Community Essentials Configuration, Engagement, and Launch Checklist

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Community Essentials

Phase

Community Essentials for Members | Site Configuration, Engagement, and Launch Checklist:

This on-demand training is focused on learning everything that you'll need to do to for each phase -- BUILD, RETAIN, and GROW your Community Essentials platform and your membership at your association.

The checklist below will provide you with a step-by-step solution to configure, BUILD engagement, manage, and launch your community on your own to help RETAIN members. You'll also learn to measure and benchmark your community site and how to leverage it to GROW your membership.

3 Weeks Before Launch

Getting Started
Product Training
- Watch the Community Essentials Platform Overview Video
Internal Staffing Plan
- Capture roles and responsibilities for managing the community within the organization
- Gather your project team
- Assign Super Admin privileges to project team members
- Ensure everyone on the team has HUG access

2 Weeks Before Launch

Finalize Site Design:
- Colors, Logo/Images,
Configure Home Page and Footer
Update the Code of Conduct, Cookie Notification and Privacy Policy
Setup Google Analytics (optional)
Select and create Topic Tags
Populate Content into your Communities and Associated Discussions
Populate Home Page Site Content
- Polls
- Job Board (optional)
Seed Content
- Email the community members to request seed content
- Create a shared space to collect seed content
- Edit the seed content and get permission from the community member to post on their behalf
- Watch the Seed Questions Video
Promote the Community Launch
- Send the Newsletter/social media announcements

1 Week Before Launch

Review Automation Rules
- Review and customize the Automation Rule email templates
- Configure the Community Manager's email address
Promote the Community Launch
- Draft the community launch discussion posts from the Org. Executive and Community Manager
- Review the example of an executive welcome post
Manage the Community
- Watch the Automation Rules Overview and Enablement Video

Seed Content
- Organize the seed content and establish a posting schedule on a spreadsheet
- Turn off the Member Impersonation Notification message
Community Moderation
- Set the Open Forum to Full Moderation
- Watch the Community & Member Moderation Video
Manage Emails
- Schedule automation rule ribbons and badges
- Schedule the automation rule emails and conversions
Promote the Community Launch
- Send another Newsletter/social media announcement (coming soon!)
Ensure site login access (Have subset of staff test login capability)

The Day Before Launch

Manage the Community
- Watch the Community Launch Sequence Video
- Post the Leadership Welcome message
- Post the Community Manager Welcome message
- Post first seed question
Manage Emails
- Schedule the Automation Rules and Conversions
Community Moderation
- Manage the moderation queue (approve/reject)
Monitor Reports
- Digest deliverability and open-rates
- Community log-ins
- # of new community members
- # of discussion posts

2 Weeks After Launch

Monitor Reports
- Digest deliverability and open-rates
- Community log-ins
- # of new community members
- # of discussion posts
Continue to Seed Community Content
- Post 2 Seed Content items per day on days that there is no organic activity in the OpenForum
- Post the "Introduce yourself" discussion thread
- Watch the Introduce Yourself Thread Video
- Add the “Introduce yourself” discussion thread to the Welcome New Member email template
- Check unanswered posts
Community Moderation
- Set the OpenForum to Self-Moderation

3 Weeks After Launch & Beyond

Manage the Community
- Post 2 Seed Content items per day on days that there is no organic activity in the OpenForum
Monitor Reports
- Watch the Data, Reporting, and Benchmarking Video