If you’re a community manager, it’s likely that starting conversations is a large part of your job.

Online communities are built on conversation. If people aren’t talking to each other, it’s hard to even call it a community.

I’ve spent the past 5 years of my career starting and managing communities and have learned a few good tricks to start a conversation.

At it’s core, it’s all about asking the right question. Every conversation starts with a question. Even if all you post is a statement, people will respond because it questions whether or not they agree.

Here’s how you can start a good conversation every time:

1. Avoid yes/no questions

They’re boring and they leave very little room for conversation. Open ended is much better.

2. Stir the pot

Nothing gets a good conversation going like a little controversy. A good community manager can expertly make a strong statement without actually taking a side themselves so they don’t alienate any part of the community, while still getting a good conversation started.

Make a bold statement. Don’t be afraid to add a little edge to your posts. Debate is a healthy thing and makes communities go stronger.

The strongest community I’ve ever built has debates all the time. Yes, sometimes they get too heated and I have to step in and cool things down, but the community seems to grow stronger as a result every time.

 

3. Make people choose a side

To take stirring the pot further, a good trick is to make people define themselves as one thing or another.

It actually doesn’t have to be controversial. In my u30pro community I recently asked “Are you a planner or do you wing it”. In floods a lot of comments because EVERYONE defines themselves as one of these things and either they’re damn proud of it, or they want to change it. Makes for a good discussion.

If you’re a member of the group, you can see the thread here. A couple people actually found their “planning soul mates”.

4. Provide added value

You can do this in a few ways. Maybe you just post a call for questions and give your community a chance to ask anything they want, knowing that you (the expert) will answer.

Another good tactic is asking a question and tell them you’ll include the best answers in a blog post. The prospect of getting namedropped can drive people to respond. And you get to crowdsource a blog post. Win win!

5. Ask people about themselves

People LOVE to talk about themselves. It’s almost too easy. Give people a chance and you’ll have a flood of interaction.

6. FACILITATE

Just because a conversation doesn’t kick up on its own doesn’t mean it can’t. Sometimes it just needs a little fuel. That’s your job, community manager!

Call on specific people to respond that you know would have a good insight. Ask more questions. If someone responds, respond to them and dig deeper. Ask another question.

7. Show a genuine interest in the conversation

No ulterior motives. People can sense it. They’ll smell it on you. If you’re just asking a question for the sake of it, or because you want to use that information for something else (and you don’t say that up front) it won’t go well.

If you show a genuine interest in the question, it’ll go further. Maybe go into more detail about the motivation behind the question and share how you’re thinking about it. A great conversation starter should want to be a part of that conversation.

8. Make sure everyone feels heard

One sure way to make sure people won’t come back and participate in your community is to let them feel like no one is listening. Make sure everyone who posts a legitimate comment gets a response. That’s what will keep them coming back.

 

That’s all I’ve got for now. Your turn. What’s worked for you to get a good conversation going?

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