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This day of appreciation may not be on your radar, but it is certainly on mine. The brainchild of Jeremiah Owyang, this is a day that is near and dear to my heart and one that allows us to reflect on the hard work that goes into the craft. It is not a science, but an art and anyone who holds this role has my unwavering empathy and support.
I can’t remember a time when I felt more alone, under appreciated, but yet completely enthusiastic and exhilarated, than when I was the community manager of GOLO, at WRAL.com.
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you are quite familiar with the ups and downs I experienced launching and growing that online community from zero to more than 13,000 members and the heart ache that came along with it. If you read my book, “18 Rules of Community Engagement,” you probably know even more.
Community Management is tough and it takes real comittment to see it through. It is not a job for the faint of heart or those who lack motivation and drive.
I can go on and on about what it takes to be a successful community manager, and I’ve done so in the past in posts like these:
- The truth about community management
- Beware of misleading community manager job descriptions
- When members go rogue and other community frustrations
But that’s not what tomorrow is about. It’s about you. If you’re a community manager, pat yourself on the back. If you participate in online communities, say thank you to the folks who put out the fires and keep it interesting. It isn’t as easy as it looks.
And if you have the time, check out the hashtag #CMAD. I’m sure it will be blowing up the twitterverse as very well it should.
Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day to those on the frontline and deep in the trenches.I support you more than you will ever know.
Make it great.
It’s time.
Give it up.
Your heart was in the right place, but you didn’t do anything to support your effort.You thought that building the community was enough. You never hired anyone to manage it. You mistakenly believed that your brand was so amazing and beloved, that people would flock to your community to have all of these grand conversations.
It didn’t happen, and you still don’t know why, despite the fact that it was barely promoted, if at all. You didn’t engage.
You never posted interesting content.
The content you did post was never updated. Okay, you updated it twice. Sorry about that.
You deleted comments that made your company look bad, instead of seizing the opportunities to connect.
Just quit. You’re giving community a bad name. Besides, you’re too swamped anyway. But you knew that going in.
I started off with the intention of giving you five reasons to shut down your community, but ended up with more.
You get the point. Make a change or shut it down. I’m over it. And so is everyone else.
Stop faking it.
Now please, have a great day.
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. It’s not that I haven’t been motivated, nor that I didn’t have the time. I never have the time. I’m pretty sure that no one really has time to blog, we all just make it happen. And typically I do. But I haven’t lately. But a recent chain of events has compelled me to do so.
This past weekend, I experienced a tornado.
There is a lot of damage in my neighborhood, from collapsed garages and shredded gazebos to uprooted trees, toppled playground structures and roofs gone AWOL, seeming to have never existed.
My house was not damaged and my family is safe. We were without power for a little more than 48 hours, but that’s nothing compared to the plights of others. A friend and fellow social media enthusiast, lost his home completely.
A university has suspended classes for the remainder of the semester due to structural damage, and 22 people died.
When I saw that my neighbor’s gazebo had been obliterated and he wasn’t home, I immediately grabbed my iphone and took a few pictures for him so he’d have them to file an insurance claim. Shortly after, everyone started coming out to check on everyone else and giving the details of how they ‘took cover.’
The next day, the local grocery store had a truck filled with ice. I approached the truck prepared to pay and saw a sign that read “free ice.” I asked for two bags. They gave me 6. I tweeted that Harris Teeter had free ice for those of us without power. Someone replied asking me “which Harris Teeter.” I posted the location and told her to go get some. She did.
When I got home, my husband gave our other neighbor two of the six bags. She later came over to ask us if we wanted some hamburgers they’d just grilled. At this point, the only hot food was coming from a grill.
As I think about how everyone came together to help one another, it reminded me of the online community I used to manage. They were good about coming together, even though most were only acquainted through the web.
But that community and my real community have many similarities, and there is one thing that holds true in offline and online communities.
You get back what you put in.
Maybe you’ve loaned your neighbor a lawnmower, picked up their mail when they were on vacation, or simply spent a few minutes chatting about nothing every once in a while. Those gestures may seem like nothing at the time, but all of that good will adds up.
The same holds true for any offline community. You get back what you put in.
So many online communities are built with the intention of getting people to “buy” something, or for bragging rights on how many “friends” or “followers” were accumulated as part of a campaign. Yes, this is often important for the bottom line, but you have to put something in if you want it to last or actually become to mean something to people.
Community has become a buzzword and to me, has lost its true meaning. There are so many instances where the term shouldn’t even be used. You don’t want to build community, you want a mob of people to show up in one place and make you look good. And soon as that happens, you could care less about what happens next. Why do you think there are so many abandoned communities out there?
I’ve often asked the question: “If you build it will they come?” I believe the answer is no. But sometimes they do.
Perhaps that question should be: “If you build it and they come, will you stay once your goals are met?”
I think the answer to that one for many, is also no, and I think that’s a shame.
I am always happy to discuss the difficulty of managing an online community. I’ve written about the misconceptions, provided tips on what it takes to find success, and explained the differences between a community manager and a social media manager.
