Higher Logic recommends that all Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla) communities:
- define the purpose of their community by using the SPAN concept and
- identify and put in place a C.A.R.G.O. plan.
These two strategies are described below and we recommend that your implement them in order to ensure a successful community.
SPAN
SPAN helps community administrators and planners define the main purpose of the community which can be beneficial in designing it and setting it up.
Support: The community is where members can ask for support, offer help to others, and where the company can step-in and provide official support.
Product: The community is based around the product, giving ideas, sharing feedback, and espousing the virtues and uses of the product.
Ambassador: The community has a focus on a small subset of users who are highly valuable, influential, or active.
Network: A community based on people linked because of work, cause, mission, passion or circumstance.
C.A.R.G.O.
C.A.R.G.O. is a five-step framework that will help you to further develop the specifics of your community, thereby ensuring long-term success.
📝 NOTE: C.A.R.G.O.'s components are Concept, Acquisition, Retention, Goals, and Outcomes.
Related materials
Here are two blog posts that provide more information about C.A.R.G.O. and community planning.
Concept
The concept is the foundation of the community: the who and the what.
- Who are the members of the community?
- Why do they visit the community?
- Which internal teams will own and operate the community?
- What does the community allow members to do?
Acquisition
Acquisition focuses on the new-user journey and ensures that the first steps lay the foundation to long-term engagement. Here you tap into why people should care and why they'll participate in your community.
- How does your target audience become members of the community?
- What is the first thing users should do in the community?
- Who manages the community day-to-day?
- How are new members of the community greeted?
Retention
This focuses on how the community will retain its members and keep them engaged.
- How often does a community member visit?
- What keeps them coming back time and time again?
- How long does a member stay active in the community? E.g., Lifecycle, membership, etc.
- What sort of content will be posted in the community? How will categories be structured to accommodate and encourage desired content?
- Who will be your biggest contributors and how will they be incentivized to keep contributing?
Some ideas on how to build a retention plan:
- Ask key members to help with a question they have knowledge to answer
- Create a weekly or monthly newsletter with key content
- Produce video content and solicit feedback within the community
- AMA with senior individuals in your company
- AMA with experts in the field
- Offer some form of intrinsic rewards where more contributions lead to more access to content/staff
Goals
Define the principle goals of your community.
- What do the various internal stakeholders care most about?
- What do the community users care most about?
- Which metrics should be tracked and reported to key stakeholders?
Outcomes
Finally, lay out the desired outcomes.
- What outcome defines a successful community for your team and purposes?
- What milestone would you like to hit after 3 months?
- What milestone would you like to hit after 6 months?
- What milestone would you like to hit after 1 year?
Additional resources