Community Manager: Strategies for Herding Cats Kellie Parker Online Community Manager PC World/Macworld Community 2.0 May 13th, 2008

Are You A Community Manager? confidential

Herding Cats: What Your Day Probably Feels Like confidential MySpace! Facebook! Second Life! Twitter! I don’t need to think about or participate in the community. That’s *your* job. I wonder how much we can get away with before the moderator comes back? Community. I don’t get it.

The Key: Get a Strategy, and Stick to It confidential

Start at the Beginning: Understanding Community confidential Virtual communities are social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough , with sufficient human feeling , to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace. -- Howard Rheingold The Virtual Community, 1993

Community Members are Highly Engaged 55% of those who are part of a virtual community said that they felt as strongly about their web community as they do about their real-world friends 71% said their community is “very” or “extremely” important to them 54% of members log into their online community at least once per day Source: USC-Annenberg School Centre for the Digital Future confidential

55% of those who are part of a virtual community said that they felt as strongly about their web community as they do about their real-world friends

71% said their community is “very” or “extremely” important to them

54% of members log into their online community at least once per day

Source: USC-Annenberg School Centre for the Digital Future

Community Is About Relationships confidential

Choose Your Platform Wisely Determine why your users will come, and what they need and want to do when they get there Find a platform with the tools and options you need for your users Determine your technical needs and internal resources Start small, but build for future growth After launch, re-evaluate as your community grows confidential

Determine why your users will come, and what they need and want to do when they get there

Find a platform with the tools and options you need for your users

Determine your technical needs and internal resources

Start small, but build for future growth

After launch, re-evaluate as your community grows

Community Tool Kit Find what your users want Select a platform that has the right tools Message Boards/Comments Blogs Knowledge Bases/Wikis Photo Sharing Video Sharing Polls Tagging Social Networking Live Chat Virtual Worlds confidential

Find what your users want

Select a platform that has the right tools

Message Boards/Comments

Blogs

Knowledge Bases/Wikis

Photo Sharing

Video Sharing

Polls

Tagging

Social Networking

Live Chat

Virtual Worlds

Best Practices Have stated community goals, both general and specific Know how you will measure progress to these goals Be patient, because community grows slowly Require registration Interact with your members Do have written Community Standards Address negative comments about your brand, don’t delete them confidential

Have stated community goals, both general and specific

Know how you will measure progress to these goals

Be patient, because community grows slowly

Require registration

Interact with your members

Do have written Community Standards

Address negative comments about your brand, don’t delete them

Creating Culture Many communities have strong cultures Some culture is intentionally formed, some is developed by users over time Know what culture you want to create, set the tone from the first post Make all moderators and staff aware, have them create culture Write community rules against discouraged behavior, and enforce the rules confidential

Many communities have strong cultures

Some culture is intentionally formed, some is developed by users over time

Know what culture you want to create, set the tone from the first post

Make all moderators and staff aware, have them create culture

Write community rules against discouraged behavior, and enforce the rules

Adding On: Questions to Ask Does it fit with your technical situation? Work and play with existing platforms and features? Does it get you closer to your community goals? Can you adequately maintain and moderate it? Will it require extra staff? confidential

Does it fit with your technical situation?

Work and play with existing platforms and features?

Does it get you closer to your community goals?

Can you adequately maintain and moderate it?

Will it require extra staff?

Community Building is a Group Effort confidential

Community Gardening confidential

Questions & Thank You I welcome your questions and discussion! Kellie Parker Online Community Manager, PC World & Macworld twitter.com/kellieparker confidential

I welcome your questions and discussion!

Kellie Parker

Online Community Manager, PC World & Macworld

twitter.com/kellieparker