When it comes to finding like-minded individuals, the Internet — and specifically social media — has become an invaluable tool. Now it’s easier than ever for groups of people to communicate with one another, to share ideas and discuss ways to bring about positive changes.
Over the past few years we’ve seen countless examples of this, with groups of people all over the world coming together in order to enact change. Perhaps they didn’t like who won the Presidental election, or they’re concerned about human rights being violated in a particular part of the world. Whatever it is, some unifying event occurs, and people connect around that event via the Internet.
However, passions fade, and over time you may find that the zeal your group originally had is fading. People have other things going on in their lives, and being far apart can make it hard to communicate or organize. If you want to keep this from happening, here are four things you can do to help keep your group engaged, no matter where they are.
Set Goals
First, when your group starts forming, you should all come up with some goals. What are some things your group can do to make a change, and how can you go about achieving them? Having a specific goal will define the focus of the group, and keep everyone on the same page. If you don’t have a goal, and if you aren’t working towards it on a consistent basis, your group might start to lose interest, or find a way to help on their own.
Communicate Frequently
Next, it’s important that you and your group remain in touch. You don’t want to go several weeks without reaching out to one another, or your group will start to take a back seat. Talk to each other on social media, or exchange phone numbers/emails. Talk about what’s going on in the news, progress you’ve made towards your goals, or even things going on in your personal life. Staying in touch with your group, and encouraging others to do the same, will help to strengthen the bond and keep the group together.
Arrange Meetups
If you can, arranging a face-to-face meetup is a great way to engage the group. Maybe you can choose one weekend out of the year, and all meet up in a certain city. This would give you a great opportunity to really get to know one another, and discuss ideas and plans. If everyone doesn’t have the means to travel, consider setting up a virtual meeting. Sign up for Skype accounts, and video chat with your group. It’s a much faster way to communicate, and will make everyone feel like they belong.
Bring In New People
Finally, one of the best things you can do is bring in new people. Bringing new people into the group introduces new ideas, and new people are often the most enthusiastic. Let their energy boost the rest of the group, and drive everyone to continue forward. There’s a good chance that many other people are interested in the same thing your group is, so you just have to go out there and find them.
Just because your group is separated by time and space doesn’t mean you can’t all be engaged. With today’s technology, communicating with other people around the world is fast and simple, making it easy to keep groups connected. But these tools by themselves won’t be enough — you have to set goals, use the tools frequently, and bring in new blood. If you can do this, you should find that your group remains engaged over the long haul and that you’re able to achieve some truly great results.
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