Sunday 15 June 2014

5 ways to make your Watapps Group active


          "Hey, Watsapp?”
Yes that’s what it is for most of us, helps us greet and connect with a selective group of people. A quite a popular smart phone app and which also makes me part of so many of the groups already. Now the big question around all these groups is about the Engagement. When any new group is formed there is a sudden burst of adrenaline and members are too excited to be part of the same. Admin keeps adding new people and the interaction seems to pick up well but then gradually the initial euphoria fizzles out. And then eventually all the groups have similar messages inspired by Politics, Sports , Inspirational Quotes, Jokes or puzzles etc.

And that’s how ‘Once upon a time there was lively group’ becomes ‘And they were happy ever after forwarding messages’. So as I pointed earlier the catch lies in engaging the audience or the group members so let’s see how that can be done.

Are you sure the group is required, that’s an important question to ask, if at all there is a need to form a group? Reason being it’s much easier to form than to maintain its form! So before you actually start sending a request it’s better to check the need and requirement yourself.

Understand the audience: This remains a golden rule of any social media engagement, without which we can never understand what really can makes the group kick off. The common thread of the group can add lot of value eg: is it a school group, a work related group , family group etc and this can give a lot to play around the content flow.

Now as we talk about the content, it’s important to maintain the frequency which is neither too high nor too low. Where too much of content push can be time demanding and hence lead to exits also too less can simply disconnect one from the cause altogether.

Admin only adds name, but the onus to keep the group active and lively lies on each of the group member. It’s important that everyone takes the initiative to interact and add value to the group activity. This helps in changing the tone of the discussion which can provide much better thought evolution and also adds variety to the entire conversation.

Let the real talk happen more than forwards. Though inspirational quotes and jokes can be entertaining but have to well balance with the real time discussions. Mostly the groups are overloaded with the forwards which many might not even read however it keeps occupying your phone memory. Now that sometimes can be annoying too. Such scenarios can affect the group participation to a great extend.

It’s human to have different preferences and even if you follow all the rights still you would find many who would not be able to connect with you. But then variety is the spice of life and each of us have our preffered way to interact which might not always be the ‘Watsapp’ way!!

 

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