You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘online communities’ tag.
I spoke at Internet Summit 2011 yesterday on the truth about community management. I have heard such great things about the content in person and online, particularly on Twitter and I am so happy that people found it helpful. I always strive to be honest and forthright about my experiences and never sugarcoat what it takes to grow an online community.
I figure since there are so many people out there telling lies and spreading myths about social media, I am not needed to perpetuate the trend.
I did post a link to the presentation on Slideshare, but I’m also posting it here for those who may be interested.
Angela Connor’s presentation at Internet Summit 2011
Enjoy. And let me know if you have any questions. as you probably know, I can talk about this all day.
Read this out loud, print it, tape it to the cork board in the cafeteria, post it on the intranet, e-mail it or send it via direct mail:
“In 2011, we will decide if we really want an online community, which requires commitment and true engagement, or just a bunch of fans and likes. And we will stop acting as though they are one and the same. “
If you need help with this, I am more than willing to chat.
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.
If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people running an online community on Ning, it’s time to pull out your credit card or look for new digs.
The company announced earlier this week that the free model is going away. TechCrunch published the memo issued by Ning CEO Jason Rosenthal and I encourage you to read it. You may recall that I interviewed Mr. Rosenthal back in November when he was Chief Operating Officer of Ning and he had nothing but great things to say about the company’s growth.
At any rate, here is an excerpt from the memo announcing the changes:
…We will phase out our free service. Existing free networks will have the opportunity to either convert to paying for premium services, or transition off of Ning. We will judge ourselves by our ability to enable and power Premium Ning Networks at huge scale. And all of our product development capability will be devoted to making paying Network Creators extremely happy.
So there you have it. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision but I can assure you that many, many online communities are soon to bite the dust. The free model and low barrier to entry is what brought so many people to Ning.
The technologically challenged network owners probably have no idea where to look to even begin a transition. Their transition will likely be extinction, and as a community advocate I find that extremely sad.
Do you run a network on Ning? If so, what’s your plan? I’m sure that others will be happy to listen and learn.
Its one thing to charge someone with growing your membership, but quite another to truly understand what it is you’re asking.
No one can effectively grow and maintain a community without the resources to make it happen.
What are those resources you might ask?
Well, the most important is time. They need time to nurture the community, seed it with content, create discussions, build relationships and interact with the masses.
But wait!
They can’t do any of that if they don’t know what the users want. And if you can’t tell them then you need to give them more time to figure it out so that the community can thrive and grow.
There is so much competition out there, so your community has to become a destination. It has to fill a need that isn’t being met elsewhere. In other words, people need a reason to come.
Sometimes your brand is enough to get them there. But oftentimes it isn’t enough to get them to stay.
It is frustrating to see people deem this as an afterthought. If you are building or maintaining a community for a client, you need to be paid for the time it takes to do it. And you need to make sure they understand that this does not happen overnight.
How many ghost towns have you seen lately? How many LinkedIn groups with no discussions, abandoned Twitter accounts and empty Facebook pages have you visited in the last month? (Remember this report released four months ago that found that over a third of all FB fan pages had fewer than 100 fans?)
The problem is everyone wants to be everywhere but they have no strategy for making any of it a success, and that, in my opinion is crazy.
The point here is this: If you have goals related to increasing membership and engagement levels of any online community regardless of the platform, you have a hard job.
So, you’d better make sure that you aren’t the only one aware of that fact.
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.
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 »
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.
I heard a bit of disturbing news today about a community manager at a local competitor.
She has been reassigned, and it was not voluntary.
It turns out that the media company feels as though she has created such a robust community that it is now self-sustainable and no longer requires her services.
That’s really a shame. I wonder what their plan of attack will be when people stop contributing or the quality of content begins to spiral, which it will.
You would think I’d revel in this this news, as this is a competitor, but I can’t do it. It’s a hit to the craft and the importance of our work. Nothing about that brings me joy.
What are your thoughts on this? We all know that building it isn’t enough. They built it and people did come. But they only stayed because someone made it worth their while. I wonder what will happen next. Whatever it is…chances are it won’t be pretty.
I’ll keep you posted.
On thoughtful comments
June 9, 2011 in comments, Growing successful online communities, social media | Tags: blogging, online communities, posting comments, thoughtful comments, user generated content | 7 comments
It is so easy to read through your favorite blog posts and chime in with a cursory comment such as: “Spot on,” “great post,” “I agree with you 100%” and “Me too.”
The same goes for online communities and forums. While I enjoy reading the actual posts, sometimes the best content is in the comments. It’s the different perspectives and point-of-view that add value while also introducing you to people you may not have otherwise come in contact with.
I can recall a time when I was a very active commenter on my favorite blogs. It comes in waves now based on my workload but I always strive to post something of value. So whenever you see one of my comments, you better believe that I thought about my words before posting them and felt like I had something worth adding.
As a community manager, you come to value comments in a way that is indescribable. I’m sure that bloggers feel that way too. But when you are charged with growing a community, you truly associate the comment with the person’s time. You see the direct correlation because you are painfully aware of the fact that there are so many choices online and you’re grateful that for that moment, you were one of their choices.
Comments yield opportunities
Another reason to be smart about your comments is that you never know who is reading. I’ve gotten great opportunities from comments. It’s nice to get an email from someone indicating that they read your comment on a post and they’d like to interview you for a story or connect with you in some other way. It happens all the time, so you’re actually helping yourself when you do this.
Posting thoughtful comments isn’t hard to do, but it’s much easier when you care about the topic or feel some sort of emotion as a result of what you just read. But even if that emotion is lacking, you can still add quality to the conversation beyond “Spot on” and the others mentioned above.
If you want to get started on improving the quality of your comments, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
I recognize that some of these tips may be painfully obvious, but if they really were, I think we’d see many more thoughtful comments. And if you’re on the receiving end of those comments, be sure to express some gratitude and thank people for their time.
Remember, they could be anywhere else on the web, and the fact that they are with you is something you have to learn to appreciate.