1page.title=Build Community
2page.metaDescription=Build a loyal following with great support and communication.
3page.tags="users, growth, community"
4
5@jd:body
6
7<div id="qv-wrapper">
8  <div id="qv">
9  <h2>
10    Contents
11  </h2>
12
13  <ol>
14    <li>
15    <a href="#starting-your-community">Starting Your Community</a>
16    </li>
17
18    <li>
19    <a href="#tools-to-build-your-community">Tools to Build Your Community</a>
20    </li>
21
22    <li>
23    <a href="#managing-your-community">Managing Your Community</a>
24    </li>
25    <li>
26    <a href="#related-resources">Related Resources</a>
27    </li>
28  </ol>
29  </div>
30</div>
31
32<p>
33  Fans of your apps love to help others, turn newer users into fans, and bring
34  you more users as they talk about your app. Building a community can help you
35  tap into those influencers to help you improve your app and provide support
36  to others.
37</p>
38
39<p>
40  Building your own community can help you bring content that will delight
41  users and get them talking about your apps to friends, family and others in
42  their social network.
43</p>
44
45<div class="headerLine">
46  <h2 id="starting-your-community">
47  Starting Your Community
48  </h2>
49
50
51</div>
52
53<p>
54  In conjunction with your apps’ design and development, you should start
55  defining and building your community infrastructure. There’s no one approach
56  that fits all, and the approach for each of your apps may need to be a little
57  different. You should start by thinking about your potential users and asking
58  questions such as:
59</p>
60
61<ul>
62  <li>
63  <p>
64    How will my users prefer to interact? Game users may prefer a modern feed
65    style community, users of a financial management app a more traditional
66    discussion forum.
67  </p>
68  </li>
69
70  <li>
71  <p>
72    Should I have a community for all my apps or should each app have its
73    own? Will users be turned off if the community isn’t just about the app
74    that interests them or can I make it a way to turn them onto my other
75    apps?
76  </p>
77  </li>
78
79  <li>
80  <p>
81    Will different countries or territories, or speakers of particular
82    languages need separate forums? How will I handle feedback in languages I
83    don’t know?
84  </p>
85  </li>
86
87  <li>
88  <p>
89    Do I need any additional policies beyond those governing the tool used to
90    host the community?
91  </p>
92  </li>
93</ul>
94
95<p>
96  Any way you do it, starting your community early helps you build momentum as
97  you turn happy users into influencers.
98</p>
99
100<p>
101  Consider inviting your existing users through a rich notification or an
102  opt-in on your website. Don’t overlook inviting your critics too. If you have
103  been able to address their earlier issues you may convert them into
104  supporters — it’s not unknown for your harshest critics to become your most
105  enthusiastic fans if you address their concerns.
106</p>
107
108<p>
109  When you use the <a href=
110  "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#alpha-beta">beta-testing
111  feature</a> in Google Play, you’ll create a testers group through a <a href=
112  "https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601">Google Group</a> or <a href=
113  "https://support.google.com/plus/topic/2888488">Google+ Community</a> to
114  define who gets your software for testing. Consider managing these groups as
115  communities in their own right.
116</p>
117
118<div class="headerLine">
119  <h2 id="tools-to-build-your-community">
120  Tools to Build Your Community
121  </h2>
122
123
124</div>
125
126<p>
127  There are many tools you can use to build your community. Before you launch,
128  inviting <a href="http://www.google.com/+/business/">Google+</a> users or
129  <a href="https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601?hl=en">Google
130  Groups</a> to <a href=
131  "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#alpha-beta">beta-test</a>
132  your app can help you kickstart your community while you listen to and
133  respond to your user feedback.
134</p>
135
136<p>
137  Once you’ve launched, your Google+ or other social media presence can help
138  you continue to gather feedback, answer questions, and get input on updates.
139  Use social media to get the conversation started. Post updates to your
140  followers, announce new apps, and host contests. Ask followers to re-post so
141  that they bring new users into the conversation. Fans love to profess their
142  passion for great apps, so be sure to give them plenty of reason to do so.
143</p>
144
145<p>
146  Forums like <a href=
147  "https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601?hl=en">Google Groups</a> are
148  particularly well suited to help you and your users provide support to
149  others. By helping out your community, you’re building your fan base who will
150  share their experiences with other prospective customers.
151</p>
152
153<p>
154  Respond to comments and reviews on both your product details page on Google
155  Play and <a href="http://youtube.com">YouTube</a> pages. Prospective
156  customers are influenced by reviews and comments, so be sure to manage your
157  brand in every channel you can.
158</p>
159
160<div class="headerLine">
161  <h2 id="managing-your-community">
162  Managing Your Community
163  </h2>
164
165
166</div>
167
168<div class="figure">
169  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-community-0.png">
170</div>
171
172<p>
173  Engaged users want you to succeed. Let them know you’re listening! Responding
174  to posts, comments, and other social media mentions improves your ratings by
175  letting users know you care.
176</p>
177
178<p>
179  Update the product based on user feedback and announce new releases. Users
180  often change their original star ratings after feeling heard, inspiring more
181  users to install your apps.
182</p>
183
184<p>
185  There are many ways to make your community feel special. Consider polls to
186  let users influence product updates. Use competitions to inspire and reward
187  your community. Giving a special <em>member of the week</em> badge is an easy
188  way to recognize those that help others. Or get users involved in testing new
189  versions or new apps to make them feel special.
190</p>
191
192<div class="headerLine">
193  <h2 id="related-resources">
194  Related Resources
195  </h2>
196
197</div>
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