Friday Community Traditions

Traditions help develop a sense of community amongst members and stimulate participation. Don’t dismiss them as dumb, try one.

Fridays are an excellent opportunity to encourage an off-topic tradition. People expecting something fun and different. They want something to smile about before the weekend.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Craziest weekend plan award. Who has the craziest or most bizarre weekend plan? Invite members, once every Friday in a short-term sticky-thread to share their plan for the weekend. After 24 hours close the thread with a message announcing the winner.
• Caturday. Ruthlessly stolen from caturday, why not let members share funny pictures of their pets for a day?
• Games. Word-association, trivia etc…
• Beat my score. Pick a simply browser-based game and challenge members to get the highest score. It is Friday after all…
• Discounts/Promotional days. One day a week, let members promote their products/items.
• Mod-day. What’s the most interesting modification of an existing product/item a member has?

It’s easy to dismiss fun and off-topic traditions as silly and ill suited to your community. Yet, like many other activities mentioned on this blog, they’re a proven tactic. They stimulate activity and help develop a sense of community.

You might just be silly not to do it.

Richard Millington is the founder of FeverBee Limited, an online community consultancy, and The Pillar Summit , an exclusive course in Professional Community Management. Richard’s clients have included the United Nations, The Global Fund, Novartis, AMD, BAE Systems and several youth & entertainment brands. Richard is also the the author of the Online Community Manifesto. 


Avectra, the leader in web based membership management software, is proud to partner with FeverBee Limited to help organizations around the world understand best practices for creating thriving online communities and build invaluable communities of their own.  For more information on MemberFuse, Avectra’s private online community platform, and Avectra Social CRM for Associations, click here.