For Interactive Marketing Professionals (Length: 12 pages)

February 28, 2008

Online Communities: Build Or Join?

Objectives Should Drive Community Strategy And Technology Decisions

This is the second document in the "Online Community" series.

by Jeremiah K. Owyang

with Charlene Li, Christine Spivey Overby, Scott Wright


Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Consumers' rapid adoption of online communities — such as social networks and online forums — attracts a range of marketers. But to do communities right, you need to weigh the options: 1) join existing communities; 2) create your own branded network; or 3) deploy a combination of both. Sadly, many marketers make wrong choices that result in empty communities or, worse yet, brand backlash. In order to make the best decision about building or joining online communities, you need to involve customers in defining, planning, and implementing your online community strategy.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTES & RESOURCES

itemOnline Communities Are Attractive To Marketers — For Good Reason

itemThe Best Community Strategy Starts With The Customer

itemObjectives Help Refine The Community Strategy

itemBuild Versus Join: Objectives Should Drive The Decision

itemBuild A Community When You Want To Listen, Support, And Embrace

itemJoin An Existing Community When You Want To Listen, Talk, And Energize

itemWhen To Build And Join

recommendations

itemTo Accommodate New Strategies, Create New Processes And Roles

itemSupplemental Material

Forrester interviewed seven vendor and user companies, including AirTran Airways, Forum One, Intuit, Leverage Software, Microsoft, MySpace.com, and Satmetrix.

Related Research Documents

itemOnline Community Best Practices

February 13, 2008

itemMarketing On Social Networking Sites

July 5, 2007

itemHow Consumers Use Social Networks

June 21, 2007

Find Documents In Related Categories

This document falls under the following categories. Click on a link below to find similar documents.

Technology: Customer Experience, Interactive Marketing, Marketing & Advertising, Social Computing & Web 2.0
Geography: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America

Archived Teleconference:
Social Media Playtime Is Over: How Brands Must Focus In A Recession
Original air date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Also in this series:
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