jason geall: how to build and sustain an online community
DESCRIPTION
As part of the 2014 Creative, Digital & IT Open Studios week Brightwave and The Student Room teamed up to show how a next generation individual loves to learn/collaborate/share experiences online - and this is no different for students than today's workforce. Brightwave are experts in workplace learning and their award-winning product tessello helps organisations ensure that their staff continually develop new ideas, share learning resources and collaborate. The Student Room is the largest student community in the world - over 1.5m members - where students can discuss anything from universities, health to lifestyle and relationships. Brightwave's CEO, Charles Gould, and The Student Room's CEO, Jason Geall, presented the following: ● The DNA of a next generation individual? ● What is an effective online community? ● What does this look like for the student population? ● Is a workplace online community any different? ● What are the barriers to sustaining an online community?TRANSCRIPT
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How to build and sustain online Community #BDF14
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The Student Room Group
75% of UK students visit TSRG
41% are registered
10% are active members
Current share of target UK 14-24 student market*
3.28M2
1.76M3
453K3
4.32M UK students in 14-24 core market1
* TSRG also has• 86K UK active users over 24• 109k non-UK active users3
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Some TSR history
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
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TSR 2001 - 2014
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Some thoughts to share
The Importance of developing company self awareness internally and externally
Constantly evolving the online community environment and everything around it
The importance of combining the spirit of those crazy organic community days, with hard ass metrics and performance management culture (GRRRRRR)
Creating an environment for constant testing and optimisation #CRO
Looking to the future!
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Self Awareness – Why are we here?
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Life as a student…
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#BigCommunities
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“to facilitate sharing and updating of information among researchers”Tim Berners Lee, 1980
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Lots of fun
Sport clubs PartiesEnd of year promFirst kiss
Photo Credit CC- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ 2006 Will Ellis
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Plenty of workDeadlines Exams revisionPart time work
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Many challengesCareer optionsChoosing subjectsBudgeting
Photo Credit CC- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ 2010 Caitlin Childs
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Start GCSEs
Career begins
BecciAge 14
BecciAge 18
BecciAge 25
Who shouldI vote for?
Which university?
What do I want to be when I grow up?
Assignment help please!
Which bank account should I get?
How shall I celebrate exams ending with my friends?
Teaching or law conversion?
OMG got an interview! What will they ask me?
Postgrad abroad for a year? USA? Oz? Mexico? Italy?
I need dissertationhelp!
The Student Journey
How should I plan my revision?
Passed my driving test!Yay Freedom!Get a job
now?What career?
A-Levels?
Vocational Route?
Apprenticeship?
Which A-level subjects?
Gap Year?
University? Which course? Which
placement?
What work?
Postgraduate study?
Internship?
How do I do simultaneous equations!?!
Mum and Dad are getting divorced
What should I wear on my first date?
Shall I get an Android or iPhone?
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
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Start GCSEs
Career begins
BecciAge 14
BecciAge 18
BecciAge 25
Who shouldI vote for?
Which university?
What do I want to be when I grow up?
Assignment help please!
Which bank account should I get?
How shall I celebrate exams ending with my friends?
Teaching or law conversion?
OMG got an interview! What will they ask me?
Postgrad abroad for a year? USA? Oz? Mexico? Italy?
I need dissertationhelp!
We’re always there for students
How should I plan my revision?
Passed my driving test!Yay Freedom!Get a job
now?What career?
A-Levels?
Vocational Route?
Apprenticeship?
Which A-level subjects?
Gap Year?
University? Which course? Which
placement?
What work?
Postgraduate study?
Internship?
How do I do simultaneous equations!?!
Mum and Dad are getting divorced
What should I wear on my first date?
Shall I get an Android or iPhone?
