Groups

What is a Group?
A group is like having your own FREE mini-website within Inspired Community that you can fully control and update whenever you like. It also provides you with an automatic messaging system so you can send updates to your group members to keep them informed of important news or events related to your organisation.

You can use it as a great way to communicate with the current and prospective members of your local community organisation (theatre group, amateur photographers, sports clubs, the local playgroup, rotary groups, gardening clubs, local community shops, and many more…). It enables you to keep everyone updated about developments and plans in addition to your regular meetings by messaging your group members who have opted in with any updates, and discuss issues, projects and many other things as you post them to your mini website.

You can also use groups to promote your organisation and any events or upcoming meetings to our audience of local Test Valley, Hampshire residents.

How it Works

1. Start Your Group – click here to enter a description about your group and (if you want) post a logo, pick the privacy level of your group and click save. You’ve now got your own group mini website – and your own domain (www.inspiredcommunity.co.uk/YourGroupName)

2. Add Content – once you’ve set up your homepage, you can add more pages, news, TalkingPoint discussion boards, and events

3. Invite Members – send invites from the system for your friends, members and prospects to join your group. Download our promotional poster below to let people know where to find you. If you’re an open group, other Inspired Community visitors may click to join and get updates. Once they’ve joined, any news or events you post on our group get automatically emailed to those members – giving you a powerful marketing and communications tool!

4. Update Your Group – you, or any other member you make an administrator, has the freedom to edit any of this content at any time of the day or night with our easy-to-use and intuitive interface – it’s all in your control. By adding useful updates, news or posting events, you make your group more interesting and useful to your members, and make your group more effective at promoting your organisation.

Of course, if you need help, we’re here to make it as easy as possible for you to use so you can always contact us with any questions.

Case Studies 
Coming soon… Find out more about how early adopters the Abbotts Ann WI, the Abbotts Ann Village Shop, and the Weyhill Toddler Group are using Inspired Community by reading their case studies.

Who Can Set Up a Group?
If you are involved in a Test Valley-based community organisation or have an informal group that you want to promote to or share with others, then an Inspired Community group is for you – and best of all, it is free. Commercial companies should contact me directly for further information.

What are the Benefits to My Organisation?
Setting up your own group gives you:

• A quick, easy and, most importantly, free way to set up your own mini-website with no need to worry about domain servers, hosting services, website design, or relying on others to update your site.

• An easy way to kick start your online marketing and communications even with no knowledge of online technology or marketing – we promote to our audience of people who live and/or work in Test Valley

• Keep in touch with your members, promote news and events just by using our intuitive forms, and we’ll then handle the rest by formatting them and messaging your up-to-date list of members with links back to your group – no more need to dig out that outdated list of email recipients (people join/leave your group as they wish and your updates get sent to the most recent of your self-maintained lists)

• Your events calendar maintains itself! No longer do you need to worry about your website looking out-of-date. If an event has passed, our intelligent system removes it from display, leaving only current and upcoming events on view.

• You control the access and privacy level of your group(s) - from fully open where anyone can join, to moderated (you approve new members), to private groups for your own internal communications where only people you invite can see your 

Why is it Free?
I want Inspired Community to be truly useful to local community groups. Having been involved with several committees for local organisations, I realised that many do not have their own websites, or rely on others for often slow updates to a shared website. Although it’s using online technology, my aim with Inspired Community is to help strengthen real life, face-to-face communities. As more members join various groups, it builds my Inspired Community membership too, so it works for all sides.

Still Not Sure?
Not yet sure if groups are right for you or your organisation? Or want to ask more specific questions about how it works or how it can be useful for you? I’m happy to help so contact me at angela@inspiredcommunity.co.uk or call 01264 31 61 81. 

CLICK HERE TO START YOUR OWN GROUP