What’s stopping users from joining the Conversation?
At OpenWeb, across our network of 1,000+ publishers, we’ve observed that there are three main reasons why many website visitors are hesitant to jump into the Conversation:
- They don’t know what to write
- They don’t have time to comment
- They’re worried about trolls
The good news? With OpenWeb’s tools, publishers can make it easy for their website visitors to join the Conversation—and even turn those users into loyal, engaged fans.
The challenge: They don’t know what to write
The solution: Community Questions
Jumping into a Conversation may feel overwhelming for some, so publishers should make it easy for anyone to join. One way to do this is by featuring a Community Question to lead the Conversation. Community Questions sit on top of the Conversation, so they’re hard to miss. Be sure to give readers a clear set of choices, as opposed to asking an open-ended question—this makes it easier to reply, and encourages more people to weigh in.
The challenge: They don’t have time to comment
The solution: Reactions
Many users are multitasking: they’re reading an article while commuting, or in-between tasks at work. But even if they don’t have time to comment, it’s likely that they have an opinion about the content they just read. That’s where Reactions comes in handy. Since it only takes one click, Reactions provides a simple way for readers to interact with your content. In turn, you get valuable first-party data from your community and a pulse of your community’s setinement.
The challenge: They’re worried about trolls
The solution: effective, multi-layered moderation
If a user witnesses toxicity in a Conversation, they’re a lot less likely to join in. Publishers using effective moderation can encourage quality conversations where new users feel welcomed. OpenWeb’s multi-layered moderation platform understands the nuances of conversation and—thanks to our integration with Jigsaw’s Perspective API—can detect potentially harmful comments and encourage users to edit them in real-time. Additionally, publishers can—and should—review their moderation policy regularly and adjust as needed.
What about new users? We have something special for them, too.
Users who are new to a publisher’s community might need a little extra guidance. At OpenWeb, we want all new users to feel welcomed and excited to join their new community. We created a Getting Started Guide to make it easy for them to quickly register and start interacting with others on the OpenWeb platform. It covers all of the basics, from setting up a profile to contributing to the health of the Conversation.
