Online communities are fundamentally based on connection, shared commitment, and engagement in the groups or activities space. Sports engagement strategies can inform community managers on ways to generate connection, engagement, and motivation for members to return. 

Here are some examples of implementing an engagement strategy to enhance the online community using a sports engagement lens.

Encourage Involvement By Using Points-Based Systems

While sports have consistently scored participants in terms of performance, communities can achieve something similar, too. 

For instance, the stableford scoring system in golf lets you earn points by comparing your performance to par. Because the scoring system measurement rewards consistency, you could score activities within your community, for instance, posting (3 points), commenting (1 point), or sharing a resource (5 points), and summarise those scores, keeping in mind any rules about tagging others. 

You could list weekly leaders and have a friendly competition. It addresses a basic competitive instinct among members, which can make engaging with the community a reward. Points provide a sense of accomplishment and incentivise them to continue engaging frequently.

Encourage Teamwork And Cohesion With Group Challenges

Similar to sports teams working together to achieve a common goal (Such as in a relay race where every runner does their part), communities can foster similar relationships by empowering members through group challenges. 

Consider starting a “Content Creation Marathon,” where teams of members are challenged to compete on either creating a blog post or solving a problem. The winning teams could earn a badge or a special role for a sense of pride. 

The group challenges provide a means for quieter members to share while increasing accountability and bonds with teams. Group challenges allow for a place of belonging, while solo challenges don’t. The latter allows members to have a team, which adds cohesion to the community and motivates members to be active by fostering team spirit through shared ambitions and healthy competition.

Create Dynamic Competitions Inspired By Tournaments

While competing in tournaments such as March Madness has thrilling stakes and transparency in design, it is something that communities can do, too. To keep the excitement going, run some bracket-style competitions in design. 

For instance, run a “Community Clash” competition, in which community members submit their projects or ideas (i.e., anything they work on). The community could vote on who advances and who does not, and the competition proceeds in subsequent rounds. This type of competition keeps participants engaged and excited to discover who advances. 

Tournaments can be a great chance for creativity and allow members to showcase their talents. This also brings urgency since there is a timeline to follow that can keep people from dropping off. 

By harnessing the excitement of tournament-style competition, communities can be very lively. It invites community members and others to cheer each other on as they participate, vote, and celebrate the competition.

Reward Consistency

Constant effort in endurance sports like marathons is valued over speed. Different participation systems in communities can motivate a participation habit to form. One method can involve introducing a “Streak” system to track daily actions, such as posting, liking content, or attending events. If participants achieve a milestone like “7-Day Dynamo” or “30-Day Champion,” reward them with a badge representing their commitment to the community. 

This approach focuses on persistence rather than a one-time reward. It utilises small actionable efforts to develop participation from casual to consistent. Constancy creates a reliable, caring core in a community that is important for long-term health. 

Acknowledging small, repeated efforts over time tells participants they are valued community members, akin to the grit exhibited in endurance sports. 

Replicate The Energy Of Live Sports With Real-Time Events

Live sports events like World Cup Matches create excitement in the moment. While a community cannot invite a person to your chat during a game, they can recreate the virtual experience by using real-time event features of a platform. 

Live Q&As, webinars, or AMAs with experts can replicate the stadium’s energy. Even without a featured guest, using built-in polls or chats is an easy and innovative strategy to keep your audience engaged. 

Audiences are drawn to the immediacy of live interaction, as they would experience in the stadium. In these live events, the sense of urgency and immediacy enables members to gather and form connections rather than interacting through static posts. 

Regularly scheduled events ensure a pulse of activity in the community, lending to keep it thriving. Managers can replicate the team sports environment excited at the moment and transition that environment to membership experiences by enabling participation. Being active members together creates memories, too, and users begin to anticipate your next big event or experience!

Foster Mentorship Like Sports Coaching

Sports coaches help athletes get to the next level, and mentorship can be used in communities for the same purpose of cultivation. Craft volunteer experienced members to partner, learn the parts of the platform, and think through goals with new members. 

Acknowledge these members with the “Community Coach” title for their role. Mentorship provides relationships to support new members in their experience while empowering veteran members. 

Instead of generic onboarding practices, mentoring provides personal connections to decrease feelings of isolation and convey a sense of belonging rather than discouraging disengagement from the community. 

Like sports, mentorship can cultivate a purpose and enhance skills to create a sense of community that can ultimately connect. Mentors become cornerstones of the community, and using these mentors drives up engagement in leadership.

Endnote

By leveraging existing models of sports engagement, online communities can become engaging places for members to feel recognised and engaged. Whether through gamified points, teams, or public shout-outs, these options can foster engagement. Try some of these options today, and watch as your community scores points on engagement.