Community engagement

https://www.reddit.com/r/modguide/comments/d568mn/community_engagement/

created by SolariaHues on 16/09/2019 at 20:35 UTC*

22 upvotes, 3 top-level comments (showing 3)

Intro to Community Engagement

How you can best engage your community will vary depending on the type of community you have, but here is what I have tried.

With a brand new sub getting things going can be tough. You must **seed content** yourself, whether it's content you have created yourself, cross posts, links etc this helps get the community going and sets an example for new members about what kind of post your expect and encourage. Be sure to encourage discussions where you can.

As the community grows, there are other things you can do.

*Regular discussion or chat threads** can work wonders. On r/gardenwild we have a regular chat thread each week and it encourages people to chat; it a slightly more relaxed way to chat than to start a new thread. Asking questions that are relevant can create good discussions.

Discussion thread[1] | Weekly chat[2]

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/GardenWild/comments/cxl5hk/whats_your_favorite_critter_that_visits_your/

2: https://www.reddit.com/r/GardenWild/comments/d474cb/the_garden_fence_weekly_chat_thread/

I also post threads to **welcome new members** if the numbers jump, or it's been a while. It's really nice to welcome new members, but it also gives them an chance to introduce themselves, or in our case, their garden.

Welcome thread

We also do **resource gathering threads** that aren't just useful for conversation, but getting resources for wikis!

Advice gathering thread

AMA's are an option. Most AMA's occur on r/iama, or r/ama, but it can work to have a relevant guest do an AMA in a smaller sub, which you can crosspost to the bigger subs, following their rules.

Example AMAs[3] | Basic AMA prep[4]

3: https://www.reddit.com/r/GardenWild/wiki/amas

4: https://mods.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002086172-Basic-AMA-hosting-preparation

I've also included my communities in some **decision making** in the past, asking for feedback and ideas, and so on. I may be mod, but the members are the community and I like giving them say in how things go. Even if the posts don't get many replies, I think it's good to provide the opportunity and let the community know I want to involve them and they have a say.

*Competitions** might work for you, whether it's a competition based on the theme of your sub, or a competition to create graphics for your sub. I've tried a banner competition and while we gained lovely banners, it didn't really engage my community - I think it just wasn't the right fit for my community and perhaps there weren't many people who can create graphics subscribed. In the right sub, and the right subject, competitions can work.

Other things I haven't tried, but might encourage engagement, are **activities**; perhaps re-watching a show together where applicable, and the new **community awards**.

---

AMAs[5]
Community Awards[6]
Dealing with rapid growth[7]
How to create a welcome message for your community[8]
How to run a competition on your subreddit[9]

Comments

Comment by SolariaHues at 12/03/2020 at 19:23 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Since writing this I have also tried a theme week.

I watch what kinds of contents does well - in # of comments way - and maybe seek some out if there hasn't been some for a bit.

I try to be active in comments myself to help encourage participation.

The key when starting out seems to be to get a few people on board either organically, or ask them, and they provide content and comments which helps get others engaged.