Increased revenue? Decreased costs? New products? New processes? Improved satisfaction? What’s important to your specific area of focus? What are you measured on? What is your organization measured on?
Of course, this is where your focus needs to be. This becomes the center theme in your version of the image above. (Idea: Print out the picture and write in your Creating Value statement in the center) So, how does having a clearly defined Community Intent help you create value?Your Community Intent – Building an online community
Have you looked at your existing Community or the one you are considering and asked the question, “What is the INTENT of this effort?” Chances are you have, maybe you haven’t. We have some ideas of how you might think about the WHY of your effort and will try to convince you that if you are not thinking about how it contributes to creating value for your organization, then, maybe you should be rethinking your efforts.
Often people are distracted by the bright shiny new feature on a social platform. They lose track of what outcomes a community needs to bring them and instead they are only thinking about the ‘new thing’ that caught their attention. Capturing attention is important. More important is making sure that everything you do in efforts to better communicate and collaborate are intentional and driven by an informed plan.
When you have a purpose and intent, you will be successful.
We think about Community Intent with something that’s easy to remember, called the Four I’s – Interaction – Information – Insight – Initiative.
These concepts are interrelated and each one contributes to creating value for your organization. In fact, they are in a circle on purpose. As each step leads to the other and continues as long as you have a Community.
Let’s assume your intent is to create value. How could a private online community help you reach that goal?
To begin, you must understand what value means to you and your organization: