Group chats are the latest (and maybe greatest) tool in a creator’s community-building arsenal! They let you connect with your followers all at once, and you can watch your followers connect with each other and become IRL friends. Don’t believe us? Check your phone: you’re probably in a few group texts or community groups right now.
That’s why, in today’s article, we’re breaking down how to make a group chat your followers will be obsessed with.
How to Make a Group Chat
Start With a Goal 🥅
The first thing you need for your group chat is a goal for vision. If you’re thinking about starting a group chat, there’s a good chance you already know what you want it to be for. Great! You can head to the next step.
If you don’t already have an idea, ask yourself a few questions: What are you hoping to accomplish? What is this space for? It’s your group chat, so you can do whatever you want. There are a few popular options we recommend.
- Make your group chat a place for self-promotion, where they let followers know about new videos, merch drops, or any other content updates.
- The most popular use for group chats is as a community space, where followers can chat with each other and connect. 24/7, 365, your community and chat.
- Group chats are a great place to share exclusive tips, tricks, and tutorials, or for your followers to trade advice. Highly recommended for artists.
- Some creators like having a guided, discussion-oriented group chat, where they drop specific questions or topics they want to discuss altogether. Think: film buffs.
Whatever you choose, you want to make sure it serves you (and your community) well. Having a clear idea of what you want your group to be about will help you with…literally every other step. Plus it makes managing it, the content you create for it, and what your followers share in it so much easier.
Choose a Name 👑
Group chat names are as important as their goals! We all know how important a first impression is, and your group chat’s name is its only first impression. You’ve got to make it a good one. But how?
There are a few different strategies you can use to find the perfect name for your group chat – if you don’t already have one picked out. Your group chat name can be fun and funny, something eye-catching that will make even passive followers interested in learning more. It can be clear and concise, giving new followers a solid idea of what they can expect from it. Or try naming it after some kind of inside joke you and your followers have! There are millions of options and ideas you can use for your group chat, but there are three essentials you should keep in mind while you brainstorm and decide.
Group Chat Names Checklist
✅Keep it short.
✅Make it memorable.
✅Have it match your brand.
The last one is the most important! You want the name of your group chat to fit with your voice and brand as a creator. Not only does it make you look polished as a creator, but your followers are already interested in you and your voice. They’ll be more likely to join if this new group chat fits it.
Set Some Rules ⛔
Even if you just want to have a fun, causal group chat, you’ve got to set some rules. This will help you navigate or mitigate trouble if it arises, and ensure everyone is in a respectful, friendly environment. We also recommend having some moderators to help you keep everyone in line!
Since it’s your group chat, you get to make the rules yourself, but we have a few recommendations.
- Be respectful. No insults, hate-speech, or bullying.
- Set clear rules about language usage. Let people know if they can cuss!
- Are people allowed to share their content in the chat? If so, when?
- If people can share content, what kind of content (if any) is not permitted?
Unfortunately, most rules are made because someone inevitably does something wrong. Don’t stress out about covering every single situation that might arise. Just have rules for the most important or necessary things. Basic conduct will cover a lot of issues!
Write the Description 📜
Once you know waht you group chat will be about – and what the rules of engagement are – it’s time to write it all down. Don’t cringe! It sounds intimidating, but we promise it’s not. Just look at the @ClapperNewsroom Group chat!
Not to brag, but this is a really solid outline you can follow for any of your group chats. Let’s dive in, in greater detail.
Your Group Chat Description Outline
- Start with a cute intro! Even a one line “welcome to the chat” is great, but you can make it more elaborate or personality-filled if you want.
- Describe the chat’s content. This is where your vision for it will come into play! Tell us what your chat is about and what followers can look forward to.
- Share any extra reminders creators need to know about your chat. When to share videos, disclaimers about language, anything that would be helpful!
- List out your rules at the end. Make them concise and clear.
Above all, make sure your group chat sound excited!
Paid Group Chats 💸
With our latest Group chat update, you can now create paid Group chats on Clapper. This means you can set a monthly fee for Group chat members, and they’ll be charged each month they’re subscrtibed to the chat. This isn’t necessary for every chat, but if you want to offer some exclusive and extra cool for a select few followers, be sure to set a price.
How much you charge will depend on you and the content you’re offering. We recommend doing some research in your niche to see what other creators are charging for similar information. Also take into consideration the time and effort that it takes to manage this chat and the content you create. Again, not every chat needs to be one with a price tag: if you’re just creating a community space, your chat can probably be free. But if you’re offering learning tools, special lessons, or exclusive content, go ahead and put it behind a paywall. Try $5 or $10 and see if that feels adequate.
Your Group Chat Strategy 🤓
Like we said above, depending on what you want your group chat to accomplish, you might need to create a strategy for it. Or at least know how often you’ll check in with the chat! You don’t need the same level of strategy you might use on your video content, but there’s a few questions we recommend you ask yourself.
❓ How often will you send a message in the chat? Will you send something every morning, when new people join, or just when people tag you?
❓ Do you want to start the conversation, or would you rather leave that up to the other creators?
❓ How often will you promote or share your own content in the chat? Is it every video, or just certain ones?
❓ Do you plan to create or host something exclusive for the members of your group chat? If so, how often – and what?
❓ What will you contribute to the chat? Will you share memes, conversation starters, or just a few little messages daily?
You don’t have to go all out and develop a game-changing strategy for your group chat. Just an idea of how much you’ll interact with the chat and what you’ll contribute is plenty.
Start the Conversation 💬
At some point, everyone will have to start the conversation in their group chat. We recommend having some conversation starters related to your niche or content, but it’s good to have a few general ones on hand.
Here are some we recommend! Of course, please feel free to change them to match your voice.
- “Morning guys! What do you have planned for today? What are you most excited about?”
- “What’s the last thing you learned that totally surprised you?”
- “If you had to live off of only one meal for a week, what would it be?”
- “What’s one piece of advice you’d give your younger self?”
- “Working on some new content! What’s something you’d love to see me try?”
You may find conversation flows without you having to drop in. Let it!
Promoting Your Group Chat ✨
One of the key parts of a successful group chat is promotion. You’ve got to tell people about your group chat and encourage them to join it. Mention it when you host livestreams, drop a comment below your latest video inviting people, or even direct people to it in your bio.
Clapper makes promoting your Group chats easy. You can create up to ten Groups that will live on your profile. Anytime someone comes to your page to learn more about you, they’ll see your Group chats. And we have a special setting to invite any new followers to one (or more!) of your Group chats automatically.
So, on Clapper, it’s less about promoting your Group chat than starting one.
In Closing 🎀
Group chats are here to stay, and they’ll be your best friend when it comes to building a community. To learn more about Clapper’s Group chat feature, check out our Group chats 101 article and our latest Group chat updates.