“A lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely or never participates” (Wikipedia) Or in other words, the people who make up the majority of any given online community. Most anyone who has been part of an online community has been a lurker at one point. Often times people will join a community and choose not to post anything until they are comfortable. This might mean reading lots of posts, watching chat conversations and more. It might take the lurker months or years before they decide they want to participate. Yet these lurkers play a vital role in the success of your online community. To ignore or berate them is a sure way to end your community's success.
Even if lurkers are not visibly participating, they may be promoting the site through outside sources. Perhaps they share links to forum posts on Facebook or hype up the community at a conference. Lurkers can often be one of your best sources for advertising. They might enjoy the content received from the community, but not yet feel they have a comment on it. Moderators of online communities need to take some steps to make sure that lurkers in addition to regular community members feels wanted.
Try reaching out to members from the very beginning. When a person registers send them a personalized email. Look at their registration profile and suggest areas of the community that might be of interest to them. If they mention that they love animals, point them towards your pet forum. Sign your name and include an email address where you can be reached if they have any questions. This personal touch lets each new member know there is a face behind the community and that it cares about each person. Run metrics on the community and see which users are participating and which have been inactive for a period of time. If you notice inactive members, again turn to the personalized email or even a phone call. Ask the member how they are doing, if they could use any help, or what you could be doing better to help engage them. Most places online would never go out of their way to check in on a member in this fashion. People are often elated to see their community cares about them on an individual level.
If upon doing metrics of the site you notice a large percentage of lurkers or new members you might set up a forum just for them. Lurkers and newbies may be more comfortable having discussions with others that are at the same level as themselves. The fear of judgment from other members is virtually removed in a newbie forum. Members can ask each other questions and moderators can ensure that all question are answered factually. You may even consider a buddy system; pairing an experienced member with a newbie.
Another way to encourage discussions is by asking engaging questions. If you want more people to comment on your blog post don't just post “What do you think?” at the end. Instead create challenging, thought provoking questions that people can't wait to discuss. When someone goes to post a comment in a forum or on a blog, consider making them login to their account. Users who are not yet members will be promoted to register, while members can enter their login information. By allowing anyone to see content you are more likely to gain a strong user base. People don't want to join or participate in a community if they don't know what it's all about. Let users get a sneak preview of what your community has to offer. Once they decide to engage they will find a quick, simple registration form.
Lurkers are important to your online community. Make sure to nurture them and not push too hard. Many people will eventually start contributing if the content is exciting and interesting. In the mean time, make lurkers your advocates; let them evangelize for you.
Love the kitty poster! I am definitely more of a lurker than an active participant when it comes to online communities. For me it's mostly a matter of not having enough time in the day to even check out communities I belong to on a regular basis, let alone actually post something. I agree wholeheartedly with your point about lurkers participating by promoting sites through sharing links. I find myself doing this a lot lately as I share resources with fellow classmates on Angel and fellow tweeters through my new Twitter account. This is just another way of contributing "outside" of the actual community.
ReplyDeleteYes, as slisstudent mentions, I <3 the kitties too! Kind of reminds me of the site Cute Overload where I find myself frequently lurking. As you mention, I enjoy the content of many online communities but just simply don’t feel inclined to make comments most of the time. I appreciate how you mention that lurkers may be supporting the site through outside means, because that is exactly what I find myself doing as well. Although I typically don’t find myself commenting in open online communities, I do often forward and share links to sites I enjoy to friends and acquaintances. I tend to appreciate communities that are supportive and friendly, but flexible and open to members being as “visibly” active as they so choose. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I am surprised that I have been a lurker all along without even realizing it. Actually, as slisstudent mentioned, and I am sure most of us will agree, that our busy schedules keep us from participating in any online community actively. And also, for me, I have to be really interested in some topic or online forums to post any comments or thoughts, otherwise mostly I like browsing and reading the comments from the experts and experienced people. Lurkers may not make any direct contributions to the community, but they derive lot of values from the online community interactions and spread the knowledge through various channels to friends and acquaintances, which is sometimes more effective than direct participation.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! Lurkers did contribute in their own way, even if it is just extra traffic to the online community's website. That helps sustain it. But I particularly liked your point that lurkers may be hyping up the community elsewhere, such as on facebook or amongst colleagues. I think it is perfectly understandable for new members to need time to settle in before they actually post comments. It can be intimidating!
ReplyDeleteI seriously laughed loud & hard when I saw the title of your post. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that lurkers can end up making some positive contributions to a community. In my post I talked about a specific community in which I frequently lurk. That alone could be considered a contribution as I'm passing on the word. I also am always e-mailing specific links & stories to friends when I know it speaks to their interests (a while back Insane Clown Posse posts were getting some heavy circulation...)