A sampler from the SocialFish Private Community Management Program with tons of advice about online community strategy and tactics.

1. ESSENTIALS OF ONLINE
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
Maddie Grant, CAE
maddie@socialfish.org
www.socialfish.org

2. AGENDA
1. PLANNING YOUR COMMUNITY
2. LAUNCH
3. REPORTING
4. CONTENT STRATEGY
5. MANAGING RISK
6. DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
7. DEFINING SUCCESS

3. LESSON 1: Planning Your
Private Online Community

4. PURPOSE
WRONG: WE NEED
• We need to get more
members engaged.
• We need to generate
non-dues revenue.
• We need to draw
members to the website.
• We need to collect
content from members.
RIGHT: MEMBERS NEED
• Members need a trusted
environment to
collaborate.
• Members need a place to
find trusted experts who
can help them.
• Members need a way to
comment on technical
information.
MEMBER PERSPECTIVE IS CRITICAL.
But wait…do
they REALLY
need that?

5. Examples of Business Purpose
• Replace an outdated system with a
platform that includes community
functionality.
• Provide a new way for members to
participate in the association online.
• Generate new revenue.
BUSINESS PURPOSE MUST BE
ALIGNED TO MEMBER PURPOSE.

6. • Community for member networking
(because members should be posting on
our site instead of LinkedIn.)
• Community to build more member-
generated content (because we’ve had
trouble getting members to contribute
content in the past.)
EXAMPLES OF BUSINESS PURPOSE
NOT ALIGNING TO MEMBER PURPOSE

7. COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY
1. Open vs closed
2. Group management
3. Community rules
4. Moderation and staff involvement
5. Champion involvement
6. Content and engagement planning
SIX IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

8. RESOURCE PLANNING
• Administrative
• Monitoring and responding
• Content and engagement
• Managing the platform
• Training members
• Training and strategizing with staff
• Reporting community progress to
stakeholders
DEFINE THE WORK AND DELEGATE APPROPRIATELY

9. PROMOTION
Did our new board
member just say
he’s never used the
community?
PROMOTING YOUR COMMUNITY
IS A PROCESS THAT NEVER ENDS.

10. PROMOTION
TWO-PRONGED APPROACH TO ONGOING PROMOTION
MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING
• Membership marketing and
new member onboarding
• Email newsletters
• Features in magazine
• Conference marketing and on-
site activities
• Promotion on website
homepage and house ads
• Platform email notifications for
announcements, digests
CHAMPION AND INFLUENCER
MARKETING
• Training and guidance for
volunteer group leaders
• Training and guidance for staff
• Outreach to champions to
keep the site active
• Outreach to influencers to
brainstorm ways they might
like to use the community

11. Questions?

12. LESSON 2: Launching Your New
Private Online Community

13. SOFT LAUNCH - MEMBERS
ARCHETYPES OF USEFUL BETA GROUPS
Archetype Size Activity Privacy Example
Small and
good
10-15 High Private Board, working group, event
volunteers
Large and
social-media-
savvy
50-150 Medium Public Technology special interest group,
communications special interest group
Up and
coming
50-150 Medium Public Young professionals or student
leaders
Content
creators
10-15 High Public Bloggers, authors, speakers, volunteer
leaders
Location-
based
50-150 Medium Public An active chapter
PICK THE RIGHT PEOPLE, AND MAKE YOUR
FIRST MISTAKES AMONG FRIENDS.

14. • Tech-savvy volunteer group leaders.
• Active listserv users who are asking for
updated functionality.
• Social members who
may not be active in
any of the other beta
groups you’ve identified.
BETA TESTERS WILL FEEL MORE INVESTED.
SO WHO DO YOU NEED ON YOUR SIDE?

15. • Set expectations low.
• Explain the vision for the future.
• Be specific about what to test. For example:
– Set up a profile with a picture.
– Add a colleague and send a message.
– Join a group/post to a discussion/comment
• Tell them how to share feedback.
– Set up a feedback group for beta testers.
• Prepare them for technical glitches.
SENDING A BASIC INVITE TO YOUR
BETA TESTERS ISN’T ENOUGH

16. SOFT LAUNCH - STAFF
• Have staff beta testers set up their profiles.
• Create a private group to serve as the sandbox.
• Be specific about what to test.
• Use the group to share community-related
information with staff.
– Updates on technical progress
– Launch plans
– Staff policies, roles,
responsibilities.
• Tell them how to share feedback.
• Prepare them for tech glitches.
BUILD A SANDBOX AND USE IT.

