you&#8217;ve maximized your member engagement, it creates a feedback loop: Your members post content, contribute to discussions and invite their friends. Their friends, in turn, do the same thing. It leads to more members on your Ning Network (and less work for you).<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re just getting started or your Ning Network is already up and running, everyone can use a healthy dose of new ideas. We\u2019ve put together these Member Engagement Strategies with examples of how other Ning Networks get people excited and involved.<\/p>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/whats-my-hook\/\">What&#8217;s My Hook?<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530650?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 2\" width=\"65\" \/>What&#8217;s the single most important thing you can do when launching your Ning Network? It isn&#8217;t adding snazzy CSS, tricking out your home page or inviting your entire address book. Before you ever do any of that, you need to define the hook for your Ning Network: Why will people join, contribute content and interact with other members? <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/whats-my-hook\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/keep-it-simple\/\">Keep It Simple<\/a><br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530752?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 3\" width=\"75\" \/>Your Ning Network offers dozens of features, hundreds of third-party applications and limitless ways to customize it. Your first impulse might be, &#8220;I should add all of these!&#8221; If you can, resist that urge. Make the experience easy for your members by keeping it simple. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/keep-it-simple\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/make-your-main-page-work\/\">Make Your Main Page Work<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530722?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 4\" width=\"65\" \/>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? <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/make-your-main-page-work\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/create-a-launch-plan\/\">Create a Launch Plan<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530725?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 5\" width=\"100\" \/>Building a vibrant social network doesn\u2019t need to be an all-consuming quest, but it does require persistent attention and nurturing over time. Creating a launch plan can help break the effort into a series of small steps while keeping you on track to building a thriving community. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/create-a-launch-plan\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/acquire-your-first-members\/\">Acquire Your First Members<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50531985?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 6\" width=\"75\" \/>You&#8217;ve picked out your features, added snazzy CSS, created an awesome welcome message&#8230; and then you realize you have no members. As much as we wish it were true, &#8220;if you build it they will come&#8221; doesn&#8217;t always apply to getting your Ning Network off the ground. Read on to learn a few simple steps to recruit your initial set of members. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/acquire-your-first-members\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/make-new-members-feel-welcome\/\">Make New Members Feel Welcome<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50531591?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 7\" width=\"100\" \/>Have you ever walked into a party and not known anyone, or started a new job and didn&#8217;t know what to do on your first day? What was your first instinct? To leave quickly and quietly? Some of your new members may feel the same way. Luckily, it only takes a few steps to turn new members from wallflowers into the life of the party. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/make-new-members-feel-welcome\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/kick-start-activity-2\/\">Kick Start Activity<\/a><\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50531997?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 8\" width=\"75\" \/>Is it so quiet on your network that you can hear the crickets chirping? You launched your new network, attracted dozens or even hundreds of members \u2014 yet no one is participating? Why? Even older networks can encounter this problem after the initial excitement of participating in a new community fades. Don\u2019t panic! A few simple steps can re-ignite activity on your network. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/kick-start-activity-2\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/accelerate-member-growth\/\">Accelerate Member Growth<\/a><\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50531597?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 9\" width=\"75\" \/>Congratulations! You\u2019ve built a vibrant online community around a core group of like-minded people, avid fans or passionate customers. You\u2019re getting great feedback from members, so you know you\u2019re on to something. But what\u2019s the best way to attract more members? How can you make your idea really big? <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/accelerate-member-growth\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/make-your-members-stars\/\">Make Your Members Stars<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50531668?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 10\" width=\"75\" \/>Here&#8217;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&#8217;s simple &#8211; just feature member videos, photos and blog posts on the Main Page, showing your members that you care about their opinions and efforts. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/make-your-members-stars\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/recruit-admins-to-help-moderate\/\">Recruit Admins to Help Moderate<\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50531709?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 11\" width=\"75\" \/>As your Ning Network grows, the demands of moderating it can become too much for one person alone. You have two main choices: You can appoint Administrators, which have almost all of the rights that you as a Network Creator have, or choose to assign specific Roles of moderation to your members. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/recruit-admins-to-help-moderate\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col col_1_2 \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h2 class=\"title_dark_blue\"><a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/how-should-you-earn-money\/\">How Should You Earn Money? <\/a> <\/h2>\n<p><img class=\"alignleft\" title=\"hook\" src=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50532074?profile=original\" alt=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement 12\" width=\"100\" \/>At some point, most Ning Creators will ask themselves a big question: Can I make money? Every network is unique, so there isn\u2019t a simple answer. However, based on your answers to a few questions, we can help point you in the right direction. <a href=\"\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/how-should-you-earn-money\/\">Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"divider_thin\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Member engagement is more than just social networking buzzwords. It&#8217;s the difference between a successful Ning Network and a stale Web site. Once you&#8217;ve maximized your member engagement, it creates a feedback loop: Your members post content, contribute to discussions and invite their friends. Their friends, in turn, do the same thing. It leads to more members on your Ning Network (and less work for you).<br \/>\nWhether you\u2019re just getting started or your Ning Network is already up and running, everyone can use a healthy dose of new ideas. We\u2019ve put together these Member Engagement Strategies with examples of how other Ning Networks get people excited and involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v16.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Best Practices for Member Engagement | Ning Help Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement | Ning Help Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement | Ning Help Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Best Practices for Member Engagement | Ning Help Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ning Help Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-08-26T13:26:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530687?profile=original\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Ning\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/\",\"name\":\"Ning Help Center\",\"description\":\"The place to look for help with the details of your Ning Network.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530687?profile=original\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/storage.ning.com\/topology\/rest\/1.0\/file\/get\/50530687?profile=original\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/\",\"name\":\"Best Practices for Member Engagement | Ning Help Center\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-12T20:26:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-26T13:26:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Best Practices for Member Engagement | Ning Help Center\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/work-portfolio-gallery\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Best Practices for Member Engagement\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":53,"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10895,"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/284\/revisions\/10895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ning.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}