One of the most important thing to remember about your online social media networks and communities is that they aren’t static. They change. Constantly.
When we bought our first home (back in Stratford, CT) it was in a neighborhood right on the edge of Bridgeport. When we moved in, we were among the youngest people in the community. Many of our neighbors were older couples who had been there for decades.
Over the 13 years we were there, we saw a lot of those older folks moving out. We also saw other major changes. Most of those who moved in were first-time home buyers looking to get out of Bridgeport. Our neighborhood became much more ethnically diverse, and by the time we moved out, we were in the minority. We had Jamaicans living on either side of us. African Americans across the street. Our kids had the benefit of growing up in a very diverse neighborhood. We were sad to go, especially since we ended up moving to a very homogeneous neighborhood in Pennsylvania.
Online communities are the same way. People move in and out of digital neighborhoods. They change their levels of engagement and involvement. The look of your community today may be far different from how it looked a year ago.
The point? We need to be actively engaged in our own online communities so that we know who our neighbors are. We should take the pulse of our neighborhoods regularly. You may think your target market is one thing, but be very surprised when you find out something else.
For instance, on Facebook pages, check out the demographic makeup on your “insights.” You may find some niche groups of which you were never aware. Knowing your community helps you better serve them. And knowing your community helps you have a better feel for what types of products and services you should be offering. Or, it can help you as you seek to expand your community by including a wider variety of people.
And the best way to know your community, is to be an active participant in it, not merely an observer.
