The only people in the community are those who believe they are part of it, not those who finished filling out a registration form in 30 seconds
Everyone talks about communities and 'I belong means I exist' but what does it really mean to belong to any community? And what does 'strong community' mean? A community with advanced technological tools and using smart platforms? If you look at it, not one of the technologies developed recently has increased our ability to build communities. These did make it easier to build communities, but it didn't make us better at building communities. What's more, for the most part those technological tools are an expensive distraction and generally reduce our chances of success. For example, there are organizations that have invested in digital platforms with the aim of reviving a fading community. It's a lot of money to spend but there is a much better way to make your community more successful. It does not require extensive use of technology or spammy marketing but the creation of A sense of community.
In this short article, I will describe why a sense of community is the missing piece of the community puzzle, and about the power of a strong community.
When people are truly members of a community, they feel a strong psychological connection to the group. They sacrifice part of their identity to accept, adopt, and then protect the group identity. A sense of community has been shown to significantly increase group member activity, increase customer/member loyalty and buying/sharing behavior, including higher levels of brand/unifying factor sharing. The conclusion is clear - in order to succeed as a community we absolutely must develop a sense of community among the members.
The problem right now is that many of the community managers completely ignore this. They do not try to create a strong sense of community among their friends because they do not yet understand the basic principle. They jump from one idea to the next hoping that each new idea will excite them with the feeling that here they are already the community they have longed for.
In my eyes, a sense of community consists of these elements: caring, participation, generosity, recognition, trust and security
It's time to change and make an impact. If we already want to be much better at building communities, let's start by understanding the core principles of cultivating a sense of community.
Here are the five elements for a winning community, four of which were highlighted in a well-respected article published by me David McMillan and David Chavez in 1986. that's them:
- membership
- effect
- Integration and fulfillment of needs
- shared emotional ties
- *Inter-community ownership
Membership companies
Membership in any community is first and foremost the individual's feeling that he has the right to belong to the community, and he can identify other members who also have the right to belong to the community. The sense of belonging includes four components:
- Limits
- emotional safety
- personal investment
- accepted symbolic system
You are of course welcome to add (or implement) any of these in your community.
Action points:
- Raise the bar for accepting a new member to the community.
- Encourage additional personal investments of time, energy, emotions and resources.
- Present an initiation ceremony for the new entrants.
- Show common icons for community content (and name)
effect
People only participate in a community if they are Feel that they can influence the community. Pay attention to the meaning of the word 'feel' in the sentence I said. Not everyone will be able to influence the community, but everyone should feel that they can influence the community. A big mistake of branded communities is that they don't offer members the possibility to influence. We have to provide the 'feeling' and to create that feeling we need to do two things.
- First, we need to create plenty of opportunities for members to make an impact.
- Second, we need to increase the influence that members have.
Integration and fulfillment of needs
The needs of the community and the individual should match each other in a way that benefits both. Too many communities focus on sharing content intensely. It attracts many people to read, but not to participate. It does not satisfy our needs to be part of a group with a strong identity. We want to join groups that make us better than who we are today. We want to be in touch with the best, brightest, smartest, and most respected people in our field. We want to feel that they have the same shared values as us.
shared emotional ties
The communities with the strongest sense of community oscillate at the same emotional frequency. They are happy, sad and angry about the same things at the same time. Developing this shared emotional bond is difficult. A shared emotional connection is made up of several factors. These include ongoing contact, good quality of interactions, shared experiences, shared history, and emotional openness.
Ensure regular contact
The more people interact, the more they will like each other. It is based on The exposure effect purely. The more we are exposed to something, the more we like it. In the connection hypothesis, the more we come into contact with other people, the more likely we are to like them. Your friends should communicate regularly with each other. Don't wait for these interactions, do them Interactively initiated actions.
Initiate weekly online discussions around different topics, interview VIPs in your field, organize online or offline challenges or quizzes. Make sure your friends interact with each other as often as possible.
In conclusion, developing a strong sense of community is the most effective thing any community manager can do to increase the level of growth, activity and value across the community over time. Developing a sense of community will give you a community that lasts for years, maybe decades, instead of a month. Developing a sense of community is something each of us is capable of doing among any group of people. Once you know and understand the above elements, it's easy to use them to build any number of successful communities.
Intercommunal networking
An intercommunal relationship is a relationship that exists between two or more communities. For example, one of the main purposes of government is to ensure that government is close to community members and to provide a forum where local people can protect themselves and also develop their local communities.
a question: Is there an initiative in Israel to encourage the relationship between the government and the heads of the various communities? Share in the comments.
Today, we are talking about intercommunal relations. It can be defined as the interactions that exist within and between communities. This comes in the forms of deals, various collaborations such as sharing of materials, connections and more. Communities at the local and international level are related to each other at the economic, political and socio-cultural level. No community can exist and survive in isolation. Each community has a field of specialization unique to it. Therefore, it specializes in a certain field and depends on other neighboring communities for things it cannot or does not understand. An effective intercommunal relationship promotes peace and eliminates hostility. Inter-community partnerships encourage specialization and stimulate development.
"The intercultural approach assumes that in order to achieve a balance between the respect and recognition of diversity and the strengthening of the common foundations that guarantee cohesion, it is necessary to pay attention to the relationships created between the members of the communities." This is what Carolina Estudio Bilas, the intercultural coordinator of the Barcelona municipality, writes in an article describing the municipality's efforts there to deal with the growing diversity among the city's residents.
a question: What relations exist between the members of the different communities in the city where you live?
From a city's point of view, encouraging feelings of belonging to the city and creating common foundations for residents are pillars on which a common foundation must be built, which is a fundamental principle for real intercultural coexistence. The sense of belonging is the main resource of the cities in front of the national identity, and therefore it is one of the main elements of social cohesion. Also the respect for the neighborhood itself, the pride in belonging to a certain district, the common struggle to improve the living conditions, are the basis for residency that will allow to set common goals in a deeply diverse society. Read more here In an article on community relations in the city of Haifa.
I am inviting community managers to write a digital compilation book (just like that) together, each and every one is invited to add a chapter on his/her community and on any other topic such as: communities on innovation issues, social communities, human resources communities, community management tools, communities in Israel , Midburn community... any other suggestions?
