How to build a high-quality community? 5 elements!

After the activities end, many communities become advertising groups or dead groups. We must get rid of a misunderstanding: " WeChat group " is not equal to "community". What is a true “community”? How to build a high-quality community? See below.

The word "community" is not new to the Internet . Since the early BBS era, there have been various communities and forums active on the Internet, and online literature was created in this era; then in the Web2.0 era, the rise of social networks such as Facebook and Weibo narrowed the distance between fans and celebrities and created a group of celebrities; with the popularization of mobile Internet and WeChat , as WeChat said:

“Everyone is a brand .”

A number of self-media have emerged, and people have formed fan groups around WeChat public accounts . In the past one or two years, community operation methods represented by "WeChat groups" have become popular. Why is this?

The reasons are threefold:

1. The traffic dividend of WeChat public accounts has decreased, and the overall reading volume of public accounts has been declining. The simple " content operation " method can no longer meet the needs of operation ;
2. WeChat public account information push is a one-way communication, lacking interaction between fans;
3. The information push effect in WeChat groups is more direct than that in public accounts, and it is easier to trigger discussions and spread.

Currently, groups are mainly created through activities or courses, but after the activities are over, each group becomes an advertising group or a dead group. We need to get rid of a misunderstanding: "WeChat group" is not equal to "community": "WeChat group" is just a tool for gathering community members to operate , as are QQ groups, Tieba and other tools . But what is a real "community"?

1. Seven Characteristics of Communities

Based on the findings from lurking in different communities, a good community should have the following seven common characteristics: common values, common goals, behavioral norms, organizational structure, internal links, role model power, and stable output. Otherwise, it is just a group and cannot be called a community:

1. Common values: "Birds of a feather flock together." Usually this group of people will have a common value label, for example, Luoji Siwei 's "love of wisdom and pursuit of truth." Shared views may seem abstract, but they can guide and unify the consciousness of community members like a constitution, forming some concrete content, which we call subculture, such as the community’s logo, music, slogans, slang and gestures.
2. Common goals: The community has several common goals, including general goals and small goals. Community members help and collaborate with each other to achieve common goals. For example, in the "Graduate Entrance Examination Review Group", it is the common goal of community members to ensure that every group member passes the exam smoothly. The common goal must be in line with the wishes of the majority of community members. Under this big goal, there are many small goals, such as completing the study of specific content every month.
3. Code of Conduct: It can clearly tell community members: "What needs to be done to achieve common goals." For example, the "Stay Out" community requires community members to write an article every 7 days in order to achieve the common goal of going to Antarctica in seven years. They improve themselves through "output" and "input". Community members check each other's homework every week. The simpler the behavioral norms, the better the effect. If there are too many requirements and they are too difficult, it will directly affect the enthusiasm of community members and may cause them to give up. In the process of community operation, "process is more important than results, encouragement is more important than criticism" must be the focus, so that every participant feels that they have gained something and have the confidence to persevere.
4. Organizational structure: A community will have different levels, including the initiators or managers of the community, enthusiastic contributors, and ordinary participants. Some communities have clear organizations and more detailed levels, such as the "Stay-Out" community, which has practitioners, group leaders, monthly students, class leaders, and above the group there is the principal, etc. Different levels have different responsibilities and powers, and they need to constantly guide people at the bottom of the community to move to the next level, forming a positive internal cycle. This drive can allow the community to continue to operate and achieve replicability.
5. Internal links: Everyone in the community has an equal voice. Through continuous interaction and collaboration within the community, community members can get to know each other, trust each other, and develop emotional links. Through multiple forms of internal links, the entire community can eventually reach a stable state.
6. The power of role models: Every community needs a number of role models, which we sometimes call KOLs (opinion leaders) or key figures. The soul of the "Luoji Siwei" community is Luo Zhenyu , who leads the output of the community's ideas and values. However, a decentralized community like "007 Will Not Be Out" relies on countless ordinary people as role models, and conveys values ​​and ideas through ordinary people. Such role models will be more convincing than those of big names. The greater the influence of the role model, the greater the appeal of the community.
7. Stable output: The community must have continuous and stable output. The output can be in the form of products, audio programs, articles, and brand activities . Stable output is the foundation of the community's existence. At the same time, through stable output, people outside the community can learn about the community and encourage more people to integrate into the community. During the production process, it is necessary to encourage the joint participation of community members, transforming the output of one person into the output of a group, and gradually transforming from PGC into UGC , and enabling participating community members to experience the improvement of their own value.

How do we build a high-quality community? Next, I will introduce the ISOOC framework.

2. Five Elements of Community ISOOC

A good community should include five elements: like-minded people, structure, output, operation, and replication. These five elements can guide us on how to build a community.

1. Interest

The so-called like-minded people refer to the common recognition or behavior of something:

• Can be based on a certain product, such as Apple mobile phone, Hammer mobile phone , Xiaomi mobile phone
• It can be based on a certain behavior, such as a travel group for those who love traveling, or a book exchange group for those who love reading.
• Can be based on a certain label, such as constellation, fans of a certain star, PPTer
• It can be based on a certain space, such as a group of owners in a residential area.
• It can be based on some kind of emotion, such as hometown association, alumni group, class group
• It can be based on a certain set of three views, such as the logical thinking of "having guts, being interesting, and having something to say".

