As a Facilitator of any online group or community, you need to know what’s going on. If you don’t keep on top of what’s happening anything could happen.
You could miss something important, you may start to lose members as they feel no one is responding to them.
Then there is the worst case scenario, that someone adds something that is inappropriate to the group, which could cause no ends of problems in the community.
The basic rule that I always preach is the 24 hour rule. So, make sure that you have your subscription / notifications set to immediate. To do this on Knowledge Hub select the Subscribe link located just below your group logo.
Why is this important?
Let’s think about it from a new members point of view. Which scenario would you prefer?
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
I’m hoping the answer is Scenario 1.
This is why I feel the 24 hour rule one of the most important parts of facilitating a successful online community. We are there to ensure that every member finds value in being a member of the community.
When a member asks a question or starts a discussion, they would ideally receive a response from other members of the community in a timely manner and for the conversation to continue.
But we also know that members are not hanging around in your community all day waiting for a response.
This is where you monitor and step in when necessary.
If other members of your community do not respond to the initial forum post, the 24 hour rule kicks in for the facilitator(s).
Here are three tips to help you out.
These are really simple steps. Give them a go and you should start to see a difference.