How can I boost community engagement?
For tips to boost community engagement and create Wisr Virtual Communities that will engage prospective students, consider the following:
1. Share unique characteristics of your institution that set you apart. Show students why your school is special with communities that highlight topics such as school traditions and program offerings.
- Partner Community Example: Why a Women’s College, which allows admitted students to access real stories and perspective on the experience of an all-women’s college.
2. Use creative names that will spark an emotion.
- Partner Community Example: “Finding Your Home” which shares the resources available to support a student’s transition to college. Many institutions that call this “Campus Resources” or “Student Life” see lower engagement.
3. Aim for consistency with a community that is dedicated to a regularly occurring digital experience. Consider a weekly event that students can expect and look forward to.
- Partner Community Example: “Ask Me Anything" dedicated to a weekly event instead of weaving "Ask Me Anything" posts throughout their site.
4. Sift through your existing communities, specifically an "Ask Me Anything" community (if applicable), to find the topics students are reacting to and consider building communities around those themes. You can also view and sort topics by number of views in the topics section of your admin view.
5. If you have more than 10 communities, identify where you might be able to consolidate to get more participation. If you had an underperforming community, consider making that community a "topic" instead.
6. Keep privacy top-of-mind with the right balance of structure and privacy. Create an authentic space for students to share openly by limiting visibility by member types (under a community's privacy settings).
- Partner Community Example: “Unfiltered: Students Only” where it is made clear that the space is designed to facilitate “real talk”. Only visible to admitted students, not student ambassadors.