Becoming a Jedi Master. The secret art of cultivating online communities Luis Suarez

Becoming a Jedi Master. The Secret Art ofCultivating Online CommunitiesLuis Suarez - CommunityBuilder, KMer and Social Computing Evangelist@elsua || http://elsua.net #sbf12 (- #cmgr) © 2012 IBM Corporation

Acknowledgements - With credit to: •Mike Martin (@mmartin1) & Chris Cooper p •BlueIQ team •Bill Chamberlin (@horizonwatching)’s Community 101 series •GBS’s CommunityCentral •CommunityBuilders community •Darrel Rader (@darrel_rader) and the Rational CoPs 2 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Becoming a Jedi Master - The Secret Art of Cultivating OnlineCommunitiesAgenda • What is a Community? • What Value are Communities? • What does it take to set up a Community? • What does the Community Facilitator do? • Where would we start? 3 © 2012 IBM Corporation

What is a community? “Groups of people who share a passion for something” (Wenger, 2004) “Groups of people who come together to share and learn from one another” (Vestal, 2003) “Communities are powerful tools, as long as you put members’ needs first” (Forrester, 2008) Topic of Interest An interactive group of people joined together by a common topic of interest. 4 © 2012 IBM Corporation

There are many different types of enterprise community • They can form within a department, across Some Examples departments, and can reach out to external • Collaborative workgroups stakeholders (customers, analysts, and partners). • Customer Support • Social spaces • Illness support groups • They can be small or big, short-term or long-term, • Ethnic groups centralized or distributed, spontaneous or • Professional groups intentional, grass-roots or top down & formally • Association Members endorsed, and virtual or physical • Industry ecosystems • Geographical user groups • Developers • They can be internal to an organization or they • Discussion groups can cut across multiple companies and industries • Special interest groups • Creative groups Communities can overcome barriers of time, geography, affiliation, and culture. 5 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Community Definition...and some examples Definition: A group of people with similar professions, job functions or shared interests, who come together to share (knowledge, information, best practices, Q&A) and to spark new collaborations and ideas. Community of Practice Community of people specializing in deployment of a specific group of products. Used to gather knowledge about this technology, in service of customer needs. Community of Interest Community of people with an interest in learning and keeping up to date with a subject area that may or may not be a part of their current role 6 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Communities lead to increased Enterprise Knowledge, which leads toimproved Organizational Capabilities, which results in positive Valuefor Enterprises Value Better Profitability Services • Customers Higher Better • Employees Quality Products • Partners Enterprise Knowledge Customer Operational • Other Stakeholders Knowledge Best Sat. Efficiency Database Practices Collective Knowledge Intelligence Retention Organizational Communities Capabilities Cross Locate Insights Content Open Pollination Specialists Understanding Sharing Collaboration Worker Customers Forums Efficiency Social Innovation Networking Wisdom of Problem Decision Crowds Solving Making Business Processes 8 © 2012 IBM Corporation

What is the Value of Communities?It depends on the business problem you are trying to solve… Reduce costs of Increase Customer Market Business customer support Reduce market customer service research Transformation research loyalty Building a Virtual Focus costs Generate ideas Build New brand Groups Improve PR effectiveness New Product Relationships Development Marketing Brainstorm Increase Amplify Word of speed of Improved Mouth Improve Brand ValueGenerate innovation developer Test new Improve Public PROJECTword of relations Decrease relations products COLLABORATION LONGmouth TAIL customer Better Decision Making acquisition cost Customer Increase brand SALES Listen Capture Support Bring outside ideas awareness “Wisdom of Crowds” into the Increase new Member Skill-Building organization faster product success networkingSense & ratios EmployeeRespond Co-innovation communications 9 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Community members join because they see value in doing so • Need support • People want to connect • Want to listen / learn from others with other people • Want to express themselves • People want to help and • Want to share what they know be helped • Want recognition • Want power & increased responsibility • It’s part of the culture of the organization Because communities are voluntary, what makes them successful over time is their ability to generate enough excitement, relevance, and value to attract and engage members. Wenger, 2002 10 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Four critical elements in developing a successful communityIt’s not all about the social networking technology platform RelationshipsPeople -Easy for members to form new relationships-Community Facilitator is passionate -Linkages with other communities-Exec Sponsor is committed andmodels collaborative behavior-Members share a common interest People Capabilities - Create a content repository - Connect members to contentManagement System - Identify most valued content-Secure resources (& Knowledgefunding?)-Form a Core Team &establish a Community Process Technology TechnologyCharter - Rich Member profiles-Establish cadence of - Simple to use socialmeetings collaboration platform-Manage to a balanced - Community Facilitator Toolsscorecard - Platform measures value,-Create sense & respond Methodologies participation, and reputationcapability -Community templates of membership -Community education offerings -Daily/weekly community leadership activities 12 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Community Launch Plan Start-Up / Assessment Design Launch Sustain Discovery Executive Business Value Community Business Core Team in Sponsorship in Approach Infrastructure in Performance place place designed place Reviews Community Current State Community Community Health & Maturity Manager in place Assessed designed Launched Checks Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Iteration 4 Community Satisfied Community Community Community Charter Members Charter Charter Charter Shape and rate of incline curve depends on Business successful execution of combination of People, Value Process, Technology and Knowledge Time to Value 13 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Before you start, make sure you are launching the community thathas a chance to be successfulShould You Even Launch A Community? Best Good Practices Is there a sense of energy and passion around the •Leader Is Passionate and Very Active community topic or domain? •Establish Clear Goals and Purpose Is there a recognized need that the community can •Needs of Members Comes First meet, thus providing value to the members and their •SME Talent Assigned to Core Team •Management Has Committed Time, Resources, (and organizations? Funding?) Is management aware of the potential value, utility, •Make it Social & Communal and benefits to members? To the organization? Is there top-level sponsorship? Can potential members be identified? Is there an existing sense of community among potential members? Worst Practices Is there a significant or critical issue facing the •Starting With Technology •“Build it and they will come” potential community membership that knowledge •Focus on Value to Organization Only sharing can positively impact? •Wrong Focus: Metrics vs. Business Measures Are there resources (e.g., people, technology, funding) to support the community? Developing a launch plan for a community is similar to developing a launch plan for a new product or service ….or even a new company 14 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Most successful Communities are dependent on a small minority ofactive contributors The 90 – 9 – 1 Rule 1% Heavy Contributors “In most online communities, 9% Intermittent 90% of users are lurkers who Contributors never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.” -Jakob Nielsen 90% But the community needs to Lurkers provide value to the lurkers as well as to the contributing members. 15 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Mistakes some organisations make... Avoid: • Taking a “set up the community and they will come” approach – with no community manager or launch plan • Pre-selecting a group of members who have no reason to collaborate • Establishing Communities as restricted access with no good reason (if some Community content must be restricted then use a restricted access sub-community) • Imposing a managed request and approvals process on the set-up of all Communities • Announcing an online Community before any content has been added to it • Expecting that the majority of members will start accessing and contributing to an online Community from the start • Assuming that online activity equates to benefits 16 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Community Roles and Responsibilities • Sponsor • Nurtures the relationship between the community and the organization (“the business”) • The sponsor is not the day-to-day Community Facilitator • Community Leader / Facilitator • Provides overall guidance and leadership to the Community to maintain social, cultural and organizational relevance • Core Team • Supports the Community Facilitator in the activities needed for the ongoing health of the community 18 © 2012 IBM Corporation

