Building an online community, Economist-style

The Economist has nearly 1.2 million Twitter followers, and more than 800,000 Facebook fans. How do you build a community like that? Well, tweeting about what you had for lunch probably won't do it. Challenging and engaging your online readers, however, will, says The Economist's community editor Mark Johnson in a recent Q&A posted on editorsweblog.org.

The Economist has nearly 1.2 million Twitter followers, and more than 800,000 Facebook fans. How do you build a community like that? Well, tweeting about what you had for lunch probably won't do it. Challenging and engaging your online readers, however, will, says The Economist's community editor Mark Johnson in a recent Q&A posted on editorsweblog.org.

"If you ask for a lot from your community," Johnson tells interviewer Hannah Vinter, "you will find that you get a lot in return." For more nuggets of wisdom on building an online community strategy, check out the interview.