Smart Ways of Building a Social Network Community

Want an active social network community around your brand, but don't know where to start? Getting your brand's social network community off the ground can be quite challenging. Any fan page or Twitter account always starts from zero. How do you work your way up from there and get people to not only follow, but actively participate?

Here's how.

=> Ask Your Audience to Join!

Don't be shy about asking your audience to participate on social networks. When you're ready to launch your fan page or Twitter account, say so on your list or your blog.

Your social networks shouldn't be a separate part of your business. Many blog owners never talk about their fan pages or their Twitter accounts on their blog.

Yet many of your fans would be more than willing to participate, if they really understood what the purpose of being on the network was. Explain it to them and ask your existing audience to come to your new platform.

Of course, in addition to asking them to join, you'll also need to put a Facebook and Twitter button on every single one of your pages and posts. Make it easy for them to like your content and/or your fan page.

There are even plug-ins that'll allow your users to share your content via Facebook or Twitter just by clicking one button. If your content is good, these tools can help them spread very quickly.

=> Respond to Every Single Comment

In the long run, this isn't entirely feasible. But when you're just launching a social media presence, it'll make a critical difference.

Anytime someone writes a question or comment on your Facebook page, respond. Anytime someone sends you a personal message or tweets a question, respond.

This shows your audience that you're an active participant. Because you're participating, they're more likely to participate. A lot of people will join in just because they want to have more contact with you.

=> Ignite Discussions

Instead of just hoping that good discussions will pop up on their own, start them.

Come up with a good topic once a week. Post it on your Facebook and/or Twitter and ask your audience to respond.

Not only will they respond to your original question, but they'll also start responding to one another. They'll start to get to know one another and form online social bonds. That's the basis of any strong online community.

One particularly powerful way to spark interactions is to host a contest. The contest's news, updates and results will be broadcast primarily on social networks.

This will create a lot of buzz and keep people coming back again and again. In fact, a contest in and of itself is a great way to launch a new social network community.

These are three smart and easy ways to get an active social networking community off the ground. They work whether you're starting a small site or porting a large site over to Web 2.0.