Here at Headstream we see online communities in three different ways: de-centralised, centralised and transient. In this presentation we will outline de-centralised communities.

1. Understanding Online
Communities
1. De-Centralised

2. Introduction
This is the first of three presentations that
will outline our thinking around online
communities.
We see online communities in three ways:
de-centralised, centralised and transient.
This presentation will focus on
de-centralised communities.

3. In this presentation
• What is a de-centralised community?
• What value do they add?
• How can you work alongside them?

4. What is a de-centralised community?
TOPIC

5. What is a de-centralised community?
• The overall online community that exists around a
specific topic.
• This can include any number of outposts and
activity e.g. Twitter posts, fan sites/blogs, forums,
Facebook updates & pages etc.
• This community is not connected to any official
site or activity but may be sharing official content.

6. What value do they add?
• With active listening you will be able to find key
individuals with whom you could work.
• Use community relations to gauge opinion, engage
brand ambassadors and answer complaints.
• Look for patterns in research data to inform future
campaigns and strategies.
• These individuals and separate communities can be
unified to form centralised or transient
communities.

7. How can you work alongside them?
• These individuals and online communities provide
the foundations for active listening and outreach
campaigns.
• With active listening you can get an idea of
what people are thinking around your brand and
your competitors.
• You can then begin to reach out to individuals to
involve them in campaigns and ongoing
relationships.

8. How can you work alongside them?
• It is impossible to think that you will be able to
engage with every single individual around a topic.
• The de-centralised communities are continuously
evolving with new ones popping up and others
dying away.
• Because of this movement it is important to do
regular listening updates to gauge new opinions
and insights.

9. Want to find out more?
If you are interested in finding out more
around our thinking, ideas and work, or just
want a chat please feel free to tweet:
@headstream
@samhilary

10. Next week
Centralised Communities