8 Ways to Unify Your Blog Community

January 7th, 2009 by Easton Ellsworth

Yesterday I answered the question, “Where is your blog community?”

It’s in the mind.

But minds scatter online attention across vast fields of URLs.

Which is why, for example, it’s not uncommon for your Twitter account to sparkle while your blog gathers dust or vice versa.

It’s not enough to just get more “friends” or “followers” or commenters in a dozen different places.

You’ve gotta unify the fragments and make each community member aware of each of them. You’ve gotta bring together the logs so your bonfire can be much bigger and brighter and hotter than any smaller fire could be.

With that in mind, here are 8 ways to unify your blog community so that your blog and social media profiles work together (not just apart) for your business.

For further reading, please see my free guide on How to Improve Your Blog Community.

Let us count the ways:

1. Monitor the Web
2. Cross-Fire
3. Cut Social Dross
4. Touch People More
5. Make People Touch Each Other
6. Create Adorable-Anywhere Objects
7. Invite People to Church
8. Reward Unifying Deeds

1. Monitor the Web

The more you know (and the faster you find out) about what people are saying that could relate to your blog community, the easier it is to respond in ways that make your community grow.

Set up search feeds or email alerts that tell you when social media users and bloggers alike are talking about you, your blog or your niche.

For example, for Visionary Blogging, I subscribe to feeds available at search results pages for the following queries:

• http://search.twitter.com/ – “visionary blogging” OR visionaryblogging
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “easton ellsworth”
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “blog consulting” OR “blog consultant” OR “blog consultants”
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “blog improvement” OR “improve your blog”
• http://search.twitter.com/ – “blogging tips” OR “blog tips” OR “blogging advice” OR “blog advice”
• http://blogsearch.google.com/ – all of the above queries (sort by date at top right, then subscribe via link at lower left)
• http://blogsearch.google.com/ – link:visionaryblogging.com (sort by date at top right, then subscribe via link at lower left)

2. Cross-Fire

The more you fire links between the different websites you use, the easier it is for people to follow you, befriend you and identify with your community. So, you could:

• Link to your blog posts sometimes in your Twitter/Digg/YouTube/etc. (social media) updates.
• Link to your social media accounts in some of your blog posts.
• Link to your social media accounts in your post footer.
• Link to your social media accounts in your blog’s header, navigation bar (the menu you may have across the top) or sidebar.
• Link each social media account to all the others. (e.g. my activity feed on BlogCatalog)
• Link to your blog and your social media profiles in your email and forum signatures.

Don’t go haywire, of course. Less is often more. A little goes a long way, but a lot may not go much farther – if fact, a lot may even set you back. So maybe just link to 2-3 of your most active or relevant social media accounts in each case.

3. Cut Social Dross

Repeat after me: It’s okay to abandon social media accounts.

When is it okay to leave your StumbleUpon or Mixx or whatever account gathering dust?

Answer: When actively updating that account means failing to update your blog or another social media account that would be more likely to strengthen your community.

I have a Digg account, but I don’t use it much. That might change in the future, so I’m not about to delete the account forever. But I let it sit there because I’ve found that Digg isn’t a very effective place for me to market my blog consulting services compared to, say, Twitter.

The corollary to this, however, is also critical: It’s NOT okay to starve social media accounts (or your blog, for that matter) when doing so means letting fertile soil sit there without planting seeds in it.

4. Touch People More

No, I’m not talking about making them reach for the hanky as you tell that story about Great Aunt Bertha’s bunions. (Ever wonder why they’re actually crying?)

I’m talking about increasing the number of touch points that you have with people.

A touch point is a place where you can reach out and touch someone. Anything with a comment box, an email form or a chat window.

So when someone leaves a comment at your blog, visit their URL if they leave one. And maybe:

• Leave a comment at their blog.
• Say hi via their contact form.
• Search for them on every social media and social networking website you use and add them to your friend lists.
• Start a meaningful conversation with them through each of those touch points.

So touch people more, and touch more people.

5. Make People Touch Each Other

This is a natural extension of point #4. Suppose Mickey links to your blog post from his blog, and suppose Goofy does, too. But suppose they don’t link to each other’s posts.

Here’s your chance to make a great little love triangle – er, touch triangle – between you and Mickey and Goofy.

It’s pretty easy. Just ask Mickey what he thinks of Goofy’s ideas and ask Goofy what he thinks of Mickey’s. And maybe go the extra mile by finding their contact information and introducing them to each other.

Another easy way to do this is on Twitter. You can @ two or more people at once and ask them to talk to each other.

6. Create Adorable-Anywhere Objects

In my blog community improvement guide, I talk about objects of adoration. These are the first things you need in order for people to be able to join your community. They have to have something to talk about that’s yours.

The problem with these objects is that they’re sometimes one- or two-dimensional, so they can’t be easily seen from all angles. (Remember Flatland, anyone?) And those who can’t see them, can’t easily talk about them.

So create objects people can adore from wherever they are.

Say you have a great new product. You’ve just made a great text-only blog post about it. Everyone who subscribes to your blog will (probably) see it. That’s one dimension.

Now say you make a video related to your product and stick it in the post and on YouTube. YouTube users who have never heard of your blog will see it and some of them will come to the blog, and some of your blog readers who didn’t know you had a YouTube account will mosey on over to YouTube and the twain shall meet. Two dimensions plus some extra touch points.

Not only shall the twain meet, but both audiences will see and be able to adore your object.

Add a few photos to the blog post and share them on Flickr. Boom, three dimensions.

7. Invite People to Church

Your community is your church. It’s your flock. You’ve got adorable objects (pun intended) that people can discuss and cherish. You’ve got church meetings, so to speak, in the form of blog posts and tweets and new content all over your social media streams.

But unless you want to hear crickets chirping, you need to warmly invite your adherents and prospective adherents to those meetings. You need to tell people about the next thing you’re doing and ask them to come be a part of the experience.

Doesn’t mean knocking doors down. Just means knocking doors. Hi, I’m Easton, I have this thing, won’t you come see it and let’s talk about it. You get the idea.

8. Reward Unifying Deeds

Often, this just means saying a public “Thank You” to the person who does something to help unify your blog community. Maybe they’ve left a comment that sparked a conversation at your latest blog post. Maybe they’ve invited some friends to participate in your contest or conference. Or maybe they’ve just started a fan club for your product.

Of course, if you can surprise that person with a reward that’s bigger, more thoughtful and more useful than they could have expected, all the better. That’s what drives people nuts (in a good way) and turns them into rabid, bursting-at-the-seams fanatics.

Blog Community Unification Resources

• Ensure your community has a brand by Martin Reed at Community Spark – In a way, your blog community is your brand. Martin shares some excellent tips on how to strengthen your brand identity for your online community.
• 25 Ways to Build Your Community by Chris Brogan at ChrisBrogan.com – Building a community and unifying it are two different things, but these building tips by Chris will help you get the people together and help you on the road to unifying them around you.
• 7 Tips to Build a Blog Community by Pachacutec at Firedoglake – Classic advice on how to start and strengthen a community around your blog.

Coming Next Week: A community-unifying project right here at Visionary Blogging. You and your friends are, of course, cordially invited.

How else can you unify your blog community?

Images by Rojer, Melle_Oh, littledan77, dameetch, lumaxart, Kapungo

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