17. JUMPSTARTING WORK
SET YOUR PRIORITIES FOR LAUNCH. EVERYTHING
IS IMPORTANT. SOME THINGS ARE CRITICAL.
PRIORITY WORK
Administrative
X Monitoring and
responding
X Content and engagement
Managing the platform
X Training members
Training and strategizing with staff
Reporting community progress to
stakeholders
Especially
engaging
champions!

18. QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
1. How do we monitor most efficiently and
effectively?
2. Who should respond?
– Can they respond fast enough?
– Are they set up on the platform to respond?
3. Can we streamline response for certain
types of information?
JUMPSTARTING WORK
PRACTICING THE ART OF
MONITORING AND RESPONDING

19. • Volunteer leaders
• Speakers
• Writers
• Industry influencers (consultants?)
• Digital extroverts from other
social spaces
JUMPSTARTING WORK
ENGAGING CHAMPIONS STARTS
WITH KNOWING WHO THEY ARE

20. • Direct and specific asks work better than
blast emails (which hardly work at all.)
• Try the phone. *gasp*
• Meet them face-to-face.
• Find ways to reward
champion involvement.
– Game mechanics
– Promote content from champions
– Create a volunteer role for champions
CHAMPIONS NEED EXTRA CARE AND FEEDING

21. GETTING PEOPLE IN
NO ONE CARES
• Have your own profile.
• Add colleagues.
• Post
blogs/discussions/comme
nts.
• Access the resource
library.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TOOLS. IT’S ABOUT
WHAT MEMBERS CAN BUILD WITH THEM.

22. MESSAGING SHOULD FOCUS ON
WIIFM (WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME)
EVERYONE CARES
• Showcase your accomplishments. (profile)
• Connect with people who are solving the same challenges
you face. (Or connect with your next employer, if they’re in
transition.) (Add colleagues)
• Get specific advice from industry experts who can answer
your questions. (post blogs/discussions/comments.)
• Share your perspectives on the latest
(standards/regulations/effective practices) that are
impacting the way you do business. (access the resource
library).
Look what you
can build!

23. WHEN IT COMES TO INVITATIONS,
KEEP IT SIMPLE
• Focus on easy tasks in the right order.
• Initial tasks: login for the first time and create a profile.
• Follow up tasks: join a group, connect with colleagues.
– Even better: suggest which groups or colleagues!
• Follow up tasks: Read and comment on a recent
discussion.
– Even better: suggest active discussions to comment on.

24. ONBOARDING IS A MULTI-STEP PROCESS.
FOLLOW UP IS KEY.
• Thank folks who are active.
• Thank folks who have created a profile...remind them
of next steps they can take to get more out of the
community.
• Remind folks who have not yet logged in or completed
their profile. Ask if they had a technical glitch, if they
need a walkthrough, or if they just need more
information about WIIFM.

25. Questions?

26. LESSON 3: Reporting
Engagement Activity

27. WHY ENGAGEMENT?
ENGAGEMENT IS A MEANS TO AN END.
WHAT DO YOUR STAKEHOLDERS REALLY WANT?
• Support member retention?
• Support commerce and revenue goals?
• Recruit potential volunteer leaders and
content creators?
• Capture member knowledge?

28. 2. TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT
Social
Technographics
Ladder
(Josh Bernoff, Forrester
Research, 2010.)
ENGAGEMENT IS NOT
ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL.

29. TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT
MEASURE DIFFERENT ENGAGEMENT TYPES
TYPE WHAT TO MEASURE
Creator Post blogs, discussions, documents
Conver-
sationalist
Post discussions, comments; send
messages
Critic Comment, rate/review
Collector Add contacts, bookmark
Joiner Join groups
Spectator Sign in regularly, spend time on the site
Inactive Sign in rarely or never

30. TAILORING REPORTS
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING
TO DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS.
STAKEHOLDER DETAIL PRESENTATION FREQUENCY
Board High level Visual Annual
Volunteer
leaders
Group-
specific
Visual Annual
ED/CEO High level Visual Quarterly
Staff group
managers
Group-
specific
Spreadsheet Quarterly
Your boss Comprehen-
sive
Spreadsheet Monthly
Yourself Comprehen-
sive
Spreadsheet As needed

31. QUALITATIVE REPORTING
1. LISTENING REPORTS
– Provide links to top discussions, most active
groups, unique use cases
2. FEEDBACK AND TESTIMONIALS
– Share feedback you receive from members by
email, face-to-face, or even on the platform.
– Share feedback from staff who are finding the
community useful.
TWO IMPORTANT WAYS TO SHOWCASE
ENGAGEMENT BEYOND THE NUMBERS.

