Building community lessonsfromsmc

Building Community. Lessons From Social Media Club Kristie Wells Founder, Social Media Club socialmediaclub.org twitter.com/kristiewellsSunday, April 3, 2011

August 2005 After attending the ﬁrst Barcamp, we launched Brainjams.org to encourage sharing.Sunday, April 3, 2011

But that wasn’t compelling enough for the foundations of the community. So we set out to embrace a more speciﬁc purpose.Sunday, April 3, 2011

March 2006 We buy the domain.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Our Mission: Promote media literacy. Encourage ethical behavior. Share best practices.Sunday, April 3, 2011

June 2006 My husband took a road trip.Sunday, April 3, 2011

London. Miami. New York. D.C. Boston. Portland. Seattle. Vancouver. Los Angeles.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Found like minded people who connected with our mission.Sunday, April 3, 2011

If you get it, share it. Not a tag line, it is a way of life.Sunday, April 3, 2011

We inspired others to believe they could build community too.Sunday, April 3, 2011

We gave the community the power to help one another directly.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Focused on quality over quantity.Sunday, April 3, 2011

We encouraged. We supported. We connected people. We watched. We learned.Sunday, April 3, 2011

They localized the logo. We embraced it.Sunday, April 3, 2011

We provided guidelines, but let go of control. Grew to 230+ cities in 5 years.Sunday, April 3, 2011

I tell you this as I want you to know...Sunday, April 3, 2011

It is ok to let go of control.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Seed it. Water it. Nuture it. Trim when needed.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Be there to guide. Offer assistance. Communicate. Empower.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Building a healthy community takes time.Sunday, April 3, 2011

What does YOUR community look like?Sunday, April 3, 2011

Where do your customers, partners, investors, and competitors gather online?Sunday, April 3, 2011

http://www.briansolis.com/2008/08/introducing-conversation-prism/Sunday, April 3, 2011

Audit your infrastructure. (1) What can they do on your site? (2) What are they doing on 3rd party websites? (3) How can you bridge your website and 3rd party sites?Sunday, April 3, 2011

“Participation is marketing.” - @ChrisHeuerSunday, April 3, 2011

Participate on THEIR blogs, Facebook groups, meetups, etc.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Add value to the conversation(s).Sunday, April 3, 2011

Just don’t be spammy.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Develop real relationships.Sunday, April 3, 2011

They love you enough to invest their time in you, your product, your service. Get to know them.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Ask your customer service reps about ‘vocal’ customers.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Vocal customer = someone passionate about making your product/service better (usually)Sunday, April 3, 2011

Help a ‘vocal’ customer become your evangelist.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Evangelist = Promotes the use of a particular product or technology through talks, articles, blogging, user demonstrations, or the creation of sample projects. Thanks Wikipedia.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Give evangelists early product info, inside tracks, rewards when it makes sense.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Empower them to help others.Sunday, April 3, 2011

There is no perfect way to do this.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Building a healthy community requires a lot of trial and error. #failFASTSunday, April 3, 2011

Recommendation(s)Sunday, April 3, 2011

Produce your own content.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Great way to show yourself as an industry expert.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Be Open. Be Honest. Be Human. Be Aware. Be Respectful.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Dedicate time in your community EVERY DAYSunday, April 3, 2011

Deal fairly, and openly, with others.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Be honest when you cannot deliver on promises.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Communication = key. Internally *and* externally.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Empower people inside *and* outside your company to respond.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Educate. Nurture. Let go of control.Sunday, April 3, 2011

Old Chinese Verse Go in search of your people: Love Them; Learn from Them; Plan with Them; Serve Them; Begin with what They have; Build on what They know. But of the best leaders when their task is accomplished, their work is done, The people all remark: "We have done it ourselves." Author unknownSunday, April 3, 2011

To move beyond Social Media 101, I invite you to become a member of Social Media Club and participate in your local chapter...Sunday, April 3, 2011

...and thats the most important lesson, no matter how wonderful your community, or purpose is, you must invite participationSunday, April 3, 2011

Questions?Sunday, April 3, 2011

@KristieWells 001.415.577.9022 kristie@socialmediaclub.org http://socialmediaclub.org/Sunday, April 3, 2011

Building community lessonsfromsmc

by Kristie Wells on Apr 04, 2011

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