The Emerging Role of the Community Manager
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More about me
www.community-‐roundtable.com
Jim Storer Principal & Co-Founder
The Community Roundtable @jimstorer @TheCR
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What about you?
www.community-‐roundtable.com #ASTDL20
The Community Roundtable
1. A private peer network for social media, community and social business practitioners.!• Weekly roundtable calls!• Comprehensive library of best practices!• Online community!• Professional concierge services!• Discounts to conferences and events!
2. Advisory Services!3. Reports!
h4p://www.community-‐roundtable.com
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Community Maturity Model TM
Strategy
Leadership
Culture
Community Management
Content & Programming
Policies & Governance
Tools
Metrics & Measurement
Stage 1
Hierarchy Stage 2
Emergent Community
Stage 3
Community Stage 4
Networked
Familiarize & Listen
Command & Control
Reactive
None
Formal & Structured
No Guidelines for UGC
Consumer tools used by
individuals
Anecdotal
Participate
Consensus
Contributive
Informal
Some user generated
content Restrictive social
media policies
Consumer & self-service tools
Basic Activities
Build
Collaborative
Emergent
Defined roles & processes
Community created content
Flexible social media policies
Mix of consumer & enterprise tools
Activities & Content
Integrate
Distributed
Activist
Integrated roles & processes
Integrated formal & user generated
Inclusive
‘Social’ functionality is
integrated Behaviors & Outcomes
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Community is NOT!
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Community IS!
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What Defines Community?
1. A common interest or context
2. A sense of shared purpose and fate
3. A common set of needs
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Why Use A Community Structure?
1. Networked structures speed information transfer
2. Shared ownership and commitment
3. Maximize investments
4. Reduce costs
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Online Communities Vary by Size
Online Communi:es
Size
Density of Relationships
Groups Communities Networks
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What is Community Management?!
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Three Typical Roles
1. Community Moderator – Engages in listening and response on owned or third party sites, but is generally not involved in community strategies.
2. Community Manager – A senior position that can serve as the primary “face” of the community and may include some moderation duties. Owns the business goals.
3. Community Strategist – A senior position that is the leader of community in a company or large organization. The role focuses on establishing the vision, building the business case and championing the community across business units.
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Community Management is the Discipline of Ensuring Productive Communities
Responsibilities • Define scope, ideal outcomes, and boundaries • Ensure participants receive more value than they
contribute • Promote, encourage and reward productive behaviors • Discourage and limit destructive behaviors • Facilitate constructive disagreement and conflict • Advocate for the community and its members • Monitor, measure, and report • Marshal internal advocates, resources, & support • Manage tools and member experience
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A Sampling of Tasks
Visible • Managing content (publishing,
curating, tagging) – Updates – Blog posts – eBooks/whitepapers
– Pictures – Videos – Podcasts
• Managing events • Welcoming new members • Participating judiciously in
conversations • Reaching out to 3rd party
influencers, partners, media • Communicating changes to
policies, tools, programming, etc
Behind the Scenes • Back-channeling with members to
encourage participation • Building relationships with key
members • Taking issues offline • Working with internal advocates to
plan mutually beneficial programming
• Planning programming/campaign calendar
• Collaborating internally • Managing technology issues • Communicating value and benefits
of community internally • Measuring and monitoring progress #ASTDL20
What Are the Risks of Not Having Community Management?!
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcolivera/2809988605/
Ghost Town
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedjap/74410434/
Land of 1,000 Flowers
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasfordmemoriallibrary/3467799183/
Drama Central
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swirlingthoughts/162016762/
A Clique
What Makes a Good "Community Manager?
Skills • Communication • Ability to match brand’s
personality • Understanding of human
behavior/motivations • Relationship building • Conflict resolution • Project management • Moderate technical
aptitude
Attributes • Love of people • Judgment • Tempered enthusiasm • Empathy • Adaptability • Self-awareness
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How Do You Build a Thriving
Community?!
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/machineproject/5162106562/
Observe Your Audience!
Schedule
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vidiot/61484953/
Keep A Regular Schedule!
Text
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cecilanne_r-s/3541646602/
Be Multi-Modal!