Because I don’t actively manage an online community any more, I don’t share as many examples of what it’s like to be in the trenches. So when I came across this blog I posted back in 2008, when I was DEEP in the trenches, I thought it would be appropriate to share, for those of you who did not read my blog back then. What follows are actual messages that I received from members, and comments like these were very common.
Here’s the post from October 2008:
Diving into a community head first can be intimidating for some people, even though it may be second nature to you and me.
Sometimes it’s much easier to stay in the background and lurk, enjoying the community with no real commitment.
It’s the lurkers sometimes, who contribute to that valuable “time spent” stat community managers often covet and it makes sense to consider lurkers when you’re developing features for a new online community.
I don’t believe that every action should require registration, and learned from experience that it can take a lurker up to six months to finally bite the bullet and jump on in. I specifically remember an e-mail from a member and a blog from another indicating that they’d both been hanging around for months.
By the time they did sign up, they knew which groups they wanted to join, which members they’d like to connect with and understood the community culture as well. Lurkers are also less likely to create a new profile and abandon it, never to return. They already view your community as a destination and that’s a beautiful thing.
By locking everything down, you don’t give people a chance to dabble, and sometimes you have to have a little taste before completely committing.
So as you think about ways to engage the community, do consider the lurkers. Include polls and other interactive features. Host live chats that allow guests to sign in, and publish snippets of your member newsletter in a blog post or forum so they can see what they’re missing.
This is an important audience, so be sure to show the lurkers a little love.
Every tweet, Facebook update and comment posted online is a form of communication. Whether that comment is on a blog post, news article, YouTube video or Flickr photo, it counts.
So my question is this: Why isn’t this content being held to the same high standard and given the same level of thought as traditional communications? I don’t know what your answer is to that question, but mine is this: It should be.
In 2010, an increasing number of brands began treating Facebook like the new internet. That’s because, for the most part, it is. A Facebook page today is what a website was ten or more years ago. Facebook is a destination site. Actually, it’s THE destination site, having surpassed Google as the number one site on the internet.
People spend insane amounts of time there, and this is why businesses are also setting up shop, in droves. I know you’ve seen marketing material with the Facebook icon or have heard TV commercials and radio spots urging you to follow Brand X on Facebook. If Ford can unveil the 2011 Ford Explorer on Facebook, do I really need to say more?
This time last year, Nielsen reported that the average American spent 421 minutes on Facebook, each month a number that has surely risen since then and will only continue to do so. So what you put there matters.
But this isn’t a post about Facebook, it’s about social communications as a whole. It is no longer wise to pour over the content of a press release, editing draft after draft until it reaches perfection, while giving very little if any thought at all to how you are going to represent your company across social media channels.
Communications professionals have a new job description, whether they want it or not. It is that of Digital Communicator.
As social media platforms mature, evolve and become even more mainstream, clients need a presence in this space, and the smart, savvy digital communicator will make sure they have one. But it isn’t enough to simply show up, you have to actually communicate and have a plan for harnessing the power of new media and getting messages straight to a target audience.
I believe that 2011 is the year to deliver or die. PR professionals have to think more broadly and deliver more value. In the social media space, nothing is too small to matter. We are no longer solely seeking attention of reporters and journalists affiliated with traditional media organizations. It is critical to understand the needs of the new media professional, whether journalist, blogger, power tweeter forum participant or vlogger.
We have to produce the type of content that will increase exposure and extend reach for clients.
So what does all of this entail? New-fangled communications plans with new attitudes right alongside them.
Deliver or die!
Note: This is a cross-post from my Company Blog.
I wanted to write a great blog post to go along with the release of this study by ComBlu on the state of online branded communities but given my current workload, it isn’t going to happen today.
HOWEVER, I really want you to know about it and more importantly, download it so you can dig deep for insights that can really make a difference for you or your clients.
I don’t normally do this but today I am simply posting the press release. I’ll come back in a day or so with my own thoughts. Hats off to ComBlu for caring about online communities and embarking on such an important endeavor.
Thanks to Peter over at ComBlu for giving me an opportunity to review the report a week before its release. I assure you there is more to come.
And here’s the release:
New Report On Online Communities Shows Brands Are Getting Serious About Integrating Social Assets
ComBlu’s study of 241 communities from 78 corporations finds more cohesive strategies and consistent use of social engagement best practices
Chicago, Ill., November 10, 2010—A new study of 241 online communities from 78 major corporations found that 33 percent of the brands are using a cohesive approach to social engagement compared to only 20 percent in 2009. It also shows much tighter integration between a brand’s sponsored community site and its other social assets such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
This research is the second annual “State of Online Branded Communities” analysis conducted by ComBlu, a Chicago-based marketing organization specializing in social engagement initiatives. The study’s purpose is to closely examine and quantify the effectiveness of these communities in providing meaningful customer experiences, integrating brand strategies across multiple social media channels, and applying best practices to strengthen customer engagement.
“The good news is that social marketing is growing up and more brands are adopting best practices in social engagement,” said Kathy Baughman, a principal at ComBlu. “While community activity levels increased significantly, especially among the high performers, most brands are still missing big opportunities to deliver more engaging customer experiences.”
