Creating Engaging content

“Creating Engaging Content” Irene Pateraki

When you plan an online group: You should know your audience: Who are they?

What are they?

Why have they joined the group?

By understanding why they are members, you can mould the group content according to their needs.

Before launching your group: • It is good to make a content plan, decide on the design and how your content will be presented. • Members will also create their own content, but it is good to find a well organized place when they enter. • Your content can be a great marketing tool, to attract new members.

Setting your goals: • It is important to set your goals in order to decide the content of your Group.

• What do you want to achieve?  a way to share information  get your members involved  get your members help each other  offer them a direct way to learn and communicate Once you know what you want to accomplish, you are ready to create the content.

Content has to be: • Very well organized, so new members can easily understand what they can do there • Concise and easy to navigate • Consistent (try to post and update frequently) • Simple as possible but not simpler, as A. Einstein has said • Useful and easy to be applied • In accordance with members’ needs (e.g. sense of community, source of continuous education, professional development)

About Content : • Use a wide range of mediums to make your content more attractive • Web- friendly with short paragraphs/list-type articles • Present activities by introducing new tools • Post inspiring content that facilitates interaction among members.

Group roles • The moderator of a group is mainly responsible for the content • As a moderator you have to understand the larger vision and have management skills • In case you have many members, you can think of recruiting active members as subgroup moderators • You can also create an “ambassadors” group: active and experienced members responsible for welcoming new members and make them feel at home

Types of content‌

Emails • Think of sending a welcome email to the new members to:    

welcome them and encourage them to participate offer some first information about the group and its purpose give them your contact details, in case they need some help give them some interesting links or even a tutorial on how to update their profile (upload a profile image, write some information about themselves)

• Send weekly/monthly emails to members to:  give updates  propose activities  highlight current conversations

Blog • You can use blog to offer updates/introduce new activities or write short articles • Blog gives the opportunity to members to comment and interact to each other • Members prefer to use blog as it’s an easy way to share their work or write their thoughts • To keep it active, it’s good to answer to members’ comments or hit like button in order members feel that somebody reads what they are writing!

Sturat Miles, www.freedigitalphotos.net

Forums • Forums can engage members in interesting discussions • As a moderator, you can initiate discussions and you have to try to be there and reply to your members’ posts • Forum discussions can be related to suggested activities, webinars held in the group or members’ ideas and suggestions.

Stuart Miles, www.freedigitalphotos.net

Subgroups • Your content can be separated in subgroups according to your general topic. For example, if your Group is about STEM education, you can create subgroups on technology, science and mathematics.

• Having subgroups, can help members find easier what they are looking for and share their work in the relevant place • Content is better organized • One or more members can act as subgroup moderators to check on the content and activate members

Webinars • Another form of content with real time engagement • Members have the opportunity to have synchronous interactions and learn from each other or/and an expert • This content can be recorded and be uploaded in the group page for future reference

KROMKRATHOG,www.freedigitalphotos.net

eBooks • Members share their work on different topics • A nice way to keep everything organized, is to gather their material and create thematic eBooks • In that way, group has its online library with material easily shareable outside the group • A nice way to recognize members’ contribution and advertise your group to other teachers who are not involved yet

Coffee corner • A forum or a subgroup where members can engage in light-hearted conversations • A nice way to establish comfort level with each other before sharing their work • A place where they can share pictures from their holidays or upload their favourite music videos • Content there can be about anything as long as it respects group’s netiquette

Stuart Miles, www.freedigitalphotos.net

Photo Gallery • In a photo gallery members can upload photos related to  their work/projects/activities  Face-to-face meetings during events like conferences/PDWs  Group activities or competitions e.g. create group’s logo

Stuart Miles, www.freedigitalphotos.net

Video Gallery In a video gallery members can find:  Tutorials related to the group e.g. how to update your profile as well as Tutorials about different tools used in projects  Videos related to group’s activities  Members videos  Interesting videos on different topics that members can comment or replicate what they present in their own class

Polls • Polls can offer instant feedback on different topics • Members with less free time can take part is short polls as they are not time-consuming • Surveys also can help you understand better members’ needs, things they like, things they don’t like and their ideas

By Mister GC, www.freedigitalphotos.net

Interviews • Part of a group’s content can be interviews of experts or group members • Interviews can have text/video or audio format • In case you use videos or audio is good to provide the transcript for people who have language difficulties • New interviews can be published on weekly or monthly basis and it’s good to follow the same format • Featuring members who describe their project/ an activity etc can be really engaging, as the member feels that his/her work is being recognized and the other members feel more confident to follow their colleague’s example.

Calendar • A calendar of all the events that you plan to host in the group can be useful for the members to keep them in their diary • Update the calendar frequently and inform the members for next events the soonest possible.

So, what other kind of content do you consider engaging?