How To: Make Your Geni Tree More Active (Part 2)

Step Three: Engage Family Members as They Join

As family members start to accept the invitations make sure that you welcome them to the Tree. You can do this by simply sending them a quick message to their GuestBook, which is located at the bottom of their Profile. You may also want to tell them about Geni and that you are trying to create a place for your family to build and preserve family history as well as stay in touch.

You can also engage them by sending them periodic messages and/or by starting Discussions in which they can participate in. The objective is to make them feel like this is as much theirs as it is yours. Also, make sure you never forget to send them a birthday or anniversary greeting through the Calendar.

It might even be helpful to direct them to this post so they can repeat the same steps with other family members. You will really start seeing your Tree grow and become active when multiple people are following these guidelines. For example, when an in-law joins the Tree be sure to tell them to add their branch to the Tree and invite their family to join. Also, offer your assistance if they need it.

Step Four: Continuously Add Content

One of the things that you can control is the content that you add. Believe it or not, lots of family members log into Geni quite frequently but don't add content. You can see who is logging in and when through the Recently Online module found on the right hand side of your home page. Some ways that you can add content is by uploading Photos or Videos. Not just any photos or videos, try to choose the ones that will be interesting to the broader audience such as family reunion photos or photos of common ancestors.  Other ways to create content is by adding new Events, filling out your Profile, posting Latest News, or even starting Discussions. Lastly, if you see that someone is logging in frequently but not adding content then revert back to step three and try to engage them.

If you enjoyed the first two posts and would like information on how to engage your family if steps 1-4 are not working, come back tomorrow for (Part 3).