How online communities encourage participation

Customers participate in online communities for very different reasons.Is it the quest for attention and reputation? The sense of community and wanting to "help others"? Or do community users have other motivations for volunteering? The study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts includes results from personal interviews as well as from an online survey with users of the online communities of Helsana and Homegate. Project partners were Lithium, coUNDco, Helsana, Homegate and the SBB.What drives participation in online communitiesDepending on whether a user posts and takes an active role or only reads, different motives drive him. Those who actively participate have a need for community or are simply willing to help. But he also wants to be noticed and exert influence. Or seeks advice on questions that are bothering him or her, or then confirmation that he or she is doing the right thing.Those who only read posts are primarily interested in the topic and take pleasure in deepening their knowledge of it. Or they want to avoid risks by obtaining comprehensive information on a topic that is of current concern to them. Some readers also satisfy their need for community ("I'm not alone with this topic") or want to help friends and research information on the Internet for this purpose.How companies meet the personal needs of the user communityDifferent motives call for different incentives. The study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts provides initial indications of this. Users with social needs appreciate as much information as possible about the community members with whom they interact. They want to exchange ideas and need points of contact to start a conversation. They therefore value extended profile information. The exchange is also facilitated by additional information, such as how helpful another community member's answer is in a particular field of knowledge. Those seeking advice and confirmation appreciate both information about a member's status and the quality of individual contributions. A positively rated comment provides more reassurance than one that no one liked or no one rated as helpful. Users who are primarily looking for attention and influence also rate Likes positively. However, they are also happy about appreciative comments. Those who are primarily interested in the topic and spend time in the community for the joy of knowledge are primarily interested in good information. How often a post has already been read or how popular a particular author is are valuable indicators in this regard.

What makes online communities successful in the long termDepending on their orientation, corporate online communities attract users with different motivations. If they focus on status, profiling and positioning, they are more likely to appeal to people with power. A user base that primarily likes to exchange ideas with like-minded people is left behind in a climate of a struggle for positioning. Under these circumstances, they hardly dare to ask questions or write answers. For a long-term active community, it is therefore worthwhile to consider in advance how the various needs can be met. Only if it is possible to pick up on social and content-related needs, offer security and a balanced measure of recognition and attention, can more loyal customers be counted on in the long term, who are more closely tied to the company and, for example, give feedback on products, place innovative ideas or even help other customers with a problem. Whitepaper of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.Authors: Esther Federspiel, Dorothea Schaffner and Seraina Mohr