The Community Leader / Facilitator is a Member Champion• Interacts with members• Leads community: Key Activities• Member advocate  Promotes community• Community evangelist  Encourages participation &• Creates editorial content discussion• Harvests market insights  Connects members with each• Balances the needs of the community with other organizational objectives  Produces deliverables• Leader of the Core Team  Reports community metrics• Skills required:  Monitors & responds• Strong online communication skills  Communicates news• Approachable and conversational  Organizes events• Has the ability to relate to members online and  Surveys for needs offline• Comfortable with Web 2.0 and social media tools 19 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Forrester has identified four tenets of the Community Facilitator Description of Core Activities Community The community facilitator’s primary role is to represent the members of the Advocate community. They must listen, monitor, and respond to requests and conversations, both within the community platform and in email. Community facilitator promotes events, products, and upgrades using traditional Brand Evangelist marketing tactics as well as being part of conversations within the community. The community manager must first earn and maintain trust. Defines, plans, and executes content strategy. Uses forums, blogs, podcasts, Facilitator and other tools to create content. Mediates disputes: Encourages advocates and deals with — or when necessary removes — detractors. Works with corporate stakeholders to identify content, plan updates, publish, and follow-up. Research and Gathers the requirements of the community and presents to product teams. Plans Development and analyzes results of surveys or focus groups. Facilitates relationships Contributor between product teams and customers. Forrester: “Online Community Best Practices” by Jeremiah Owyang, Feb, 2008 20 © 2012 IBM Corporation

The Core Team supports the Community Facilitator in the activitiesneeded to sustain and grow the Community These are key people to • Core Team Members support the ongoing vitality of • Sample Roles: • the community Knowledge broker / curator • Learning coordinator • Various process owners (e.g., welcome process, metrics, monthly newsletter) • Sample Responsibilities: • Support the Community Facilitator in all the activities needed for the ongoing health of the community • Provide expert review of assets and intellectual capital • Provide thought leadership • Inspire member participation and promote the community • Keep the stakeholders informed and supportive • Help to obtain support/funding for community activities • Attend and participate in community events, activities, and discussions • Support and advise the community leader • Serve as the initial body of decision makers for the community • Provide the momentum needed to sustain the community’s evolution and vitality 21 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Becoming a Jedi Master - The Secret Art of Cultivating OnlineCommunitiesAgenda 1. What is a Community? 2. What Value are Communities? 3. What does it take to set up a Community? 4. What does the Community Facilitator do? • Where would we start? 22 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Community CharterName: (The name of the Community, i.e., Developer Community, Customer User Group)Target Member Demographics: (List the characteristics of the members that the community is hoping to attract)Purpose/Intent: (What is the purpose/intent of the community?, i.e., Skill Building, Listening.)Domain: (What is/are the topic(s) of interest that best supports the community’s purpose)Assigned Roles: (Identify by name the individuals who are filling roles.)• Community Sponsor(s):• Community Facilitator(s):• Core Team Members:Critical Business Issues: (Identify the critical business issues faced by the community.)Collaboration Tools: (List the primary collaboration tools that will be used.)Resources Required: (Identify the resources required to support the community, i.e., existing resources that are available, required contractor support, and content that needs to be developed.)Measures of Success: (List measures of success.) 23 © 2012 IBM Corporation

Implementation Checklist - Example • Document why the community is needed • Create a business case • Identify an initial community leader • Define the scope of the community • Recruit a core team of core team members • Assign roles • Document community main activities and processes • Develop a Knowledge Management Plan • Develop a Technology Platform plan • Finalize the Community Charter • Inventory and post existing content • Document a 90 day Launch Plan • Hold Pre-Launch Review Meeting • Launch the Community 24 © 2012 IBM Corporation

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Becoming a Jedi Master. The secret art of cultivating online communities Luis Suarez

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