60 Insights from Experienced Community Managers

Share this book:60 Insights from Experienced Community Managers 1st Edition 3rd October 2011

Share this book: About the AuthorBlaise Grimes-Viort is the Head of Community Management for eModeration, a provider of Community Management & Content Moderation services. His responsibilities range from heading up an international team of Community Managers working on client communitydevelopment & management, consulting on engagement strategies & supporting clients on how to engage successfully with their community’s participants.He started his career in Community Management in 2001 & has worked with global brands, startups & charities, in fields such as Videogaming, Social Networking, Pharmaceutical, Broadcasting, Publishing and ISPs. This varied experience has provided him with a rich background in product development & customer collaboration, & the passion to help organisations build thriving online communities & social media outposts.

Share this book: CopyrightThe copyrights in this work belong to individual authors of each quote, who aresolely responsible for the content. If you would like to reuse someones insight, please be nice and contact them to ask for permission.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

Share this book: Contributors Foreword by Tamara LittletonLaurel Papworth DJ Waldow Jenn Pedde Matt Brawn Rachel Happe Sean MoffittAlison Michalk Eric Foster Jenna Langer Matt Fairchild Raphael Hunold Stuart G HallAngela Connor Eric Suesz Jim Storer Mecca Ibrahim Rebecca Newton Sue JohnBruno Boutot Greg Hollings Judi Huck Megan Berry Richard Millington Tamar WeinbergConnie Bensen Harold Kip Justin Isaf Megan Murray Roberto Kusabbi Thomas KnollDan Marotta Heather Taylor Laura Oliver Melle Gloerich Robin Hamman Tom NoedingDave Cayem Holly Seddon Lauren Vargas Misti Crawford Robyn Tippins Trisha LiuDavid Lowe Jake McKee Leah Williams Olivier Tripet Rowan Barnett Vanessa DiMauroDerek Powazek Jamie Pappas Lisa Bartels Patrick O’Keefe Ryan Arndt Vincent BoonDebra Askanase Janet Aronica Maggie McGary Philip Wride Scott Drummond Tera Kristen

Share this book: Foreword As communities start to evolve, brands are starting to realise that they must havecommunity managers to look after their investments, and that this is a job for a dedicated professional, whether in-house or outsourced.Community managers may have an enormously diverse set of responsibilities, but above all its to develop & nurture the community, to encourage engagement & participation. The tasks to achieve that goal can be fairly wide-reaching & onerous. Responding to posts at 3am? Yes. Organising an army of volunteer moderators? Yes. Preparing a business case? Oh, yes. A tough job. So let’s hear it for community managers. And hear from them, right here...

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersAs society migrates into online communities, webecome pioneers exploring new frontiers of thevirtual landscape of our minds.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersHave escalation systems, policies & procedures, butabove all have the right persons mobile numberaccessible & be prepared to call at 3am when yourworst case scenario eventuates.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersYou have to be a top contributor. Managing thecommunity is not enough. Lead by example & otherswill follow suit. Angela Connor, Social Media Manager Capstrat Author “18 Rules of Community Engagement”

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersYour Community Manager reflects the soul of yourbusiness.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersWhen community demands exceed businessobjectives & resources it becomes similar toparenting when tough love is needed.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersBeing competitive is human nature. Therefore,gamification of online communities drives desiredmember activities; both quality & quantity.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersDont take it personally. They arent angry at you -theyre angry at your decisions. Be confident andkeep your cool.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersAlways remember that your community membersare your life blood. Lose them & you loseeverything.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity management is the process of makingdecisions with good intentions & then cleaning upafter the explosion.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersTap into the reason your community members arethere & what information is most valuable to them.Plan your content & engagement accordingly.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersB2B is (very) similar to B2C in social media. Youreconnecting with humans. Humans exist in both.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersJudging a community by the direct revenue itgenerates is like judging a church by the collectionplate returns.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersEvery community needs a cub reporter to report thenews and document its history. Psssst. Thats you.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersAt every step your goal is to provide your memberswith something of value, interest or humour eitherdirectly or indirectly.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersFind a business issue to solve & an executivesponsor that benefits from solving that problem.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersThe most successful community managersunderstand that their internal community is moreimportant than any other. Having your boss &colleagues on side can help you get things done tolet the outside community you manage flourish.Without that support, youre sunk.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersNever underestimate the value of a general chattingspace. Topics or support needs may bring people in,but it’s the letting off steam & nattering about TVthat creates friendships.

60 Insights from Experienced Community Managers"Everybody goes home happy" is the communitymanagement mantra. Its how you approach solvingproblems, communicating with fans, & settingexpectations about what you will do & what youwill ask of the community itself.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersEvery successful community has taken time,dedication & the presence of a present and activecommunity manager to thrive.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersThink about what motivates people & what bringsthem together. Approach content & engagement likethat & youll move the metrics you need to, no matterwhat social media or marketing software you choose.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersYou must know every detail of whats going oninside the company & how thatll make thecommunity feel. You must touch every departmentfrom Marketing to Sales to Customer Service andPR, & be the voice inside the organization of whatyour community wants & needs.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersNever get defensive. Remember to put yourself intheir shoes and have compassion for the situation.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersTake time to pause. If youre the first to answerevery question in your community, youll tend tostifle other conversation because an "authority hasspoken." Give members a chance to be helpful & byall means, encourage them behind the scenes if noone is jumping up to help out on their own.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersOne of the fundamentals of communitymanagement is quality versus quantity. The size ofthe crowd does not matter, if not many people havea good time. This is where community managerscome in, to focus on engagement & make sure thecommunity has a fabulous time!