32. BENCHMARKING AND
VISUALIZING
Well…we’ve got data. I
have no idea what it
means, but we’ve got
data.

33. VISUAL DATA HAS MORE IMPACT
THAN SPREADSHEETS.
1. Charts and graphs don’t have to be
fancy to add meaning.
2. Don’t create visualizations for every
data point—just the ones you need to
impress high-level stakeholders.
3. Visual data can be CRITICAL for
communicating with the board.

34. Questions?

35. LESSON 4: Content
Strategy for Your Community

36. COMMUNITY CONTENT IS
DIFFERENT
STRIKE THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL
CONTENT AND MEMBER-GENERATED CONTENT
TRADITIONAL MEMBER-GENERATED

37. DEVELOPING CONTENT FOR
COMMUNITY
Build a team
• SMEs (staff and members)
• Group leaders
• Marketing/communications
• Education/conferences (staff and speakers)
• Government relations
• Owners and volunteers for other programs
STOP DEVELOPING CONTENT—START
DEVELOPING CONTENT CREATORS.

38. • How might you present the content to generate an active
discussion?
• How might you build community activity around education
content or a conference?
• How might you help groups use the community to talk
amongst themselves?
• What’s coming up (not finished yet) that warrants asking
the community a question?
ACT AS ADVISOR, EDITOR, AND CURATOR

39. CURATING CONTENT
Content curation is the process of sorting
through the vast amounts of content on the
web and presenting it in a meaningful and
organized way around a specific theme.
(Beth Kanter, Content Curation Primer, Beth’s Blog |
http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/)

40. THREE UNIQUE WAYS COMMUNITY
MANAGERS CURATE
1. CURATE IN CONTEXT
Enrich peer-to-peer discussions.
2. CURATE FOR GROUPS
Target content to groups based on
special interests.
3. CURATE FOR ENGAGEMENT
Leave no question unanswered.

41. HAVE YOU ASKED YOUR CHAMPIONS FOR HELP TODAY?
1. ASK DIRECTLY
2. BE SPECIFIC
3. SET A DEADLINE
4. FOLLOW UP
WORKING WITH CHAMPIONS

42. THREE IDEAS FOR GETTING CHAMPIONS
TO CONTRIBUTE
1. Make them the leader of a group.
2. Reply to unanswered questions.
– Send a link to the specific unanswered
thread when you need their help.
3. Write about a hot topic.
– Do an email “interview” then ask them to
post their reply.

43. PLOT YOUR CONTENT AND CHECK THE BALANCE.
1. Plan editorial as well as ENGAGEMENT.
2. Brainstorm posts and topics a month
ahead.
3. Assign content to your team, track
deadlines, track follow-up.
4. Leave resources and flexibility for “pop up”
content.
USING A CONTENT CALENDAR

44. Questions?

45. LESSON 5: MANAGING
RISK IN YOUR
COMMUNITY

46. REFRAMING RISK
THREE SIMPLE STEPS
1. Identify
2. Analyze
3. Prioritize

47. REFRAMING RISK
1. Identify
2. Analyze
3. Prioritize
THREE SIMPLE STEPS
• What are the common
risks for a private
online community?
• What additional risks
concern your staff and
leadership?

48. REFRAMING RISK
1. Identify
2. Analyze
3. Prioritize
THREE SIMPLE STEPS
• What are some actual
scenarios in the
community that
illustrate each risk?
• How likely is that risk
to happen?
• How much could it cost
the association?

49. TOP PRIORITY:
COSTLY AND
LIKELY
MIDDLE PRIORITY:
COSTLY BUT
NOT LIKELY
MIDDLE PRIORITY:
NOT COSTLY
BUT LIKELY
LOW PRIORITY:
NEITHER COSTLY
NOR LIKELY
3. Prioritize
LIKELY NOT LIKELYNOTCOSTLYCOSTLY

50. POLICIES & MORE POLICIES
WEBSITE TERMS OF USE
• Welcome
• Purpose & Use (what you
can/can’t do)
• Properties (trademarks, service
marks, designs, logos, etc.)
• Content, Information & materials
• Licensing for user-generated
content
• Copyright & Trademark
Ownership, Notices &
Infringement
• No professional advice
• Privacy
• Security
• No Warranties
• Other sites (linking)
• Members only area
• Reporting content violations
• Termination of access
• Disclaimers, exclusion of
damages, & limitation of
liability
• Indemnification
• Governing law
• Changes to terms
• Contact us

51. POLICIES & MORE POLICIES
SPECIAL POLICIES FOR YOUR PRIVATE COMMUNITY
• Social media policy (for staff and
volunteers)
• Community rules and moderation policy
• Policy for blog authors

