When it comes to managing a community, certain moments really matter – a member's first and last interaction within your community. This article will focus on the commencement of a member's journey and how their first interaction can shape how they interact with the community later on. When members first join they are very receptive to communication - it's your job as a community manager to take advantage of this by exciting them and integrating them as smoothly as possible.
An effective onboarding process should inspire them to actively participate in the community. In this article, we'll discuss what onboarding truly means and why it's a big deal.
The aim of your onboarding process should be a smooth process where members can join and easily understand your purpose and values, be aware of your expectations and guidelines, and be equipped with the tools and information they need.
But onboarding isn't just about sharing information. It's also about helping new members connect quickly. When new members make connections right away, they feel like they're part of the community. Onboarding helps with this by creating networking opportunities for them to talk and connect from the beginning. This makes the community feel friendly and easy to be part of.
The onboarding process is important for your community, as from day one it gives members insight into what they can achieve and expect during their membership experience and all the benefits they can achieve in their business and personal lives. This gets members more excited about what's to come.
Of course, onboarding can have some challenges too. As more people join, it can be hard to give everyone personal attention. Explaining everything clearly can also be tricky. Sometimes, new members might hesitate to join conversations or post something since they don't know anyone yet.
As we go through this article we will guide you on how to overcome these challenges, highlighting why onboarding matters and why an effective onboarding process is imperative for the continued success of your community.
A member's first interaction with your community is the most important - it sets the tone for their entire journey, and it is your job to create an effective onboarding experience that guides them from newbies to experts as fast as possible.
People want to be welcomed, not necessarily onboarded. People don't want to feel like they're being processed through a system. Avoid making the experience orderly and transactional - the first interaction with a member should be personal and warm, letting them know you're excited to have them in the community. If your membership grows and you can no longer personally introduce each member, get other members to help you. This makes new members feel supported by someone who they can share experiences with and also helps you as a manager save time and resources.
Simplicity reigns supreme in onboarding. Presenting details in a clear, straightforward manner ensures that new members grasp information effortlessly. Avoid overcomplicating the experience, focus instead on being informative, welcoming, and communicating your values.
To further grasp how to effectively onboard your members and orientate them with your rules, expectations and culture, we will highlight examples you can use, guiding members to become an integral part of your community.
Email welcome series: Having an email series that guides members through the onboarding process can help provide them with informative and welcoming content, yet a study from Marketing General highlighted how 41% of communities do not have an ongoing email series for new members. It's evident that many managers are missing this opportunity to welcome new members.
The primary objective of these emails is to integrate new members with a sense of confidence and autonomy from the get-go. While having organised email plans streamlines the process, refrain from complete automation, as an element of personalisation resonates better with new members - you should make sure to allocate time to personally write the emails or delegate the task to other experienced members.
By splitting the email series into 4-5 emails, you can be assured that members won't be overwhelmed by information.