Pre-Launch Tips : Engagement & Content

Soft Launch

• Is the Soft Launch Community (current community champions, colleagues, friends) in place and have they had / will they have a chance to provide constructive feedback on the platform (survey)?

Prepare your Content

• Is your Public Homepage ready? Is it inciting? Does it include your mission and values? Does it explain the benefits of joining your community?
• Do you have a et Welcome Page (Community Guide, About Page, FAQ)? Showcase your Community Content and explain how to navigate the portal (User Guide, Video, Screenshots etc). Use the "Onboarding Page" option to designate your Welcome Page as the landing Page for the very first visit to your platform.
• Have you decided what Modules will be activated from the start and which ones to activate in a second step (promoting each one as a new feature of your community of course)? We recommend starting with max 5 content categories (Most popular modules are News, Events, Groups, Forum, Directory). Expand later. Adding a Mobile App as a second step could be an idea, too.
• Does every module should have at least 3 relevant posts for the launch?
• Create a Content Calendar. Vary publications (News, Events, Survey, Video just like a Magazine varies content). Prepare your templates (you can duplicate them)
• Is there an administrative need your community members have that you can make accessible on your platform (certificate order for example)

Promote your Launch

• Have you created Teaser Campains? Promote your launch on all your social Media Channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Company Website). Showcase the key value points of your community
• What day will you launch? Plan your launch ideally on a Tuesday, alternatively on a Thursday or Wednesday, but never on a Monday or Friday, week-ends or holidays.
• Consider Creating a Community Video self-made via or Hivebrite Promotional VideoPromote your Community in your corporate webinars, events and conferences
• Will there be a special launch initiative for the Launch? Prize? Event?

Set up your "Calls to Action"

• Consider Customizing your Invitation emails. We prepared a list of recommendations for you.
• Consider Customizing the "Confirmation Email" with a clear Call to Action when returning to the platform next time
• Set up an Online Alert with a specific message (for newly activated users). Welcome Users, tell them what to do next! For example complete the onboarding steps!

During Launch: Be active as Community Manager

• Welcome new Users personally. Introduce yourself on the Platform. Participate in discussions. Respond to new user posts in Live Feed & Forum
• Ask a pertinent question (maybe Welcome Topic) in the Live Feed that people would be happy to answer.
• Suggest community members a given user should connect with
• Encourage a given user with a given competency to participate in a discussion on a relevant topic.
• Add tags to user posts belonging to specific categories in order to educate your users and encourage search by filters.
• Identify discussion topics that might merit an own group
• Check at the end of the day who hasn’t responded to the activation invitation. Send follow-up email campaign. Change wording slightly in your “Call for Action”.
• Get a feel for the (language) style of member posts. Adapt to that style (speak the language of your community)
• Observe Engagement Scores (Global Level Engagement).
• Thank your super users for their participation and commitment.
• Surprise your members. Tell them something they didn’t know about your community
• Remind your members that they can set their Notification settings to best reflect their interests (do they want to be alerted as soon as a new event is posted? Maybe they are interested in News and want to know about a new Article/Blog being released?). Remind your members that they can set their Notification settings to best reflect their interests (do they want to be alerted as soon as a new event is posted? Maybe they are interested in News and want to know about a new Article/Blog being released?)
• Reply promptly to any questions asked to admin. Provide a thoughtful answer (maybe consult a colleague who is more senior on the topic concerned)Consider providing a space for lighthearted conversations (off-topic). A community needs to be fun!

After launch: Stay active as Community Manager

• Content items: Check how many comments/reactions you have on your major publications/posts after 1 week. Then again after 3 weeks
• Showcase a Success Story regularly. Keep an archive.
• Consider a buddy program, pairing a new user with a superuser (guidance and answers to beginner questions)
• Observe Engagement Scores. Reach out to members who haven’t been active on the platform for a while
• Celebrate your Community Champions (think about rewards: Badges, swag, VIP event invites, beta testing invites, early access to top content
• Involve your members whenever possible (idea: users as models for a photoshoot if you need new branding assets)
• Survey your members about the benefits the community brings them, about elements they feel are missing, and their general feedback
• Create Steering Group of Super Users / Influencers - What serves the community best? Why do people join? To socialize and exchange or to get resources? Is there a growing sense of pride to belong to your community? Can you leverage that feeling and promote it?

Review your Settings

• Clusters (User Segments): Have clusters been added and are they correctly assigned to users (if appropriate)?
• Roles: Are Roles clearly defined? Are Membership Types correctly set up to build on these roles (if appropriate)
• User Profile: Have all data fields (standard and custom fields) been customized for your community needs? Did you choose to change the user profile default picture?

User Journey:

• Preview "Signup" (if appropriate) and "Account Activation Form" details in advance of launching. Did you include a customized message at the top?
• Are Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy set on the Activation Form? Do you also link to these texts from your Public Page Footer?
• Create a brand new test user and review the whole user journey one more time. Change the role of this test user to verify if all access rights display as expected.

Branding:

• Review all branding for Public Homepage, Front Office and Groups
• Preview Public Homepage and verify all desired modules (for public viewing) are activated.
• Footer:​ Verify all contact and footer details have been added. Partners:​ check partner details and links

Technical Tasks:

• Custom Domain: Is your Custom URL active already? When is your website SSL certificate set to expire? (add a calendar reminder!)
• SSO: Will you use a Facebook, Google or LinkedIn as Single-Sign-On option or have you integrated your own SSO workflow (Add-on option). Is it working correctly?
• If not done yet, update SPF to ensure Hivebrite invites hit as many users emails as possible
• Would you like to add Google Analytics? (Connect Tracker under Customization => Social Media)
• If you are using the Payments option, ensure your Stripe details have been integrated & activated
• Are your SEO Keywords set (Opportunities, News, Events modules have SEO settings)
• Will you be using the Integrated Zoom feature for Virtual Events? (Setup done?)