For a bit of context, I’m working with a medium-sized (500-2500 member) private community. We hold events, forum-style discussions, and share resources with our members, and we’re trying to level up our communications strategy.
What have you found to be the most effective way to get content updates or event announcements out to your members? Newsletters? Community posts? Event campaigns? Something else?
I’d definitely do a multi-pronged approach. Leverage the forum (announcements, replying to people inviting them to the event and newsletters.
Are you looking to build an event or is this more general?
We do a lot of work at ground level in the community, using announcements and forum posts. We also use our newsletter to get word out. We also have a dedicated block on the page informing of upcoming events.
This is what I was leaning toward to be honest @MattM. We have quite a number of events throughout the year (digital, hybrid, and in-person only), and I’m mostly trying to get a sense for how other communities approach it.
Multi-pronged is the way to go because some of your users will be highly active, but others will vary wildly in how active they are.
In my last forum we had a monthly email newsletter with selected threads from the last month, upcoming events and other news. We kept on with it because it generated a measureable bump in traffic from people who it reminded that the forum existed. Also as it was a support forum for a disease who’s audience tended to be older and less tech savvy, email was a good way to reach them. YMMV depending on your audience.
+1 to @MattM and @Mark_Wilkin
For events I often do a dedicated email, I find they bring best RSVP results.
A weekly newsletter has always been my thing, monthly works too…it depends on needs/etc.
I like to do round ups that pull things together, for me it’s been partly stuff within the community, but also stuff outside but related to it.
If I feel like there isn’t enough substance in the content that is out there in the past week/month, then it’s an indicator that something should be done to improve it. Sometimes I just accept it and move on, other times I create discussions deliberately in a way to spice/engage/pull people in.
We have a readonly #announcements channel in Slack which we only post to when we have something to say, and the community team also contributes to the monthly product email
A mix, and with enough repetition and variety to get noticed. We do monthly events newsletter, semi monthly community digest, posts, etc. Also aim for the channels where our audience is.
Thanks everyone! What I’m hearing is an affirmation of what I was already thinking and leaning toward. Lots to digest and improve upon for our community!