How to run a high-quality community?

Unknowingly, many years have passed since I graduated. I left elementary school, junior high school, high school, and said goodbye to my last university. Now I can't find any trace of my studies in my life. All that is left is a head full of vague memories. I opened my mobile phone and searched for some clues. My eyes stopped at Class 14 of Senior 3. The group was quiet, like a once beautiful yard that had been unattended for a long time and became overgrown with weeds. There were some old advertisements and fragmented words that no one answered. The group was quiet, really quiet.

Why do we often encounter such things?

• Lack of topics: The original purpose of creating the group was to facilitate management, message notifications, and strengthen mutual connections. Now everyone has gone their separate ways, there are no necessary message notifications every day, the teacher no longer constrains us, classmates have each other's contact methods, work social circles, and values ​​have also changed. There is nothing worth reminiscing about except for distant memories.
• Lack of management: students go their own way, there are no more constraints, and teachers and class leaders no longer have the need to manage learning discipline.
• Unmanned operation : Everyone is busy with their own things, and few people have the energy to organize activities and strengthen mutual connections.

Without the frequent use we used to have in school, without everyone’s interactions and without common topics, the group has lost its meaning and value.

After work, for various reasons, we joined various groups, including company groups managed by the company, friendship groups with similar interests and hobbies, paid groups for career development and learning, etc. Some groups are still as active as before after several years, some groups are half-dead and struggling, and some groups have disappeared.

1. Well-run and active groups:

In the second half of 2016, I joined a community (I won’t give my name or promote it , to avoid being accused of advertising). It is a gathering place for design enthusiasts. It was founded by an industry leader and has grown to four groups with nearly 6,000 members. It is still very active today. Topics related to the design industry are discussed in the group every day. Advertisements and endless spam are prohibited. Violators will be killed without mercy. Two free classes are given to the public every week. All the little white people worship them. The administrators are a group of big men. The group occasionally organizes participation activities, and they follow each other, give guidance, etc. Why is this group still so vibrant after several years of baptism?

(1) Interest-based ties : having common hobbies, common topics, and similar interests.

(2) Composition structure : There is a group leader who is worshipped by everyone, a group of industry leaders who manage the group, and many newbies. The newbies worship the leaders and have their needs solved, while the leaders gain support and have their needs met.

(3) Management and operation : There is a screening mechanism for joining the group. Those who spam the group will be punished without mercy. Activities are organized from time to time to strengthen the connection between group members.

(4) Output : Organize activities and cooperate with relevant platforms, so that group members can gain exposure , receive knowledge from lectures given by experts, and receive consultation and answers on various aspects such as career development planning.

2. Dying Group

I joined a group in the first half of 2017. It was also created by employees of a first-tier Internet company. There are nearly a thousand people in the group. When I first joined the group, everyone had nothing to do to exchange industry knowledge, occasionally spam, and the big guys would also come to impart some knowledge. Later, the group gradually became more spam, and the big guys rarely showed up. The group was also going downhill, with people leaving and the activity level declining seriously. Let's analyze the reasons.

(1) Interest points : design enthusiasts and related practitioners

(2) Composition : A few people with longer experience working in first-tier Internet companies, and most of the industry's newcomers and less experienced practitioners. They communicate with each other, and occasionally there will be bigwigs to answer questions.

(3) Management and operation : There is no threshold to join the group, there is frequent communication, spamming is common, and big guys occasionally show up to promote their own articles and works

(4) Output : basically none

3. Forgot the name of the group

I once joined a group for playing basketball, organized a few games, and then nothing happened.

(1) Interest points : playing ball, making appointments for ball games.

(2) Composition structure : a group owner who is good at playing basketball, the initiator of the community, several managers with good relationships, and a group of enthusiasts.

(3) Management and operation: There is basically no one managing it.

(4) Output : Several games played.

What characteristics does a good community have and how should it be operated?

Five elements of a good community: like-mindedness, structural hierarchy, operational management, value output, and replication and diffusion.

1. Like-minded people

The community has common recognition of something or relatively consistent behaviors, which leads to consistent ideas and values.