52. WHO OWNS THE CONTENT?
• Spell out a licensing agreement
for user-generated content in the
Website Terms of Use.
– Users favor non-exclusive licenses.
• Spell out how you will be able to use the content.
– Promotion of the site?
– Reuse in free member resources?
– Reuse in publications or other products that will be sold?
– Right to modify and reuse?
– Will you give attribution to the content creator?
SPELL IT OUT, BUT DON’T BE EVIL

53. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PRIVACY RISKS
ARE A COMMUNITY MANAGER’S TOP PRIORITY

54. TIPS FOR MANAGING RISK IN YOUR COMMUNITY
• Post community rules and policies where they are
easy to access from any page in the community.
– Train staff and content creators on the policies.
• Monitor and respond
– Have backup when you’re away
• Work with senior staff team and legal council on risk
assessment
– Use that team as a resource when something comes up.

55. Questions?

56. LESSON 6: Private Communities in
the Digital Ecosystem

57. • Public sites (FB, T, LI, G+, P) are
important because that’s where your
people already spend time.
• A private community is never a
replacement for public social media
platforms and a strategy for using them.
REMEMBER THIS: A COMMUNITY IS
DEFINED BY PEOPLE, NOT PLATFORM.
And…people
win by a
landslide!

58. • People engage with your association in
public sites, too.
• If you only measure engagement in your
private community, you risk undervaluing
engagement in public social media sites.
MEASURE ENGAGEMENT ACROSS
THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.

59. WHO OWNS WHAT?
PRIVATE COMMUNITIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA OFTEN
LEAD SEPARATE LIVES IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

60. BEING PURPOSEFUL
Components of a good, site-specific plan:
EVERY SITE NEEDS A PLAN.
• Background
• Goals
• What does success
look like?
• Defining the audience
• Growing the audience
• Content Plan
• Promoting association
products, services,
and membership
• Moderation
• Member involvement

61. PROVIDE CLARITY FOR BOTH STAFF AND MEMBERS
How is the private
platform any different
from what we’re already
doing on LinkedIn?

62. CROSS-PLATFORM
CONTENT STRATEGY
WALLED GARDENS NEED WINDOWS.

63. 1. TEASER CONTENT
– Executive summaries (lead to full report)
– Blog post summarizing a hot-topic discussion (lead to full,
ongoing discussion)
– Infographic of research (lead to full research report).
2. TRIAL MEMBERSHIP
– Could also create a free, online-only membership
– Helps generate leads for full membership
3. POST PASSWORD-PROTECTED CONTENT AS-IS
– Lead with “FOR MEMBERS” and end with “Login Required”
THREE CONTENT TACTICS TO ENTICE PEOPLE
TO YOUR PRIVATE ONLINE COMMUNITY.

64. Questions?

65. LESSON 7: What Does
Success Look Like?

66. GAUGING SUCCESS
1. At what stage is your community in its
development?
2. How many people are in the community?
3. How many interactions does your community
generate?
4. Are members exhibiting a sense of
community in the way they interact?
5. Is the community generating ROI for the
organization?
FIVE IMPORTANT LENSES TO CONSIDER.
HINT: THE FIRST ONE IMPACTS ALL THE REST.

67. EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS DEFINE
SUCCESS DIFFERENTLY.
• Board
• Executive Director
• Staff who “own” the
community
• Other staff
• Other
volunteers/volunte
er leaders
• Champions of the
community
• Active members
• Outside world

68. TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU MUST RECONCILE
DIFFERENT VISIONS OF SUCCESS.
The board wants
business results. Staff is
all about their department
and their process. Now
what?

69. • Well known throughout the membership
• Recognized as an important benefit
• Accessed by a significant number of
members
• Used regularly by a smaller (but still
significant) number of members
SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES ARE…

70. 1. How many members know
about the community?
2. How many members access
the community?
3. How many members are active
in the community?
4. What contributions are active
members making to the
community?
5. How does staff use the
community?
6. How does the board use the
community?
7. How do other volunteer groups
use the community?
8. How do new members use the
community?
9. How do members perceive the
community?
10. How do prospective members
perceive the community?
VISIONING EXERCISE: IMAGINE THE COMMUNITY
IS A HUGE SUCCESS IN [XX] MONTHS.

71. DEMYSTIFYING SUCCESS
THE MORE TRUSTED THE COMMUNITY MANAGER,
THE MORE SUCCESSFUL THE COMMUNITY
1. FORMAL STRUCTURE – lucky
community managers are empowered.
2. GOING GUERILLA – most community
managers find another way.

72. Questions?

73. Thank you!
Maddie Grant, CAE
maddie@socialfish.org