@KatieFelten

262-227-0772

kfelten@gmail.com

KatieFelten.com

Community Managers andWhy You Need One.

Hi there, I’m Katie, and I was

basically born into Community

Management. I’ve embodied the

core traits of a Community Manager

for as long as I can remember, but

the title itself is relatively new. So

I thought it might be beneficial

to define community, and share

my philosophy on Community

Management as someone who has

navigated the field for over 8 years.

How do I define Community?

I believe that “Community” is a vital part of the product and the lifeblood of business. Community-centric companies

build an ecosystem where individuals forge relationships with each other and work toward a larger goal, a mission, a

shared vision for the future. I am a Community Manager that builds and fosters the relationships that will build this

future.

Why is a Community Manager important?

Community is about building an ecosystem where individuals forge relationships with each other and work toward a

larger goal, a mission, a shared vision for the future. A Community Manager builds and fosters the relationships that

are the foundation for that future. In community-centric companies, Community Management is a combination of

strategy and operations.

Potential risks without active and strategic community management

1. Lack of supporting resources: people, technology, finances

2. Low engagement: vocal minority drowns out the community

3. Negativity: can be cultural or ongoing, driven by culture or bad fit, hanitual trolling

4. Content sprawl: too many resources across too many spaces can feel confusing

5. Lack of direction: people don’t know what to do when they get into the community

Your community can support a number of different strategic objectives. It’s useful to think of these objectives as

falling into three categories: revenue; customer satisfaction; and product development. Below are examples of goals

I’ve outlined for communities I’ve worked with.

Revenue objectives

• Increase revenue growth

• Upsell more frequently

• Generate more peer-referred leads

Customer satisfaction objectives

• Improve customer service/product satisfaction

• Expanding the customer lifecycle

• Equipping and utilizing brand advocates

Product development objectives

• Improving product/market fit

• Fully utilized content

• Increasing engagement

Who is the Community Manager?

From the public’s point of view, the Community Manager is the company’s face in the social sphere. Within the

company, the Community Manager may fill many roles, but this digital-savvy person is typically responsible for

carrying out the day-to-day duties required to make a social and community strategy successful. Communications,

PR, audience engagement, and online community development are only a few subjects your community manager

may tackle.

Traits of a Community Manager

Communication

Fantastic Relationship Building – I am a natural connector. I love the challenge of meeting new people and

winning them over. I derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person. For me

conversation and relationship building isn’t work, it’s who I am, whether online or off.

Passion for the brand – I eat, sleep and breathe the brand. My audience wants to interact with someone who loves

the brand as much as they do. I am the voice of the company, and as such embody the target customer, which is

critical because when there is negative feedback, it is passion that keeps you strong. Passion for the topic of the

community is the single biggest difference between communities that succeed or fail.

Expert Communicator - I am a strong communicator, conversationalist and presenter. I am able to craft ideas and

messages to fit any medium whether it be presenting, one on one and to large groups, writing blog posts, emails,

or social content. I am outgoing, friendly, and relatable. As a community manager in many ways I am the face of

the brand and must be able to effectively communicate the company message online and off, so being a natural

networker is key.

Management Skills

Organizational – I have strong organizational skills and thrive in a fast paced environment. As a community manag-

er my job consists of managing multiple platforms, tracking feedback, planning events, and creating content. Often,

success lies in the details. I have a great deal of stamina and work hard.

Project Management – I am a planner. I know how to decide what I am going to achieve, compile the list of steps I

need to take and estimate how much time they will take. I have the ability to manage multiple projects simultane-

ously, distilling necessary tasks from high-level direction.

Business Acumen - I know how the community fits into the overall business strategy whether that’s lead generation,

brand awareness, customer service, operations etc. I am able to take what I learn from the community and provide

relevant feedback to the internal team on business and community direction.

Personality

Dedicated – This position is a lifestyle rather than a job. There is no end of the workday for community managers;

you’re on board 24/7. We are technically the face of the brand, and therefore responsible for addressing needs as

they arise, no matter the time of day.

Cultural fit - We’ve talked about how important earning the respect of a community is, but your Community Man-

ager also has to earn the respect of your team. I work in tandem with players from multiple departments, so it’s got

to be a good fit on both sides; external and internal.

Relatable – I am relatable; someone that people will want to interact with and that they’ll feel comfortable enough

to talk to, but who also holds the power to put them in their place if they get out of line. Just because I’m person-

able, doesn’t mean I’m a pushover.

Empathic - I am empathetic and am able to put myself in the shoes of my community and understand their posi-

tion, share their concerns, and celebrate their success.

What are some of the Community Manager’s daily tasks?

Curating Posting Measuring

Responding Engaging Planning

Crafting Scheduling Analyzing

Listening Helping Experimenting

“The big question is whether you are going to

be able to say a hearty ‘Yes’ to your adventure.”

Joseph Campbell

What are a Community Manager’s responsibilities?

While every day as a Community Manager is different, below is a range of responsibilities that the role may entail:

ACTIVITY RESPONSIBILITIES

Brand Advocacy Act as the external voice of the company and the internal advocate of the community,

essentially becoming the liaison between internal decision makers and community

members.

