MID-TERM PROJECT – 20%

The first project of the course will be developed through different activities related to units 1 and 2,
based on the following communities or another one chosen by your group.

You must organize into groups of 5 people and each group must choose a community.

- BakeSpace → [Link] → Food enthusiasts.

- Bunnings Workshop → [Link] → Home improvement.
- Fortnite → [Link] → Passionate Fornite players and fans alike.
- Goodreads → [Link] → Readers and book lovers.
- Instructables → [Link] → From crafts to tech builds likers.
- Lego Ideas → [Link] → Open innovation program.
- Lomography → [Link] → Photography enthusiasts.
- Lululemon → [Link] → Fitness and wellness enthusiasts.
- Mango Innovation → [Link]
1677 → Brand, fashion and consumption trends.
- ReachOut → [Link] → Mental healthcare for young people.
- Sephora → [Link] → Beauty obsessed and newbies.
- StudyTogether → [Link] → Social learning community.
- TravellersPoint → [Link] → Travel lovers.

If you choose a virtual community that is not listed, make sure that the community you choose is
dynamic and active, with regular member interaction, and that both membership and all the services
or benefits that the community offers, are free. Otherwise, you would not be able to effectively
develop the project exercises.

Deadline

The deadline to submit this deliverable is November 12, through the virtual classroom, and the
presentation in class will be held on November 13. Please, remember that according to the class
policies, group members who do not attend class and participate the day of the presentation, will be
evaluated with 1.5 points less.

Statement

Infiltrate the chosen community, becoming an active member. Participate and engage from today on,
otherwise you will not be able to solve some of the exercises in this project.
Exercise 1: Requirements for a virtual community

You have started the course learning what a virtual community is, and the requirements to meet to be
one.

Check if your community meets the basic requirements of virtual communities. To do so, remember
that a virtual community consists of the sum of people who have a shared purpose and interact socially
using computer networks and systems, and the set of policies that guide the group.

Then, detail the type of people that interact, the interest or need they share, the norms that govern
the community and how the company or the community manager communicates them, and the
information and interaction mechanisms used.

Based on your ratings and reflections, answer the following questions:

- Does this community meet all the basic requirements to be considered a virtual community?
Why or why not?

- What are the strongest aspects of this community, and where could it improve to better meet
the criteria?

Exercise 2: The guts of a community

Now that you have landed on your virtual community, it is time for you to analyze it in depth and
highlight the most relevant characteristics.

1. Build a mind map to show the characteristics of your community, its objectives, typology, possible
benefits, reason why it was created, what is done in it, and any type of information that you
consider relevant.

2. Use the information that you have collected as the basis of a brainstorming that allows you to
indicate how the company (or the community manager) could achieve or enhance the objective
it pursues through the community (what actions you think the company could take to improve its
results).

To solve the first part of this exercise, remember that mind maps present concepts related to a main
topic in a diagram form and that their purpose is to organize the information and display it graphically.

You can use any free tool on the Internet to create your mind map, like MindMeister or FreeMind, but
make sure you will be able to export it to add it to your presentation and show it to your classmates.
Exercise 3: Factors underlying the creation of strong community bonds

At this point you have learned that the sense of community is obtained with the participation and
connection of its members among them and to the community, and it is time to analyze the factors
underlying the formation and maintenance of strong bonds between the community members of your
community, and the feeling of belonging to the community.

To do so, you must first discuss the following questions with the other members of your group:

- What elements make this community strong? What does motivate the community
members to be part of the community? How frequently do they get together?

- How could the company leverage these factors? What benefit(s) can the company derive
from tapping into the community?

After your reflection, add two slides to your presentation, detailing (1) the key factors underlying
community bonds and (2) how the company can leverage the community.

Exercise 4: Member journey empathy map

Until this moment you have been able to solve the exercises as an observer of the community you have
chosen, but now it is necessary that you speak from your own experience, and to do so you must be
an active part of your community.

Important:
You will have to demostrate that you have been active participing in your community.
You can find out how to do it in the "Appendix" section of this document.

The objective of this exercise is to reflect on what do the members of the community need, according
to what they feel at each stage of their membership.

So now that you are a full member of your, according to your own feelings write out 3 positive and 3
negative emotions that you have experienced in each step of your member journey, properly arguing
your answer.

Note: Have on mind that you have a month to move up the curve of
engagement, and that it is about you experiencing the journey for
yourself. This means that you can start working on this exercise now, to
continue it later, when you have been able to jump to the next stage of
the curve.

On the other hand, since it is possible that you will not become a leader of the community (last stage
of the process), for that last phase you will have to put yourself in the shoes of the members who have
become leaders, to identify the possible both positive and negative emotions they could feel.
Exercise 5: Community commitment curve

Knowing what the community members feel in each phase of the commitment curve, it is time to think
about the objectives of the company. Jump to the other side, putting yourself in the company's
perspective, and think about what the company could want from its followers. What actions will you
want to provoke from the members of your community, and how are you going to ask for that?

