Group Admin Series: Tips on How to Start Your Own Group!
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Hey everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season! Today's post will be the fourth post in the Behind the Scenes of Being a Group Administrator Blog Series and we will be discussing some tips on how to start your own group. I know I have personally gotten some questions about this topic so I am looking forward to sharing some tips and things to think about! I formatted this post so I talk about the basics of creating a group and inputted some tips along the way!
- The most important thing to think about when creating a group is the concept. Every group on URSTYLE, even though it may not seem like it, has a certain concept at the heart of it. I'll give you some examples:
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For my first group (Fashion, Fashion, Fashion) , my original concept was simply fashion. This is by far the most general and popular group concept on URSTYLE. Over time, I adjusted my concept a little bit: I wanted to make a group where I could host a variety of fashion contests, but I wanted the themes to be general and wide so you could submit an art, home, beauty, etc style set to it as well.
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For my second group (Trending Today), my original concept was high-fashion runway trends. This is a good example of how concepts can be anything you want it to be! I also wanted to create a group that would give people who make the organized sets that I loved from Polyvore a place to shine as well, which was incorporated into the group concept later.
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Some other cool concepts I have seen: Color Crush (contests based on color combinations), 60-Second Style (variety of themes as long as you add 60-second style in the set), Travel Lookbook (destination contests), Roleplay Ideas (role plays and storytelling), and many more! I'll link all of these groups if you want to join them at the bottom of the post!
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You can adjust what a certain concept means to you, that's the beauty of it! There are really no rules to what you can and cannot do! Concepts aren't the end-all-be-all for a group, it just gives you a place to start. You use the concept to create your group name. Your group name is what gives users a loose idea of what your group is about (concept) and what types of contests to expect.
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Tip 1: Customize your Group Page! Once you have entered your group name, you can start the fun part: customizing your group page! Your group page is the central hub for all things related to your group, so I recommend making it pretty! You can change the settings and customize in the Admin Tab on your group page and heading to the Group Administration section. This is where you can enter a short description about your group. You can use this space to describe your "concept", big rules, basically anything important that a user should know. Add a cool contest banner to complete your group by clicking on the banner image spot and uploading a photo!
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Tip 2: Make your group PUBLIC! A rookie mistake that I made when I first tried to make a group on the platform is not making my group public simply because I didn't know how to. You will definitely get a lot more members when it is easy and convenient for people to join! You can change the privacy settings by going to the Admin Tab on your group page, scrolling all the way to the bottom to Group Administration, clicking on the down arrow, and unchecking the Private box.
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After you make your group page look the way you want it, test out the forum feature by creating a welcome post. As I mentioned earlier in this series, as a group admin you will use this feature ALL THE TIME so make sure you get familiar with it! A welcome post is also a good way to welcome new members, introduce yourself as the administrator, and give them more details about more specific rules and such that aren't included in the group description.
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Now you're all set to create your first contest! To see more tips about how I create my contests, check out an earlier post in this series where I go through it step-by-step linked here
https://urstyle.fashion/topic/2417628/how-i-create-my-contests-from-start-to-finish
- Tip 3: Make your first contest theme pretty general! In the first days of your new group, you want to attract as many members as possible. A good way to do this is to make a pretty general theme! It will show up on the contest page and many people will want to participate, which will in turn result in lots of members! (This is because you have to join the group in order to participate in a group's contests) Of course, this isn't a set rule so if a general theme doesn't fit your concept or you just don't want to do that feel free to do you! Good go-to general themes include basic fashion staples like boots, jackets, etc. , colors, seasons, and holidays.
And that is it! I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post and are enjoying this series! Let me know what you think about the blog series in the comment section. Links to all the groups I referenced will be down below
Have a Great Day!
~ MaybloomsColor Crush: https://urstyle.fashion/groups/color-crush
60 Second Style: https://urstyle.fashion/groups/60-second-style
Travel Lookbook: https://urstyle.fashion/groups/travel-lookbook
Roleplay Ideas: https://urstyle.fashion/groups/roleplay-ideas
Comments (8) -
Wonderful & helpful information. Your directions are uncomplicated and easy to follow. This will be such a help to anyone not familiar with starting a group. Bravo!!
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Thanks for all the info, i really appreciate it and look forward to starting my own group! Thank you so much
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Very good guide girlfriend! I was in hopes that you had the secret to the size of the main header/banner size on the group page in your #3 TIP 1 CUSTOMIZE YOUR GROUP PAGE. The size on a pc [1044p x 260p] that I have looks grand but on mobile device it is a tile format.
But on another note...I would like to add that when you post GROUP GUIDELINES or a WELCOME TO THE GROUP post thread, be sure to PIN it so that this will make the thread visible at the top of the groups' forum page. [In my group, we also do this to NEW contest or OPEN contest]
Thank you for this great information for creating a group! I will have to check out the rest of your series. Cheers
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Excellent advice for creating your own group! Thanks for taking the time out to do this for us.
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@luckied99 Thank you for your tips and tricks! As for your main header/banner size, I checked your group on my phone and it doesn't show up in tile format so I think you are okay! I will double check on the specific banner size later though!
I love your insight about pinning the welcome thread to the top of the forum! I will be sure to edit that in!
If you want to participate in the next post I am looking for group admin to give some interviews and such on what their favorite contests have been.The rest of the series is on my profile page or you can check out all the series links in one place at this post here: https://urstyle.fashion/topic/2417940/behind-the-scenes-of-being-a-group-admin-official-series-links -
@kleasterling You're welcome! I am glad you liked it and found it useful!
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@vvccourtz I'm glad you liked it!
️Feel free to private message me if you have any questions! -
@ellen-hilart16 Thank you so much! I am glad you enjoyed it! 🧡