Community is one of the building blocks of any Web3 brand, which makes it very important. I am a community builder in the web3 space, and experience has taught me a lot. There are a number of strategies to adopt while launching out, which is why I decided to speak with Prosper Ayere, the community manager at Ekolance, for this educational series. Let’s go on a journey of community building.

Interview with Prosper Ayere

Prosper is a goal-oriented and service-driven individual who understands the roles that community building and development play in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. She is passionate about learning, blockchain adoption, and human management.

She loves to be a part of a team and community that can harness her fundamental skills to add value to an already existing platform of change and development in this digital era.

On Thursday, October 26th, 2023, I spoke with Prosper on a call to get her view about community building in the Web3 space. Here’s how our conversation went:

How many years have you been managing communities in the Web3 space?

Prosper wowed me with her response.

I have been in the space for just two years and six months, but I have gained so much experience and professionalism.

How was the experience when you started?

For someone like me, I had knowledge of the blockchain and how to trade cryptocurrency. It was not so difficult for me to manage the crypto-trading community, which was my first job, as I could give firsthand answers to the queries of members, join existing conversations, and spark up engaging conversations.

What was your community strategy like?

I started with a community of 200+ members, where she responded to member queries and basically did community moderation.

When I started managing a larger community of about 4000 people, it was time to level up. I upskilled and took some training on people management, conflict resolution, and community engagement. I had to do my community analysis weekly or monthly.

The first thing I did was to understand my community members: who are they, and what do they really want?

As a value-oriented community manager, these were the questions I asked so that I knew how to gather resources for my members and tailor content that suited their needs.

My community strategy was open to modifications and changes as the community kept getting new members.

As a community manager, I stand as the bridge between the company and the community members.

Have you ever been in a community where the number of people leaving was greater than the number of people joining? What did you do?

Yes, it has happened a few times. I thought it was my fault as I was losing touch with the community and members were no longer getting value.

I later found out that the problem would have been with the general market or that members were getting value elsewhere. So whenever you are having an outflow of members, ask other community managers in the space to know if it’s a general thing or if it’s just your own community.

Whenever we are in a bear market, some community members tend to lose interest in crypto all of a sudden; they tend to lose hope and feel Web3 is not valuable. Here are some things you can do to revive your community:

Keep their hope alive. Reassure them that the bear market will last for a short period of time. Let them know that there is more to blockchain. Create awareness classes for them to learn about other things they can do on the blockchain.
Onboarding: Let new members feel welcome and have a sense of belonging. You should make them feel valuable as part of your community.

What is your view on building Web3 communities based on incentives?

My tagline has always been value over volume. I do not believe in building a community based on incentives but on value. Although money is also valuable, members tend to withdraw when you stop giving them money because they find no other value in the community.

Whatever one is building in the space must stand the test of time. Build a community of members that will always have your back—members that know the vision, mission, and roadmap of your project. Then you can reward loyal members as a means of incentivizing them.

What is your view on data in community management? What tools do you use?

The community is one of the strongest marketing pillars of any blockchain brand. It is important to track data and analyze it to make informed decisions. This makes me, as the community manager, know if the community is growing or not, as I have track of the percentage increase or decrease in the number of members.

Many people use different tools for analytics, but I prefer to use the platform’s analytics. I am also a social media manager. I trust the platform’s analytics because they show me in real time how people are engaging with my content. Different social platforms, such as Telegram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Meta, have analytics tools that show the reach, engagement, top hours when people are engaging with your post, profile viewers, and impressions. The world of data is limitless.

How do you measure success in community building?

Success differs from community to community. Before you start, you would need to ask why the community was built. What is the goal that the company would like to achieve with the community?

Every company has a road map that guides every activity. The community’s road map is definitely similar to the company’s. That being said, key performance indicators (KPIs) must be identified. Let’s see an example:

Community X wants to achieve the following in the first three quarters:

January–March: We want to increase the number of community members from 500 to 3000.
April–June: The company wants to improve her features.
July–September: Launch of the main net

After each quarter, work can be measured as successful if the KPI is met. If the community grows to 3100 by March, that is a success. By April, we will introduce some of our products to community members, and they will actually test them. We can say we have met the KPI if at least half of our current members are using the product. It is important to have KPIs, as they guide the activities of the community.

Do you have any community managers that you would like to model?

Yes, I do have two people. They are Gerald Ibeawuchi, a community manager at LBank, and Anita Darlington. I love the way they manage their community; it is so unique. These two so far have been my inspiration.

It was lovely interviewing Prosper Ayere; you can check her out on LinkedIn. What is your view on web3 community building ?

I would to know in the comment section.

I am Oyindamola Akinboyo, a web3 content writer and community manager. Let's connect here