1. Brainstorm 10 “asks”, ranking them in size of commitment, defining their phase in the member
journey, and properly arguing the degree of commitment.

2. Break the “asks” down to the 3 most important and measurable, explaining why you think those
are the best times to measure.

This is an example of what you are being asked to do, but please understand it as a generic example,
since you must create the asks based on the characteristics of your community and the needs of your
company or brand.

Rank in Size of Commitment Phase in Journey

The "Ask"
(Rough Estimate) (Discovery, Onboarding, Engagement,
Follow on Instagram 1 Discovery
Follow on Facebook 2 Discovery
Join Facebook Group for early members 4 Discovery
Sign up to be on email list 3 Discovery
Start thread in Group 9 Engagement
Like anothers' thread 7 Engagement
Introduce self in group 6 Onboarding
Make referral to a friend 15 Engagement
Make intro to press contact 16 Leadership
Share on social 8 Engagement
Consent to public share of post on 11 Engagement
Consent to be interviewed on blog 13 Engagement
Share out blog post interview 14 Engagement
Participate in an event 10 Engagement
View group 5 Onboarding
Fill out survey 12 Engagement
Virtual Coach 17 Leadership

Exercise 6: Engaging consumers

Now let’s get creative!

Your challenge is to design an innovative and creative marketing strategy to engage and retain
community members in a way that sparks interest and fosters a sense of belonging. Your strategy
should be something new and outside the box; something that has not been overdone or that adds a
fresh spin to traditional methods. Focus on crafting an idea that is unique, practical, and aligned with
your community-building goals.
For this, consider what drives your community members, what would make them want to interact
regularly, and what are their needs, values, and interests.
The fun part here is brainstorming creative strategies that will grab attention and get people talking,
participating, and returning to your community, thinking beyond the typical approaches like giveaways
or social media ads.

After brainstorming, choose your best idea and design the core of your strategy, considering the
following key points as you craft your idea:

- How will this strategy capture the attention of the audience?

- How will it encourage participation and keep members engaged over time?
- What tools, platforms, or technology will you need to bring this strategy to life?
- Why is this strategy different or more effective than traditional approaches?
- How will you measure its success?

The purpose of this activity is to work on the CT5 tranversal competence of the course. CT5 = Present
new approaches, search for new ways to solve problems and be receptive to new ideas. (Creativity and
Innovation).

As said in the syllabus, this transversal competence must be worked on by introducing an innovative
or creative element in the resolution of the two projects of the course, and this is the exercise through
which you will work on it in the mid-term project.

Exercise 7: Design claims to get contribution

In class you learned the different approaches to get contribution, and you obtained several tips to
design the community in a way that encourages the participation of its members.

In this last exercise of the mid-term project, you are asked to do the following:

1. Check if the recommendations for obtaining user contributions that we highlighted in class, have
been taken into account in the design of your virtual community.

2. Detail the design claims that have been considered and the purpose pursued by each one.

Appendix: Demonstration of active participation

Great! You have reached the end of the activity, and it is time to demonstrate your active participation
in your community.

To do this, you must do the following:

1. Add a last section to the document, called "Annex", including screenshots of your posts,
comments, or discussions within the community. It is highly recommended to show not just your
comments, but ongoing interactions or replies to other members. Screenshots could show you
starting a discussion, answering questions, or engaging in a meaningful conversation.
 If the community encourages user-generated content (UGC), you can submit proof of content you
have created, such as posts, videos, polls, or discussions, ensuring the content is original and
substantial, and that it has sparked engagement (comments, likes, shares…) from other community
members.

Some communities offer live events, webinars, or challenges, and you can also demonstrate your
participation by submitting screenshots of attendance or certificates of completion.

Finally, many virtual communities offer badges, ranks, or recognition for active participants. If thisi
the case in your community, you can submit screenshots of badges you have earned, or a status
report from the community that shows you have achieved certain milestones (e.g., "Top
Contributor").

2. Provide a link to your profile in the virtual community that shows your public interactions,
contributions, and activity levels, reflecting genuine involvement in community discussions.

3. Write a short reflection explaining your experience and what have you learned about the
community’s dynamics.

Delivery

• You will submit this project creating a single document that will encompass all the exercises.

• Divide the document into several sections, one for each of the exercises.

• Do not forget the appendix, including proof of your active participation in the community.

• Name the file as follows:

“LastName1_LastName2_LastName3_LastName4_LastName5”.

• Detail also into the document the name of the members of the group that have participated in
doing this project.

• Be ready for your presentation. Reflect the information visually and explain it to the other groups
in a natural and organic way.