A few thoughts on online communities and traffic

I was thinking about some ongoing topics that keep resurfacing at my company regarding online communities and traffic to our sites.  While on the plane back from sxsw, I jotted down a couple notes to help me work out the issues on a more theoretical level.

Of course, my reference for these notes is the tween demographic and therefore mostly pertains to communities that need to be monitored in some way.
——

Online community…
is:
– proof that you have fans
– a way to connect with your audience on a more intimate level
– a way to promote a deeper engagement with your brand
– a way to provide a feedback mechanism
– a way to facilitate future content inspiration
– a way to facilitate new bizness direction inspiration

is not:
– a good idea to do without acknowledging the risks
– something that can be managed by an untrained person
– easy to manage on your own
– possible without traffic drivers
– a traffic driver on it’s own
– a high traffic generator
– the easiest way to get content from the audience
– a small resource investment

High Traffic
– demands resources
– staff, technology > money
– begs a monetization strategy
– requiring staff
– not possible (with any guarantee) with an entirely grassroots/WOM strategy
– requires an understanding of the marketplace and competitors in order to gauge success