1 page.title=Build Community 2 page.metaDescription=Build a loyal following with great support and communication. 3 page.tags="users, growth, community" 4 page.image=/images/cards/card-build-community_16-9_2x.png 5 6 @jd:body 7 8 9 <p> 10 Fans of your apps love to help others, turn newer users into fans, and bring 11 you more users as they talk about your app. Building a community can help you 12 tap into those influencers to help you improve your app and provide support 13 to others. 14 </p> 15 16 <div class="figure"> 17 <img src="{@docRoot}images/cards/card-build-community_16-9_2x.png"> 18 </div> 19 20 <p> 21 Building your own community can help you bring content that will delight 22 users and get them talking about your apps to friends, family and others in 23 their social network. 24 </p> 25 26 <div class="headerLine"> 27 <h2 id="starting-your-community"> 28 Starting Your Community 29 </h2> 30 31 32 </div> 33 34 <p> 35 In conjunction with your apps design and development, you should start 36 defining and building your community infrastructure. Theres no one approach 37 that fits all, and the approach for each of your apps may need to be a little 38 different. You should start by thinking about your potential users and asking 39 questions such as: 40 </p> 41 42 <ul> 43 <li> 44 <p> 45 How will my users prefer to interact? Game users may prefer a modern feed 46 style community, users of a financial management app a more traditional 47 discussion forum. 48 </p> 49 </li> 50 51 <li> 52 <p> 53 Should I have a community for all my apps or should each app have its 54 own? Will users be turned off if the community isnt just about the app 55 that interests them or can I make it a way to turn them onto my other 56 apps? 57 </p> 58 </li> 59 60 <li> 61 <p> 62 Will different countries or territories, or speakers of particular 63 languages need separate forums? How will I handle feedback in languages I 64 dont know? 65 </p> 66 </li> 67 68 <li> 69 <p> 70 Do I need any additional policies beyond those governing the tool used to 71 host the community? 72 </p> 73 </li> 74 </ul> 75 76 <p> 77 Any way you do it, starting your community early helps you build momentum as 78 you turn happy users into influencers. 79 </p> 80 81 <p> 82 Consider inviting your existing users through a rich notification or an 83 opt-in on your website. Dont overlook inviting your critics too. If you have 84 been able to address their earlier issues you may convert them into 85 supporters its not unknown for your harshest critics to become your most 86 enthusiastic fans if you address their concerns. 87 </p> 88 89 <p> 90 When you use the <a href= 91 "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#alpha-beta">beta-testing 92 feature</a> in Google Play, youll create a testers group through a <a href= 93 "https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601">Google Group</a> or <a href= 94 "https://support.google.com/plus/topic/2888488">Google+ Community</a> to 95 define who gets your software for testing. Consider managing these groups as 96 communities in their own right. 97 </p> 98 99 <div class="headerLine"> 100 <h2 id="tools-to-build-your-community"> 101 Tools to Build Your Community 102 </h2> 103 104 105 </div> 106 107 <p> 108 There are many tools you can use to build your community. Before you launch, 109 inviting <a href="http://www.google.com/+/business/">Google+</a> users or 110 <a href="https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601?hl=en">Google 111 Groups</a> to <a href= 112 "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#alpha-beta">beta-test</a> 113 your app can help you kickstart your community while you listen to and 114 respond to your user feedback. 115 </p> 116 117 <p> 118 Once youve launched, your Google+ or other social media presence can help 119 you continue to gather feedback, answer questions, and get input on updates. 120 Use social media to get the conversation started. Post updates to your 121 followers, announce new apps, and host contests. Ask followers to re-post so 122 that they bring new users into the conversation. Fans love to profess their 123 passion for great apps, so be sure to give them plenty of reason to do so. 124 </p> 125 126 <p> 127 Forums like <a href= 128 "https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601?hl=en">Google Groups</a> are 129 particularly well suited to help you and your users provide support to 130 others. By helping out your community, youre building your fan base who will 131 share their experiences with other prospective customers. 132 </p> 133 134 <p> 135 Respond to comments and reviews on both your product details page on Google 136 Play and <a href="http://youtube.com">YouTube</a> pages. Prospective 137 customers are influenced by reviews and comments, so be sure to manage your 138 brand in every channel you can. 139 </p> 140 141 <div class="headerLine"> 142 <h2 id="managing-your-community"> 143 Managing Your Community 144 </h2> 145 146 147 </div> 148 149 <div class="figure"> 150 <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-community-0.png"> 151 </div> 152 153 <p> 154 Engaged users want you to succeed. Let them know youre listening! Responding 155 to posts, comments, and other social media mentions improves your ratings by 156 letting users know you care. 157 </p> 158 159 <p> 160 Update the product based on user feedback and announce new releases. Users 161 often change their original star ratings after feeling heard, inspiring more 162 users to install your apps. 163 </p> 164 165 <p> 166 There are many ways to make your community feel special. Consider polls to 167 let users influence product updates. Use competitions to inspire and reward 168 your community. Giving a special <em>member of the week</em> badge is an easy 169 way to recognize those that help others. Or get users involved in testing new 170 versions or new apps to make them feel special. 171 </p> 172 173 <div class="headerLine"> 174 <h2 id="related-resources"> 175 Related Resources 176 </h2> 177 178 </div> 179 <div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13" 180 data-query="collection:distribute/users/buildcommunity" 181 data-sortOrder="-timestamp" 182 data-cardSizes="9x3" 183 data-maxResults="6"></div>