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
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Our inspirationTo do our bit for society by helping tomorrow's leaders, teachers and parents become the best version of themselves
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
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What we doWe nurture the largest & most useful online community for UK students with social learning at its heart
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Our values
QuestioningSupportive
Welcoming
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
Fun
Independent
Useful
Entrepreneurial
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Evolution – Keep staying loved
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
Community Director
Education Community Manager
Community
Executive
Study Help
Section Leader
Moderato
rs
Universities Section
Leader
Moderato
rs
Careers
Moderato
rs
EditorCopywriters (freelance
currently)
Life & style Community Manager
Community
Executive
Health & Relations
hips Section Leader
Moderator
s
Hobbies &
Interests Section Leader
Moderator
s
Debate & Current Affairs Section Leader
Moderator
s
Communi
ty
Moderator
s
TSR Community Teams
Study Helpers
Editorial Team
Community
Assistants
Peer Support
Welcome squad
Community
Assistants
PS Helpers
Full time / employed staff
Volunteers / members of the community with a status
OtherGet Revising Moderators- a smaller group of moderators on our other site getrevising.co.uk
No moderation powersJust a titleCreate blog posts and threads
No moderation powersJust a titleReward for offering good advice
No moderation powersJust a titleReward for offering good advice
No moderation powersJust a titleReward for offering good advice
No moderation powersJust a titleReward for offering good advice
General info• All members of these teams are given subscriptions while on
the team
Generate articles and discussions
Manage mod team and community activities, plus feed in content to editor
Manage mod team and community activities, plus feed in content to editor
Support community manager, more admin led but some cross over in content creation
Support community manager, more admin led but some cross over in content creation
No moderation powers except moving and editing threads
No moderation powers except moving and editing threads
UCAS trained Samaritans trained
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Performance management KPIs – Bad ass focus on numbers
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The way we engage students will be transformed
Key
FY14
focu
s Drive visitor growth• New TSR content• New social content
distribution channels• Static content overhaul• Make existing mobile
experience more effective
Be more welcoming• Overhaul moderation
structure & ethos to improve First-post and Ongoing engagement levels
• Welcome new users and help navigation of TSR
Become a true, engaged community• Connect and Follow initiatives to become
more of a true community• Recommendation engine to expand
usage• Gamification programme to engage and
motivate members • New email and PM CRM system to power
all activity
Active MemberViews of TSR
Content
Non BouncingVisit
Register
FY14 Target
)
FY13
Non active member
)
400,000 Past 2 years
Total Posts
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Conversion Rate Optimisation
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
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2008 appointed a consultant…
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Fast forward to the end of 2012…
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Work out a budget!• How much?• Spend on?
• Testing tool?• 3rd party consultant?• Development time?
.
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Measure
Test
Learn
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78%
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+971.6%
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.
Organise +354%
Create +359%
Discuss +1,291%
Month One Project
Using data to win hearts and
minds
The importance of Month One
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Percentage of Registered Members Posting by Month Since Registra-tion
Understand the month one funnel
Registration links
Registration page
Activation
EmailRegistered
After registration
messaging
Retention
Before...
Pre-reg action
Registration form Registered
Post as part of
registration
Welcome Squad
After registration messaging
Retention
Now...
Calls to action
Identify key steps, track as KPIs
What we didTrack each step in the funnel and turn
the dials
1. Optimise calls to register
Immediate return to
YoY growth in active
registrations
2. Optimised the form
3. Optimise routes to registration
In page form to help people with intent to engage
4. Introduce post as part of registration
Overcome first post fear(~60% of newly registered members posted)
5. Optimise posting as part of registration
6. Welcome SquadHumans need other humans
And data helps manage us!From 2 members of the
community and 1 member of staff answering about 15% of
posts / week, up to 60 members answering about
90% / week
And the results?
Active Registrations
80% YoYgrowthNotice and form
optimisations
Bulk of work
Remove activation email
Removed some notices
Warmest Welcome Possible
Thousands of new members given useful guidance each week – relationships built
Month One…
Welcome
Track
What next?
Retention!
Grows active users, posts, page
views etc
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.
Measure
Test
Learn
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Looking to the future…….
04/09/2023© The Student Room 2012
Generation 2024
Jason GeallCEO
07402 [email protected]
@Jasongeall uk.linkedin.com/in/jasongeall
Copies of The Student Room’s Options 2013 report are available on request through HELOA or from bit.ly/Optns13