CS-301i · Module 2

Community-Generated Content

3 min read

The healthiest communities produce more content from members than from the brand. Member-generated content is more trusted, more relevant, and more scalable than brand-generated content. The system that produces it: create structures that make contribution easy and rewarding. Template-based contributions ("share your process using this template"). Spotlight features (weekly member highlight that showcases their expertise). Collaborative resources (community-built playbooks, benchmarking surveys, shared toolkits). Each structure lowers the barrier to contribution and raises the visibility of contributors. Members who contribute become invested. Invested members stay. The community grows through its own content production, not the brand's.

Do This

  • Create structures that make member contribution easy — templates, prompts, formats
  • Spotlight contributors to reward and incentivize participation
  • Use member content as the primary content engine — it scales and it builds trust

Avoid This

  • Produce all community content from the brand — members feel like an audience, not a community
  • Let contribution happen organically without structure — structure produces 5x more member content
  • Take member content and repurpose it without credit — trust is destroyed instantly