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First off, this is not a bash against my former employer. They did what they had to do, much of which involved figuring out next steps for the community and how they’d like to see it develop going forward. That, I understand. After all, no one knows the struggles better than me, the person who launched and managed it from its infancy. At the end of the day, you have to make good business decisions, and they are known for doing just that.
But here is a post from a community member asking them to bring on another community manager, and since we discuss this type of thing here all the time, it is truly my duty to share it.
Here’s the link: GOLO Mods: We deserve another “Angela”. There are 70 comments as of this writing, and it is interesting to see how many times they mention my name. But this is much bigger than me as an individual. Another person could step right in and pick up where I left off, given the chance.
We could argue all day long about my level of involvement, but I was charged with a job of growing and cultivating that community and I took it seriously. I get the feeling that the community knows they once had a real ambassador and it just doesn’t feel the same. They want another one.
So, if you get a chance, give it a read. I think there’s a lesson in this for us all.
Oh, and here is the farewell blog I posted during my last week. A fond farewell from Angela.
The only excuse for having stale content in your online community is apathy. And that’s not even a real excuse. If you find yourself saying you don’t have time, then ask yourself this question: Why did I create the community in the first place?
When you can’t be bothered to post fresh content in your community, how will you possibly motivate others to do it?
A community requires ownership. Internal ownership. It needs someone whose job it is to care, cultivate and connect with the community. This shouldn’t be a difficult concept to grasp, but most communities fail because they are abandoned shortly after launch.
I gave a presentation to a group of executives in Geneva, Switzerland two weeks ago (via Skype) about what it takes to grow a successful online community and I went on and on about the sheer time and commitment level it takes to keep it alive. They were convinced by the end of the hour and that pleased me to no end.They really seemed to get it, which is much more than I can say for many.
I can go on and on about this but I won’t. Simply put, stale content is embarrassing.
So do something about it. If you don’t, you deserve exactly what you get.
I am happy to announce the release of my very first Special Report.
The Community Manager Survey provides unique insights from 50 practicing community managers. It’s a in-depth look at the common struggles and intricate details of what it takes to succeed in a role that is growing in importance but commonly misunderstood.
The participants were open and honest, and their answers are quite revealing. I simply cannot thank them enough.
The report is geared toward managers looking to hire for this key organizational role and those interested in gaining a better understanding of the major issues associated with community management.
I’d like to send special thanks to the sponsors of the report: Social Strata, emoderation, comBlu, Sociia Internet Communications and Linqia Marketplace’s The Moderator Community.
There is a fee for this report. The information is valuable for businesses and took time to compile and create. Survey sponsors and participants will receive a free copy.
If you know someone who would benefit from this report, please spread the word. And let me know if you’re interested in a review copy.
Anyone who purchases will receive an additional report on the art of crafting community guidelines.
We’ve been talking about the importance and value of this role for two years now. It’s a conversation that must continue.
I have two days left as the community manager of a site that has been at the core of my professional existence for nearly three years. I am trying to detach because it’s the right thing to do but it isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
Many of you may have already experienced this. Perhaps you launched a community and moved on and you understand what I’m going through. Others may not have done this yet but know that you will someday leave your community behind for something bigger and better, or simply less stressful.
I have a rogue group of members in my community. They don’t think I know it. But I know it all too well. Their tactics are completely juvenile. They plot against other members, and pat each other on the back when their antics cause others grief.
They clearly have a lot of time on their hands.
I have struggled with handling this group. I just want to kick them all out. They all have alter egos. They present themselves to me in one way, and do a complete 180 when they think I’m not looking.
I haven’t mentioned this much until now but I am completely dissatisfied with our registration system and my hands have been tied for a long time. You see, my online community registration is tied to a news organization and IP banning isn’t the answer because I can’t ban people from the news. I kick them out and they’re back 15 minutes later. All it takes is a new email account. Sad, but true. This is an area where the real troublemakers and trolls have the upper hand.
It is very rare for me to devote a post on my blog to dismantling another posted elsewhere on the web. And I’m not going to do that exactly, but I wouldn’t be able to rest if I didn’t share this misguided post on Advertising Age with those who value community management and work their butts off daily trying to grow an online community. These are people who I know read my blog. So be sure to read that AdAge post and all the comments when you can.
First off, this is not to bash the author. It really isn’t. But I do want to applaud the people who spoke up against claims that “out of work copywriter’s and journalists can reinvent themselves as social-media brand advocates,” as if this is an easy task.
Want to make a few changes in your online community in 2010? Consider adopting these resolutions. If you like them, don’t wait two days. Start today.
- Stop taking things personally.The members don’t know you. They know your work. If a few dislike you, it’s probably because you are doing your job. You cannot please everyone. Accept that this is impossible and focus on what really matters: Growing the community and bringing people together.
- Greet at least three newcomers daily. Do this with a personal greeting beyond “Welcome to ____.” Find something about them that you can comment on. Perhaps they have a cool avatar or mentioned that they like horseback riding in their profile. Find a way to relate from the very beginning.Your personal touch will go a long way.
