Bebo shut down highlights dangers of building a third party community

The potential closure of Bebo this year means that for the first time many brands will experience some of the negatives associated with developing a community on a platform they do not own. Those that have spent a long time nurturing a network of trusting, loyal fans on the social network are now faced with the potentially mammoth task of trying to migrate them onto another platform.

In nma this week we spoke to brands and agencies that are active on Bebo, and uncovered some of the problems they now face, as well as the best ways to deal with the situation. Some have already migrated or duplicated their communities to account for previous shifts in user behaviour, from MySpace to Facebook for instance. The difference is, whereas that was gradual transition, if Bebo shuts there will be little or no time to transfer the fans to another environment.

One of the businesses affected will be the COI, which has been using Bebo to run a campaign for the Home Office about knife crime for the past three years. The site has been a key destination for the project’s target audience for the duration, so there’s been no real reason to change anything till now and it’s likely that they’ll lose a lot of the community should the shift occur.

Ilana Fox, co-founder of Spoke Digital and nma columnist, has managed communities for companies such as the Daily Mail and the Sun, as well as fashion retailer ASOS. Her advice is that in this situation, brands should ask their fans where they would like to interact with them next. “Communities don’t like change, so you have to involve them in the decision. Ask them whether they’d prefer to speak to you on Facebook, MySpace or on a custom community site instead.”

When a brand takes a customer’s suggestion into consideration, it inspires a new sense of loyalty, regardless of the platform the company chooses to use next. Though it’s likely many will not rejoin the community on the other side, the ones that do will still be equally or even more engaged. Having a solid base to start from will also provide a good foundation from which to build a new, hopefully more secure, networks of fans.

Source: Reputation Online