• Everyone has a strong emotional dependence
• We are happy together
• Have realistic benefits and value: such as personal connections , channels, circles, growth space, mutual assistance, etc.

2. Structural hierarchy

The structural hierarchy of a community determines its survival.

(1) Composition members (personnel hierarchy)

It is found that the first group of members will have a huge impact on the subsequent members when calling on like-minded people to form a pyramid or ring structure. A good personnel composition structure is as follows:

• The core figure of the soul: worshiped by everyone, emotional support and bond
• Distribution of personnel at different levels: a small number of big guys, some middle-class backbones, and most ordinary rookies. Different levels, different visions, knowledge and energy, maintain the input and output of group energy, and internal exchange and transmission

(2) Communication platform

The base camp where community members gather, commonly used tools include WeChat , QQ, etc.

(3) Principles of accession

Things that are easy to get are often not cherished. If the cost is too low, or the threshold is too low, it is difficult to guarantee the quality. If a threshold is set, such as identity information verification, the channel for obtaining the group number, or invitations from group members, or payment (some paid groups, psychological calculation, will cherish it if the cost is paid), etc., different types of communities adopt different mechanisms.

(4) Management standards

The more people there are, the more management is needed. Administrators should be appointed, group rules should be improved, spamming should be prohibited and violators should be punished without mercy, private chats should be prohibited, and adding friends to establish long-term connections should be encouraged, weak connections should be turned into strong connections, and so on.

3. Operations Management

To maintain the activity of the group, a good development trend, and stronger connections between each other, the operation of the community should focus on the following points:

(1) Sense of ritual

You have to apply to join the group, there are rules for entry, and there are rewards and punishments for behavior. If you perform well and make contributions, you will be awarded titles and given some rights. If you perform poorly and make a negative impact, you will be banned from the community, etc.

(2) Sense of participation

Find topics, create focus, stimulate interactive participation, and build connections; share ideas and achievements, etc.; often share in the group, and everyone speaks out about their views on certain viewpoints, and organize activities, with everyone acting as the event controller, so that everyone has something to do and everything is rewarding, etc.

(3) Sense of organization

Organize an activity, divide the work and cooperate on something, hold a competition, divide into groups, divide members, and have everyone compete in an organized, large-scale, and orderly manner.

(4) Sense of belonging

Let group members feel emotional dependence, we organize and participate in online activities, plan and carry out offline activities , meetups, parties, etc. to strengthen consensus and everyone's emotional connection and dependence, so as to ensure community cohesion.

4. Value Output

Only when there is output can there be value and meaning, forming a good cycle. The output methods of the community are as follows:

• Image output : cultural identity, LOGO slogan, etc.
• We-media output : public accounts , Toutiao, Weibo, etc.
• Micro-class live broadcast output: The platform develops a collection of micro-classes from community members, opens a live broadcast channel, and group members take turns to host
• Community training and training camps: organize community members to receive training
• Community consultation: community members work together to develop a question-and-answer platform
• Community Spokesperson: Provide community endorsement services for corporate products or services

5. Replication and diffusion

The community is replicated and spread, and gradually grows. In fact, the larger the scale of the community, the greater the possibility of emotional division. With a large number of people, a small point may cause a vicious cycle of disagreement. In a small circle, there are few people and concentrated topics. There are three modes at the replication level:

(1) Club system

The community agrees on the start and end dates and service content at the beginning, and renews membership when the service expires; this model allows the community to extend into the future on a timeline, deepening the community

(2) Franchise system

Through popularity, we established branch offices in various cities across the country, with several persons in charge in each region; this model was extended in space.

(3) Flagship store system

Instead of expanding the number of staff, we pursue the upgrading of community services and the replication and iteration of consumer goods to ensure the continuous consumption power of group members.

Find the correct positioning of your own community and the original intention of establishing the group, organize and operate it scientifically. I believe that everyone will grow little by little and see the results they want. Failure requires summarizing experience and success requires working hard to move forward. See you next time.

Author: My name is Xiao Qiao , authorized to publish by Qinggua Media .

Source: Xiao Qiao