Community Growth Focus on identifying, recruiting and onboarding new members and continuously

engaging existing members.

Communications/

Marketing Strategy

Create the strategic Community Playbook to provide direction for the company’s

public-facing communications.

Implementation Implement the Community Playbook; coordinate with stakeholders across the

company to ensure its effectiveness and provide customer service and support to the

community.

Customer Relations Engage and motivate the most active online advocates and ensuring that their efforts

are recognized.

Public Relations Identify influencers in our industry. Establish relationships, partner and collaborate with

them.

Product Development Fully utilize existing content, creating content to fill gaps identified in the Community

Playbook, and increasing consumer engagement.

Content Creation Write blog posts, articles, newsletters, communications materials, and material for

social media channels.

Content Management Manage editorial content and a schedule for the community to engage with, while

encouraging them to contribute their own high quality submissions.

Off-line Presence Attend industry events in your city and planned meet-ups for your community while

chronicling them on social media.

Social Media Marketing Create, manage, and grow the company’s presence through blogs, Twitter, Facebook,

and other strategically relevant online platforms.

Social Media Listening Monitoring conversations happening around the brand and industry, analyzing results

and identifying opportunities for business development.

Feedback Provide feedback and insights gained from community monitoring to help evolve our

strategies in a timely fashion.

Why Katie?

In her career, Katie Felten has consistently exemplified the four key elements of a community manager: community

advocacy, brand evangelism, savvy communication skills and editorial planning, and excelling as the liaison between

internal decision makers and community members.

Katie stumbled upon a 2011 article titled “The 8 Ingredients that Make a Community Manager,” and will swear that it

was written about her. She realized that not only were the traits included inherent to her personality, they aligned

with much of the work she was already doing. With over 8 years as an educator, trainer, speaker, video host and

blogger, she’d found the niche for her particular set of skills and knowledge.

In addition to managing communities, she also works with brands to set the vision and build the strategy for their

community. She excels at building communities from scratch and enhancing engagement in existing communities

because she designs with the community’s needs in mind; by putting herself in the shoes of the community, she is

able to think big picture and marry the goals of the company with the long-term needs of her community.

Now, she specializes in setting community strategies, working exclusively with clients to build a community playbook

for the company that builds and sustains the momentum of their content and communication strategies. If she’s not

interacting with a community, she can most likely be found rock climbing, juicing, in a Bikram yoga studio, listening

to electronic dance music, and generally pursuing the spirit of adventure.

If you are ready to build, grow, and improve your community, or want to learn more about how a Community

Manager will enhance your business strategy, reach out to Katie at 262-227-0772 or kfelten@gmail.com

“Katie provided invaluable expertise in helping us build a community relevant to our product. We commonly called her our secret weapon and I highly recommend her as a passionate community builder that drives results.”

~ Tim Philosophos

“Connector. Community Builder. Collaborator. Those are the words that quickly surface when I think of Katie Felten. Katie brought direction and continuity to Translator Lab, taking it from an experimental idea to a respected community platform. Best of all, Katie is fun to be around.”

~ Mark Fairbanks

“Katie was born to be a community manager. Not only does she possess fantastic online communication skills but those abilities also manifest themselves in all of Katie’s offline interactions, as well.”

~ Jabril Faraj

What’s next?

“Whether focused internally or externally, a Community Managers

primary goal is creating the conditions for constructive engagement - the

discussions, questions and participation that create business value”

So, now that we’ve covered what a Community Manager does, it’s time to determine whether your company is ready

for one. It’s important to keep in mind that your Community Manager will only be as successful as the strategy you

set. CM’s manage engagement, but if you haven’t yet set a strategy for who and how you want to engage, you may

not be ready to bring a Community Manager on board yet.

The best communities start with a good plan. And after nearly a decade of experience as a Community Manager, I

recognized that my core skills were better put to use as a Community Strategist. I help companies establish a plan

for building, growing, and improving their communities through the use of my Community Playbook, ultimately,

positioning them to to easily adopt and implement the tactics.

What is a Community Playbook?

The community playbook is a comprehensive guide to community strategy, design and execution. It is a living

document that empowers and guides community growth. While each organization’s culture and needs are different,

when it comes to how community playbooks are structured, there are key success strategies that are common to all.

• The community playbook is an organic document: it reflects the internal and external components of the

community strategy.

• The community playbook is flexible: it is structured as a set of guardrails for interactions rather than a

command and control document. The playbook’s purpose is to empower and provide protection and direction,

as opposed to being a rigid and inflexible set of commandments.

• The community playbook is a reference: it is the ultimate reference to your community strategy. It

functions as a guide for those within the organization seeking to better understand your brand, your customers,

and your goals. It provides direction and informs the creation and distribution of external communication, and

offers instruction for the internal management of communication.

In the creation of this living document we will formulate a strategy, framework and vision for the community.

As a Community Strategist, I analyze where your community is now and set a direction for the future; develop the

plan for growing your community, and focusing on nurturing the community, increasing engagement, and driving

growth. So, if you are ready to create a solid, strategic foundation from which to build your brand and improve your

reach to your communities, let’s talk.

Contact me at kfelten@gmail.com to get started with your Community Playbook.