Building an Online Community Using Video

The top question on any community manager’s mind is “how do I engage my community members?” A community that is strong and thriving depends on constant engagement and learning. The members must feel close to one another and tied in as part of a well-knit group. It’s the community manager’s job to foster that engagement—not an easy task. ### Why video Using video in your community can make that job a little less daunting. Your community members are your most active and engaged customers. Video allows them to connect with one another on a personal and relatable level, quickly and easily. You can use a video project as a way to bring those crucial folks together and develop relationships that will last for years. According to HubSpot, 80% of users remember a video they’ve seen in the last 30 days—your community is a great place to start including videos and keeping folks engaged with your site. ### No need for a fancy camera Creating a video doesn’t have to be a huge hurdle that requires thousands of dollars of equipment. The camera you need to make great community videos is right in your pocket. You can use your smartphone to create videos that will engage your community members, and inspire them to start making videos on their own. You can even use your MacBook (or PC!) camera to record short responses to community members, and encourage them to respond back on video. That face-to-face interaction makes it easy for your members to relate to one another, creating a community that grows stronger by the day. ### The benefits of video analytics Community videos can be low-risk, as they are relatively easy to produce, and the analytics that come with them are helpful metrics for community managers. Having videos in your community will allow you to see how relevant and valuable a subject is to your members, how much they care about personalized responses and introductions, and how to improve your videos as you go on. Those analytics can also be brought back to the larger team and used to advocate for your community’s growth.

A free e-book!

So, where do you get started? We’ve partnered with Vanilla Forums on an e-book that will get you started on your first community video! Whether it be a how-to, introduction, or support video—you’ll learn more about using this powerful tool successfully in your community.

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