People in the community should be able to use this connection with like-minded people to solve one of their own pain points, such as finding great emotional comfort, great interactive joy, or great practical benefits. The community can only continue if one of the three is met.

In the process of community product positioning, the more precise the "like-minded" are, the better. If the scope is too large, it will easily lead to unclear positioning of the crowd. For example, when I was creating a cultural product for Shanghai teenagers, I initially started with "Shanghai culture" but found it difficult to attract seed users . After analyzing user pain points, I narrowed the scope to "Shanghai dialect". Because the entry point was small, it was built quickly.

2. Structure

Structure determines whether a community can survive, and includes four aspects: organizational members, communication platform, joining principles, and management norms.

• Organization members: The first group of members will have a huge impact on the future community;
• Communication platform: After finding people, there should be a gathering place as a communication base, such as a WeChat group or QQ group;
• Joining principles: Establish a certain screening mechanism as a threshold, firstly to ensure quality, and secondly to make new joiners feel that joining is not easy and cherish it;
• Management norms: Appoint administrators, continuously improve group rules, and unify the behavior of group members through management.

Taking the early Luoji Siwei as an example of a centralized community, the entire community was built with Luo Pang as the core. However, this also brought huge pressure to Luo Pang. In the process of operating "Get", he intentionally weakened the community centered on Luo Pang and invited more big names to participate and share. The 007 Will Not Be Exited community is a typical "decentralized" community. The threshold fee for joining the community is more than 300 yuan. The advantage of 300 yuan is that it ensures that members joining the group are people who are willing to change themselves and ensure the unity of values. In the structural design of the 007 group, there are 77 people in a class. The class monitor is an old member with outstanding performance in the past. There is also a monthly student to take charge of the class management every month. In addition, the group leader manages 8 group members. The monthly student and the group leader can serve as reserves for the new class monitor in the future.

It can be seen that "decentralization" is to decompose the original "one center" into countless small centers, and the pyramid-shaped hierarchical structure in the class group can effectively decompose the management costs. In addition, the ability to "reproduce and fission" must be designed for individual small communities.

3. Output

The community must have stable output. Only with output can the community values ​​be conveyed to more people. The output can be in the form of PGC or UGC. The quality of content output can be gradually improved through iteration, but stable output is a prerequisite.

Tuo Buhua said:

"Daily updates are more attractive than weekly updates, and weekly updates are more attractive than monthly updates. If a content entrepreneur cannot maintain a stable output, then don't start a business ."

This puts higher demands on the community initiators. If the community initiators themselves cannot do it, they will certainly not be recognized. Moreover, the output must also take into account the performance of all members. If only the initiator stands out, the fan economy route will still be followed.

In addition to online graphics, text, audio, and video, common output forms also include offline book clubs and sharing activities. The output platforms include WeChat, Weibo, Zhihu, Himalaya , Youku, iQiyi, etc., and the event publishing platform Huodongxing, etc. Usually, communities will associate different self-media for operation, which we call the "media matrix", but through operation, users will eventually be settled on Weibo, official accounts or WeChat groups.

4. Operate

Operation determines the lifespan of a community. Usually a WeChat group has a life cycle of 3 months. If it is not operated for more than three months, it will be difficult to operate. Through operation, we mainly establish the "four senses" for members:

• Sense of ceremony: You need to apply to join, accept the group rules (posting photos and reporting measurements, etc.), and there are rewards and punishments for behavior to ensure community norms.
• Sense of participation: Through organized discussions and sharing, we ensure that everyone in the group has something to say but is not too divergent, has something to do, and that group members gain something.
• Sense of organization: For example, establishing volunteers within the group, multi-level management, or division of labor, collaboration, and execution on a certain topic to ensure the combat effectiveness of the community.
• Sense of belonging: For example, ensuring community cohesion through online and offline mutual assistance and activities.

But operation is not such a simple thing. In addition to daily content output, stable daily activities are also required to touch upon the "four senses" mentioned above. For example, in the "No Out" community, the new group will have an opening ceremony to strengthen the sense of ceremony. In the process, there will be a "homework rain" once a week for everyone to comment on each other's articles and cultivate a sense of participation. The organizational concept is cultivated through the division of functions such as monitors and group leaders.

Community members who do not submit their homework will be kicked out of the community to ensure participation in the community. Therefore, as a community, we must not only have consensus but also a certain elimination mechanism to achieve the effect of self-purification.

5. Copy

Replication determines the scale of a community. If a community can replicate multiple parallel communities, it will form a huge scale. However, before actually doing this, please answer three questions:

1. Has the self-organization been established? We must consider whether we have sufficient human, material and financial resources. We cannot be too centered, nor can we be completely lacking in organization.
2. Has a core group been established? There must be a certain number of core partners who can serve as the seed users of the community and guide the community to develop in a positive direction.
3. Has a subculture been formed? To form a subculture of group communication, are the tone and expressions of everyone chatting consistent? These are the core of community vitality.

At present, communities like Fan Deng Reading Club are working together to expand the membership pie by combining headquarters and branches. Regional branches get a share of the pie by participating in local membership management. Since they can make a profit from it, the enthusiasm of the regional branch leaders is fully stimulated.

The future of business will inevitably be community-based. It will evolve from fan economy to community economy, from centralization to decentralization. How should “community + business” work? We'll have a chance to discuss this later.

This article was compiled and published by @PM Xiong Shu (Qinggua Media) when it is reprinted. Please indicate the author information and source!

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