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5 Ways to Grow Your Group
HOW TO 
Tags: Groupsites, social networking, collaboration
The American School Counselor Association (http://www.schoolcounselor.org/) started using a Groupsite in August 2008. In fewer than 5 months, nearly 1,700 members joined and discussions flourished. 15 months later (Nov 2009), the group stands at nearly 10,000 members.
Groupsite Manager, Kathleen Rakestraw, initially wasn't sure it was going to fly with their members: " For the most part, school counselors aren't terribly technologically savvy. We'd had message boards for years that didn't get much traffic, and very few members even knew we had a blog -- let alone read it. However, we've had great success with ASCA SCENE Groupsite. In just a few short months we've had nearly 1,700 members join the SCENE, and we get new discussion posts about every 30 minutes on many days."
Here are Kathy's top 5 tips for success with a Groupsite (www.groupsite.com):
| | An email-signature promoting our Groupsite. All staff members changed their e-mail signature line to promote the ASCA SCENE Groupsite. And, we put it in red text so it would really be noticed. |
| | Having a Champion. We sold our board president on the new tool, and he's become a SCENE "champion." He posts regularly, writes blogs, comments on other people's blogs and frequently sends messages to our few remaining listservs encouraging them to join the SCENE. I think it means more to our members to get an invitation from "one of their own" rather than just another message from staff. |
| | We think "SCENE" first. For example, we have a new promotion for a special deal on our conference registration fee. We posted the information to the SCENE a week before sending it out via our more traditional marketing methods. We believe the more we do this type of activity, the more our members will realize that if they want to get the news first, they need to be on the SCENE. |
| | Promotion in our monthly newsletter. Each month when we send our e-newsletter, we promote something new on the SCENE. |
| | Set goals and reward achievement. Perhaps our most successful way of increasing the number of members who join the SCENE and actively participate is a deal I made with my boss: if we broke the 2,000-member mark by the end of the 2008, I earn a reward. It keeps the SCENE at the forefront of my mind and helps me remember to promote it and use it as a communication tool as much as possible." |
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