Image
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfakheri/2815755503/
Be Valuable!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandemia/1286794844/
Be Notable!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheila_steele/161726592/
Bring Catnip!
Have Rules!http://www.flickr.com/photos/strandloper/1385105547/
Encourage Your Cheeseheads!
Ride The Waves!http://www.flickr.com/photos/tk_five_0/2279894817/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfchenier/2409726404/
Donʼt Ignore!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/islespunkfan/2746157133/
Protect the Fish!
Key Take-Aways
• Identify the desired business outcome
• Understand the target audience/member
• Build thick value for all constituents (transactional and long-term returns for participation)
• Understand the role and value of community management
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2011 State of Community Management
• Market analysis
• Survey findings
• Compilation of practitioner lessons and practices
• Resources
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Community Maturity Model TM
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Key Themes
1. Social Business Becomes A Strategic Imperative
2. Interest in Community Management Has Increased
3. The Community Management Discipline is Evolving
4. A Lot of Confusion Remains
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2. LEADERSHIP
Leadership! Key takeaway
Community management isn’t just a role – it’s a perspective.
Key takeaway
Recruit leaders who are willing to be pioneers.
Key takeaway
Education is the key to success.
Key takeaway
Understand when and how to ask for support and authority.
3. CULTURE
Culture!
Key takeaway
Ask for the truth, even if it hurts.
Key takeaway
Be prepared to let the outside in.
Key takeaway
Get multiple positive voices on your side to overcome company culture.
6. POLICY & GOVERNANCE
Policies & Governance!Key takeaway
Recognize that ‘policies’ are not the same as ‘guidelines.’ Guidelines are the expression, in accessible language, of the culture you wish to promote, and community boundaries.
Key takeaway
Keep key issues top-of-mind when structuring governance: regulatory environment; size; culture; strategy; and social business maturity.
Key takeaway
Centralize the role of the social team.
7. TOOLS
Tools!
Key takeaway
Tools and technology tend to grow more complex and complicated over time. It is worth revisiting functionality to simplify your user experience.
Key takeaway
Don’t feel that you have to use every social media tool or channel available.
Key takeaway
Find the vendor(s) with the right fit for your organization.
1. STRATEGY
Strategy!Key takeaway
Don’t Replace What Works… Supplement With Community.
Key takeaway
It’s basic but worth repeating… know your target member.
Key takeaway
Nothing grows in a sandbox. If you want to see growth, you need to build a garden.
4. COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
Community Management!Key takeaway
It’s counterintuitive, but do not jump in and automatically answer questions or help out.
Key takeaway
Schedule regular brown bag lunches or show & tells that help others understand social tools and your social initiatives.
Key takeaway
Lead by example and show members how you want them to behave.
Key takeaway
The social space is about personal connections. It is a channel that is owned by the customer, not the company as a marketing avenue.
5. CONTENT & PROGRAMMING
Content & Programming!
Key takeaway
Your content strategy needs to be focused on both your audience AND your goals.
Key takeaway
Create content plans that bridge your audiences. If you look at your content holistically and broadly, you’ll be more relevant to your audiences.
Key takeaway
Create content that fills a needed gap. Ensure your content has a unique angle, and fills the void for information missing in the marketplace.
Key takeaway
Keep attention spans in mind. Consider the length, quality, quantity, portability and “snackability” of content when you’re planning.
8. METRICS & MEASUREMENT
Metrics & Measurement!
Key takeaway
Don’t think about metrics as a single set. Different metrics serve the needs of different audiences. Typically there are three types of scorecards: the strategic, the operational, and one with daily task-based reporting.
Key takeaway
Executives have become numb to copious amounts of data. What provides meaning and drives change is the ability to share a story. Use metrics to support a story maximizes the impact of data.
Key takeaway
Community ROI does not happen overnight. The ROI can take a while; there’s very little that’s quick about changing behaviors.
Key takeaway
Remember the “billboard” example.
State of Community Management 2011
• Market analysis
• Survey findings
• Compilation of practitioner lessons and practices
• Resources
Download the 90+ page report for free at:
http://community-roundtable.com/socm-2011/
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