More followers, more reach, more engagement – the list of KPIs for corporate social media communication looks something like this. Regardless of whether it’s about positioning people or about corporate content. What many people forget, however, is the “social” in social media – and thus also that “getting” should be preceded by “giving”.
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Unlike community management, which is primarily about managing your own community on your own social media page, community building focuses on content engagement and networking outside your existing community.
The researcher Vanessa van Edwards distinguishes between “adders” and “subtractors” when interacting with content. By this, she means that some users offer something positive through their behavior, while others contribute something negative.
While some interact positively with content from other users – for example, in the form of thanks, an appropriate anecdote or additional knowledge – others simply ignore the content or spread destructive comments.
There are advantages for the content creator to be one of the adders:
- Posts with more engagement get more organic reach. This means that this content is more easily distributed / more frequently displayed.
- When someone interacts with a post, it is also shown to that person’s network. So the person posting automatically gets access to the network of the person interacting.
- Users who have already interacted with the post will in most cases receive a notification about the new comment and therefore often come back to respond – which in turn means more engagement and more reach.
- When knowledge or a learning is shared, the poster can learn from it as well as their network.
- Potential collaborators of the poster see that there is a vibrant community there that shares constructively, and might therefore decide to invest. The same applies to potential customers.
Advantages for your own reach
So obviously, it’s both more personable and beneficial to the content creator if adders take the time to contribute.
In fact – ideally – it even creates a win-win situation for both sides. It also has many advantages for the adder’s own content and presence:
- Anyone who is visible under popular or even professional posts with a positive contribution attracts the attention of the publisher(s). This means that this person will probably look at the profile of the commenter and, if necessary, familiarize himself/herself more closely with the content there. He/she is also likely to be more open to a contact request.
- Additionally, that person’s community registers the helpful comment. She/he may also become curious about the profile and may want to network.
- The likelihood of someone following/networking increases – and so does the likelihood of similar interaction with one’s content in the future.
- Those who use hashtags in his/her comments are joining a larger discussion within the context of that third-party post.
- Basically, adder behavior on the social network creates a culture and atmosphere of constructive, professional interaction. If enough people take it to heart, it can have a positive effect on the atmosphere of the entire network.
Regular community building recommended
Community building is a way to increase your own reach by first giving someone else a higher reach.
While this type of interaction doesn’t cost a budget to begin with, it is still resource intensive. It takes as little as 30 minutes per day and per channel to find good posts for interaction that goes beyond “congratulations.” On top of that, the post also needs to be aptly worded.
In fact, however, it is part of professional social media communication – just like good community management.
By the way, this kind of community building also works with brands as senders – but then it requires even more tact and a clear, non-promotional adder mindset if it is to work.
Anyone who acts inappropriately, promotional or pushy here under the corporate flag can cause reputational damage. But if you think it through well (and if in doubt, prefer to act less, but in a targeted manner) and offer real added value, you can also achieve the effects described at a corporate level.
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