How to Reward Your Community Digitally
What caused the Roman Empire to Fall? Why didn't the Bulls win every NBA championship until the end of time? What led to the inevitable, but unfortunate decline of [Cha-Cha] Chia pets?
Every great organization, business, and team demands one constant: contribution.
Of course, ingenuity, clarity, vision, etc. all matter. But without someone contributing, a vision will never be realized. Contribution wins.
Without contributing members, empires fall, great teams dismantle, and flashy products crumble.
In short, contribution becomes momentum. The lifeblood of any community is the active engagement and participation of its members.
Most virtual communities never get off the ground. This is because they can't figure out how their members want to contribute. They don't have the vision or clarity to demonstrate what trajectory the member is on. The member often wants to contribute, but does not know how.
What happens instead is that new communities attract "visitors." Then, the community management wrongly deems them as "members" when in fact, they are merely lurkers. And only that.
Greg Isenberg calls this the 90-9-1 rule in a digital community:
90% of users are lurkers who never contribute
9% of users contribute a little
1% of users account for almost all the action
If this is true, then it stands to reason that as community builders, we must do three things.
Show the 90% what they can do in the community. Break down the steps they need to take to receive the rewards of the community. Cater each step to be centered around one thing (you guessed it): their contribution. As they contribute, they must be rewarded.
Show the 9% what you can offer them. 100% of community members should receive unbelievable value. The 9% demand something more: your personalized investment. Most community builders want to invest in everyone, and this makes sense in theory. But it's misguided. Think of this as qualifying the members. You can't offer your full self to 150+ people. But you can meaningfully invest with 10-15 active contributors.
Show the 1% how they can begin leading others. (I’ll be posting about this next week - stay tuned.)
The reality is that very few of the 90% will ever become active contributors. This is not your fault. It's how communities work.
However, without the push for the 90% to be rewarded for their contributions, it won't work. You won't ever see the development of the 9% outside of well-wishers and people who are pitying you.
Rewarding members for their contributions is how you turn passive recipients into active members.
So how can you reward them?
Every community is different and here's where you get to express your creativity.
Below are 5 (non-AI conjured) ideas for how you can weave reward into your digital community.
Know your SMEs. If you know who the resident repair man or the barber is in your community, refer people to them. Do it often. Draw attention to your SMEs and they will feel included. They'll want to contribute more because they know they're providing value. Of course, this demands that you genuinely know your community…
Invest in your best. If you can prove to the 90% that you provide additional benefit / impact for the 9%, this will create a healthy sense of FOMO. Exclusivity is a reward in and of itself.
The Benjamin Franklin Effect. In essence: ask someone else in the community for help and it will paradoxically reward them. Ashley Usiskin has a fantastic podcast called "The Gift of Help." In it, he reveals how asking others for help can foster trust, growth, and delight. Pro tip: Specific, individualized asks are much better than vague pleas for help.
Integrity Wins. I get a dopamine hit when someone actually follows through with what they say they will do. We trust people who hold up to their end of the deal, no matter how small. Lead by example by fostering a culture where integrity is rewarded. Your community will trust you with their contributions more if you do so.
Affirmation & Celebration. Finally, we get to celebrate when our community is working for the members involved. This is a huge win. When members engage, celebrate their action. It's that simple. Publicly affirm their effort and consider adding more value to their contributions.
There's always more we can do to creatively foster reward and delight in our communities. This is a starting point.
If you're building your community and want the insights but don't have the time, schedule a call. I'd love to speak with you and offer brief strategic consultations that fit within your schedule.
