Vox Tip: Getting started with Vox Groups
Many of you are eager to find a Vox Group where you can learn and share interests and meet some cool people. Today we're going to take you through an example of how to search for a group and then create a new group to fill a niche that hasn't yet been explored. We also have a few suggestions for sharing your groups with other Voxers.
For example, maybe you've combined your love of food and art and are creating food-based sculptures. You'd really like to connect with other people who can see the beauty in creating an edible landscape with mashed potatoes and broccoli, and you want to find others who are thinking beyond the plate. A Vox Group would give you a great place to share your own work and to discuss interesting themes for food-based art projects.
So how do I find the right group or start my own?
- Your first stop when looking for a new group should be the Groups link at the top of any Vox page. From there, you can search for groups by using keywords or tags. In the search results, read through the group descriptions to see if any of them grab your interest.
- If you find a group you like in the search results, just click the "Join group" link to become a member.
- If you don't find a group that's focused on your specific fusion of food and art, you can create your own group. Just head back to the Groups page and click the "Create a group" link. You'll be asked to set the privacy level for the group, choose a group photo, write your group description, and add some group keywords.
How can I get my new group off to a good start?
- Remember how you used the keywords to find groups, and then read the group descriptions to decide whether or not to join? Don't forget how important those areas are when you create your own group! Taking time to fill in group keywords and a description will help new members find you.
- In the group description, you should explicitly state what you want (and don't want) to see in that group. Food sculpture might seem like a really obvious topic to you, but it may not be to everyone else. Be specific about your group's focus, and that will make it easier for people to know what to share in it.
- To promote your group, start by posting about it on your own blog. The people who are already coming to your blog to see your latest projects might also be interested in a group devoted to food sculpture.
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Once you publish that post, you could use the Share feature to email the post to a few fellow food artists who aren't on Vox yet.
- You could also reach out to your friends on Vox directly to ask them to join. You can either use the "Invite to Group" button on your group's home page, or send them a private message. Keep in mind that private messages on Vox shouldn't be treated like bulk mailing -- you're much better off sending out a small number of messages to people you really think would be interested in the group.
- You could also consider posting about your new group in other closely-related groups. Make sure you check with the group hosts first to see if that kind of announcement is welcome in their group.
Remember, you're going to get a much nicer response to your group if you think carefully about how you want to share it with others. We hope these tips give you some ideas on how to get your groups going!
What are some of the "specialty" groups you've created? And how have you made sure that other Voxers are aware of them?
- Brandy & the Vox Help Team
Comments
We gave hosts the option to limit who can join a group by making membership by invitation only, either letter members send invitations or limiting it to just the Group hosts. We figured owners could trust the member's they invited to join to keep the group on topic if that's what they wanted.
Hosts can make their groups invitation only in the privacy settings and choose to have them left out of public searches.
I know it's not the same thing as letting hosts moderate posts, and I know what you mean because I've had to clear plenty of way-off-topic posts from groups I host. We're always looking to add more features to groups, (I think everyone on Team Vox hosts a couple themselves) so keep the feedback coming.
Doing a search for tags like "climbing" for instance will pull up a bunch of potential members for the rock climbing group who have written about rock climbing on their blogs. A friendly personal message inviting them to the group is a great way to get more members.