For example, the study found that only 20 percent of the communities have an advocate or experts group, which represents the “voice of the customer,” contributes content and helps recruitment. Nearly half of the communities do not have a visible, active community manager who is the “face” of the brand and makes interaction more personal.
Other key insights and findings from the ComBlu study include:
- Brands have varying ideas about what “community” means; different types of models include the “Community Without Walls,” the “Opportunistic Community” and the “Facebook Community.”
- Fewer than 40 percent of the communities that ComBlu joined have any rewards or recognition programs, which are key drivers for sustaining participation.
- As in 2009, nearly half of the brands are still in the experimental phase.
- Brands are doing a better job delivering diverse engagement experiences; 76 percent use strategically-aligned engagement tools compared to 28 percent in 2009.
- The Top 10 performing brands are American Express (48 points), EA (47), Discovery Channel (45), Hewlett-Packard (45), Sears (44), Verizon (44), Activision (44), Kimberly-Clark (44), AT&T (44) and Sony (43).
- Of the 12 industries in the study, the highest scoring are Gaming, Entertainment, Technology and Telecommunications.
It’s really interesting to see how the networks are using social media to garner interest in their TV shows. I’ve read a lot about various tactics, but hadn’t felt compelled to share any up until now. If you haven’t already, add this word to your vocabulary: Twittersode. If you want to know what it entails, I’ve posted the news release below. Good idea? Will it work? Let me know if you plan to watch. This twitttersode will debut in just a few hours.
Here’s the press release:
For The First-Time-Ever NBC And Sony Pictures Television Will Debut A COMMUNITY Twittersode Prior To The Season Two Premiere Episode Thursday, September 23
As Greendale Community College Re-Convenes For The Semester, Everyone’s Favorite COMMUNITY Characters Will Tweet With One Another About The Start of The School Year and Their New Class, Anthropology 101
PR Newswire
CULVER CITY, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ — Leading into the season premiere of COMMUNITY, NBC and Sony Pictures Television will debut a COMMUNITY “Twittersode” Thursday, September 23 at 4:00p.m./PT (7:00p.m./ET). This event marks a first-of-its-kind digital marketing effort between NBC, Sony Pictures Television, and the characters of the comedy series COMMUNITY.
Just prior to the East Coast premiere of COMMUNITY, an exclusive “Twittersode,” comprised of 80 tweets, will unfold between everyone’s favorite COMMUNITY characters. The “Twittersode” will act as a prequel “scene” to the premiere episode and will focus on events leading up to the start of the characters second year at Greendale Community College including, making arrangements for their first meet up of the year as well as preparations for their first class, Anthropology 101.
The entire “Twittersode” event will be presented at www.NBC.COM/CommunityTwittersode
You can also watch the “Twittersode” unfold by following the character handles at:
- http://twitter.com/annieedisonGCC
- http://twitter.com/jeffwingeratlaw
- http://twitter.com/abedstweets
- http://twitter.com/troytbone09
- http://twitter.com/brittafeed
- http://twitter.com/shirley_GCC
- http://twitter.com/hawthornewipes
- http://twitter.com/alexosbourneGCC
- http://twitter.com/greendaledean
- http://twitter.com/senorchang_gcc
- http://twitter.com/oldwhitemansays
- http://twitter.com/anniesB00Bs
If you’d like to tweet about COMMUNITY and our “Twittersode” please use the hash tag #NBCCommunity.
Community Managers: Be genuine or don’t bother
February 10, 2011 in Community Building | Tags: Community management, responding to comments, user comments | 5 comments
It is not easy being a community manager.
It seems that many people are content to call themselves community managers because they manage a Twitter account, post content on a Facebook fan page (with the goal of “engaging” the masses, or at least those who actually visit the page or allow posts on their newsfeeds) or run a group on LinkedIn.
I’m still not sure how anyone actually “manages a community” on Twitter beyond hosting a regularly scheduled tweetchat, but that’s a subject for another day.
The focus of this post is how community managers actually communicate with members, so I will stick to that for now.
If you spend your time posting comments like: “That’s awesome,” “Great idea,” “Tell me more,” “So happy you shared that with us,” “Tell us what you think,” and “Share your thoughts” you aren’t managing anything.
You’re not even thinking. You certainly aren’t going to grow much of anything. If this is how you communicate, your job is easy.
Make no mistake, there is nothing genuine about such emptiness. But once you start posting those types of comments, you will continue to do so for the long run. You will fall into a trap that allows you to believe you are engaging when you are doing anything but.
You need to invest more if you want to see a better return, and if you don’t think you can do better, you might want to reconsider your current role.
I recently discovered that I posted more than 7 thousand pieces of content on the community I managed for a little over 2.5 years. That’s a combination of comments, blogposts and images. I knew that I had to be one of the top contributors if I wanted others to do the same.
Yes, there were times when I posted short comments or told someone that their blog was awesome, but it was by no means something I did very often, and was typically followed by at least one other comment.
Because I like to lead by example, I will share with you a few samples of comments I posted to users in my next few posts, so be sure to subscribe to the blog if you want to see these samples of engagement in action and how taking a genuine interest in community participants can make a real difference.