- Reinvent your newsletter.Whether it’s weekly or monthly it’s time to fine-tune your newsletter and include content that people actually care about.If you have news to share about the organization, put it toward the end. Make members feel special by highlighting their work. Look for the most interesting, not necessarily the content with the most page views or comments. And whenever possible…make it short! (Here is a copy of one of mine.) Read the rest of this entry »
In one of the first large-scale studies of Facebook pages ever conducted, Toronto-based Sysomos analyzed and investigated usage patterns in nearly 600,000.
The results include information on various aspects including popularity, amount of content posted, number of fans and categories. This is a study of interest if you manage Facebook Fan pages or plan to create one.
Here are a few highlights from the analysis:
- On average, a Facebook Page has 4,596 fans.
- Four percent of pages have more than 10,000 fans, 0.76% of pages have more than 100,000 fans, and 0.05% of pages (or 297 in total) have more than a million fans.
- Pages with more than one million fans have nearly three times as much owner-generated content as the average Facebook page. (Where “owner-generated content” means things like photos, videos, and links posted by the page’s administrators.)
- Pages with more than one million fans have nearly 60 times as much fan-generated content (photos, videos) as the average Facebook page.
- On an average Facebook Page, the administrators create one wall post every 15.7 days. Among pages with more than one million fans, one wall post is created for every 16.1 days. This suggests that wall post frequency does not correlate with a page’s popularity.
- Overall, the most popular “category” for Facebook pages is “non-profits”, while “celebrities”, “music”, and “products” are the most popular categories among pages with more than one million fans.
There is much more to this study and you can find it all here.
The point I’d like to make here is that major engagement on a Facebook fan page like any other community takes a lot of work and often times the administrator (community manager) is charged with creating the bulk of the content. Facebook may be biggest, baddest, go-to-social network on the planet with it’s 350 million members, but don’t let that number fool you. They’re not knocking down doors to fan your page.
It still takes a lot of work to find success.
I’ve shared stories with you about some of the ups and downs I experience as a community manager and that is one way for me to cope with it without going stir crazy. Sharing these stories is just as hepful for me as it is for you. Thank you for being a sounding board and letting me get things off my chest. It contributes to my sanity.
I am sitting on an Amtrak train at the moment heading to the University of Maryland to speak to a group of reporters, bloggers and editors at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism on engaging the audience. I prepared a presentation with tips on engagement and a series of ideas on how they can connect in ways that will build community for themselves and their news organizations.
I am excited about it, and quite honestly I’m ready for this train ride to end because it seems as though the oxygen level is decreasing and I am a bit light-headed. Thank goodness for an air card and Pandora for streaming music from my favorite artists. But this is not the reason I’m posting. This is…..
So here I am on the train in good spirits and I decide to check my Blackberry for email messages. I see one from a member who has been upset with me for quite a while and whose communications with me have deteriorated to a serious state of rudeness and hate. I almost left it unopened because it has gotten so bad that I now forward his comments straight to our attorney.
Here is his latest:
All this goes to show that you are indeed not competent to manage the community. You have singular inability to police your own venue, one of the very tasks you were hired to perform. Many people have left after having been baited by these assholes you so lovingly call friends. So ship this to your legal department….perhaps something will finally get done about the problem you allow to fester.
I know you have a million questions to ask me about this. Is he right? Is this true? Are you playing favorites? What the heck are you doing Angela?
Let me tell you that this was once one of the top members. He contributed amazing content and was a real advocate for the community. He had been around since our launch.
But he was also a real bully at times, condescending to the point of no return and often mean to people. I received countless emails from members asking me why he was allowed to get away with murder and asking what he “had on me” that made me allow him to stay. You see, I don’t make decisions under duress, and I am fair to people even when others are against them. I take criticism for that, publicly and I accept it. It comes with the territory.
I could argue with him about what my job entails and all that he is misinformed about in terms of what my duties are but it’s pointless. I am now his target and that’s just the way it is. He needs to hate me because he was banned from the community. He isn’t the first and won’t be the last.
So, here I am–preparing to speak tomorrow on the joys of community building and engaging the audience and BAM…a “YOU SUCK AT YOUR JOB” note.
I’ll be sure to stay away from my inbox until the presentation is over.
Wish me luck!
I received this note from a member of my community today and it came at a great time for me because I have been feeling the weight of community management on my shoulders for a while now. I am sharing it because these are the types of comments we have to relish. We need them to get us through the tough times. So when you get one, hold on to it and read it on the days when you feel as though you’ve reached the end of your rope. Here it is:
Hey Angela, Just wanted to let you know that through the efforts of GOLO I was able to send my son, 82nd Airborne, Afghanistan, 100 packs of beef jerky. He said it was hard to find over there. I mentioned it in a blog and it snowballed into a ground swell of donations, thanks to Sandra, Lolly, and Gingerleigh, as well as other GOLOers that donated. Gingerleigh used her military credentials to buy the jerky at Fort Bragg. She’s so awesome. Zack said he would hide his stash and hand it out at church this Sunday. But anyhow I just wanted you to know that GOLO is doing good things, so don’t get discouraged by the trolls. We love you!
It’s nice to know that the members of your community care about one another and their actions underscore that sentiment. I can’t tell you how much I needed that today.
The next time you get one of these, please share it with me.
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