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersBe careful not to confuse building a communitywith talking to an engaged audience. Get themtalking to each other.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersExpect the unexpected - your community memberswont use your site & the means of interaction youset up in the same way as you - or as each other.Let user behaviour guide your design principleswhen it comes to taking part in a communityaround your content.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersThere is no cookie cutter community managementrole; be your own case study.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersNever forget the purpose of the community. If it isto provide support to people at a vulnerable pointin their lives, you may need to take a moreprotective or interventionist stance than you wouldwith other communities.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunities only work when EVERYONEcontributes. Community managers must not beexclusionary & only spend time with power users.You will be amazed at the results you get whenmembers are allowed to participate in as much ofthe work & decisions as reasonably possible.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity management isnt about being arockstar; its about being a great, behind-the-sceneshost.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersA good community manager should learn as muchfrom the community they manage, as they put backin themselves. Its a two-way thing. Youre amember of the community, just like everyone else.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity and Customer Service should be distinctteams – but having a community starts with havingstrong CS. If your CS house is not in order, yourorganization must fix that first.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersBe in ALL the places where people are talking aboutyour company & be there in an appropriate way.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersTake the time to understand and support yourbiggest fans & community members. However, dokeep in mind that what the super users want &need may be different from that of the averageuser.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersAre the members happy? Is there value & what is it?Answers can be deduced through analytical prowess& calculation. They can also be discovered, withdeep context & quality, by simply committing tobeing a member in your own community.Engagement is the balance to your measures.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersNever underestimate what a telephone call & a fewhonest compliments can do to activate someone inyour community.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersKnow your community - who they are, what they do& what is important to them.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity Management with Facebook is anythingbut quick, easy, cheap and lucrative.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersYour guidelines are a vision statement for yourcommunity. They tell people who you are and wantto be.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersKnow your users. Build the right tools to identifywho has contributed most & then develop arelationship with them.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity management is the work of translatinginformation & value between two or moreconstituencies - at its most strategic, it can changea business model & at its most fundamental it issupporting individuals who are looking forinformation.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersIf you want to engage your community, listen tothem & give them what they want, not what youwant them to like!

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersChildren thrive within real and virtual worlds wherethey can safely & creatively express themselves.Virtual Worlds offer them an opportunity tocollaborate & co-create on a global scale. Ratherthan fearing the web, we would do well to teachchildren its benefits & possibilities. They are notonly todays pioneers, they are tomorrows cutting-edge leaders.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersStart small. Focus on getting 50 members active andgrow steadily from there. You dont need a biglaunch to be a big success.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersPut your community members at the heart ofeverything, with so many different people it makesthe job so much easier.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersIn my experience, the most successful onlinecommunities are those which provide users withparticipatory frameworks which, at the same time,are meaningful to those participants & align wellwith business objectives.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersSometimes automation frees you up to focus onimportant tasks, but no tasks are more importantthan treating your customers well. Use automationwhen necessary, but if you get even an inkling thatautomation isnt working, cut it off & go back tomanual efforts.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersMy social media success formula: “Inform + Engage+ Entertain + Surprise = Lots of true “fans” of yourbrand”.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity Managers are absolutely essential in themodern customer experience. We have enormousinfluence in encouraging positive change.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersModeration is the daily practice of reinforcing thecore values that bind your community members.Each interaction is a chance to knit your membersmore closely together. A healthy communityemerges out of thousands of tiny interactions, somake every opportunity to moderate count!

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersCommunity Managers are the soul, heart, earlyradar and customer conscience of the organization -years from now, we will laugh at when companiesdidnt have them.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersWhen dealing with eCommerce community queries Itry to show I am listening every step of the way, asno matter how small or trivial the issue may appearto me - its important to them.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersConcentrate on facilitating conversations, & try toavoid the temptation to jump into discussions toosoon as you may inadvertently shut them down. Inother words, be the conduit, not the cork.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersEmpower your community to go far! Dont only helpthem on things related to your product, but givethem the ammunition to excel in their personal &professional pursuits.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersShow me a list of people who are NOT influential totheir friends and family, & I will take them OFF myinfluencer list.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersConflicts in communities can be easily compared tofamily conflicts. If partners are not careful enoughto solve their problems right at the start, theyllsplit up. Therefore a conscious CM is always keepingan eye on conflicts before they are disastrous for acommunity.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersPlan hard, manage easy. Time invested up front indesigning to goals & member desires means lesswork training and explaining. Communities canbreak down barriers to information. Don’t re-createsilos that already exist.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersThere is no greater reward a community managerexperiences than the ability to bridge distance overthe wires & make the world a smaller place.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersEducation is key to community management.Explaining the difficulties your company faces withan open & honest attitude ensures your communityis on board with your discussions & has thepotential of the community coming up withsolutions to your problems.

60 Insights from Experienced Community ManagersMy life revolves around making sure my communitycan always get in touch with me & their loved ones.Its an obsession.

Share this book: Final Words I would like to thank all the Community Managers who were kind enough to respond to my request for their insights into Community Management, and gave up their precious time to humour me. Thank you, you made this compilation possible. I hope that you will continue to find value in the information and research I publish in this format. Please do feel free to get in touch if you have any suggestions or thoughts abouthow I could improve this and future documents, and any ideas you would like to see covered.I hope to released an updated edition of this eBook, raising the number of insights to 100. Ifyou would like to be considered for inclusion in future editions, please fill in the web form at the end of the announcement blog post for this eBook.

60 Insights from Experienced Community Managers

by Blaise Grimes-Viort on Nov 05, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

1 Embed 29

Statistics

60 Insights from Experienced Community Managers — Presentation Transcript