essentials of online community management
TRANSCRIPT
AGENDA1. PLANNING YOUR COMMUNITY
2. LAUNCH
3. REPORTING
4. CONTENT STRATEGY
5. MANAGING RISK
6. DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
7. DEFINING SUCCESS
LESSON 1: Planning Your Private Online Community
PURPOSE
WRONG: WE NEED
• We need to get more members engaged.
• We need to generate non-dues revenue.
• We need to draw members to the website.
• We need to collect content from members.
RIGHT: MEMBERS NEED
• Members need a trusted environment to collaborate.
• Members need a place to find trusted experts who can help them.
• Members need a way to comment on technical information.
MEMBER PERSPECTIVE IS CRITICAL.
But wait…do they REALLY need that?
Examples of Business Purpose• Replace an outdated system with a
platform that includes community functionality.
• Provide a new way for members to participate in the association online.
• Generate new revenue.
BUSINESS PURPOSE MUST BE ALIGNED TO MEMBER PURPOSE.
• Community for member networking (because members should be posting on our site instead of LinkedIn.)
• Community to build more member-generated content (because we’ve had trouble getting members to contribute content in the past.)
EXAMPLES OF BUSINESS PURPOSENOT ALIGNING TO MEMBER PURPOSE
FAIL
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
1. Open vs closed2. Group management3. Community rules4. Moderation and staff involvement5. Champion involvement6. Content and engagement planning
SIX IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
RESOURCE PLANNING
• Administrative
• Monitoring and responding
• Content and engagement
• Managing the platform
• Training members
• Training and strategizing with staff
• Reporting community progress to stakeholders
DEFINE THE WORK AND DELEGATE APPROPRIATELY
PROMOTION
Did our new board member just say he’s
never used the community?
PROMOTING YOUR COMMUNITY IS A PROCESS THAT NEVER ENDS.
PROMOTIONTWO-PRONGED APPROACH TO ONGOING PROMOTION
MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING
• Membership marketing and new member onboarding
• Email newsletters
• Features in magazine
• Conference marketing and on-site activities
• Promotion on website homepage and house ads
• Platform email notifications for announcements, digests
CHAMPION AND INFLUENCER MARKETING
• Training and guidance for volunteer group leaders
• Training and guidance for staff
• Outreach to champions to keep the site active
• Outreach to influencers to brainstorm ways they might like to use the community
Questions?
LESSON 2: Launching Your New Private Online Community
SOFT LAUNCH - MEMBERS
ARCHETYPES OF USEFUL BETA GROUPSArchetype Size Activity Privac
y Example
Small and good
10-15 High Private Board, working group, event volunteers
Large and social-media-savvy
50-150
Medium Public Technology special interest group, communications special interest group
Up and coming
50-150
Medium Public Young professionals or student leaders
Content creators
10-15 High Public Bloggers, authors, speakers, volunteer leaders
Location-based
50-150
Medium Public An active chapter
PICK THE RIGHT PEOPLE, AND MAKE YOUR FIRST MISTAKES AMONG FRIENDS.
• Tech-savvy volunteer group leaders.• Active listserv users who are asking
for updated functionality.• Social members who
may not be active in any of the other beta groups you’ve identified.
BETA TESTERS WILL FEEL MORE INVESTED. SO WHO DO YOU NEED ON YOUR SIDE?
• Set expectations low.
• Explain the vision for the future.
• Be specific about what to test. For example: – Set up a profile with a picture.
– Add a colleague and send a message.
– Join a group/post to a discussion/comment
• Tell them how to share feedback.– Set up a feedback group for beta testers.
• Prepare them for technical glitches.
SENDING A BASIC INVITE TO YOUR BETA TESTERS ISN’T ENOUGH
SOFT LAUNCH - STAFF
• Have staff beta testers set up their profiles.
• Create a private group to serve as the sandbox.
• Be specific about what to test.
• Use the group to share community-related information with staff.– Updates on technical progress
– Launch plans
– Staff policies, roles, responsibilities.
• Tell them how to share feedback.
• Prepare them for tech glitches.
BUILD A SANDBOX AND USE IT.
JUMPSTARTING WORKSET YOUR PRIORITIES FOR LAUNCH. EVERYTHINGIS IMPORTANT. SOME THINGS ARE CRITICAL.
PRIORITY WORK
AdministrativeX Monitoring and
respondingX Content and engagement
Managing the platformX Training members
Training and strategizing with staff
Reporting community progress to stakeholders
Especially engaging
champions!
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
1. How do we monitor most efficiently and effectively?
2. Who should respond?– Can they respond fast enough?– Are they set up on the platform to
respond?
3. Can we streamline response for certain types of information?
JUMPSTARTING WORKPRACTICING THE ART OF MONITORING AND RESPONDING
• Volunteer leaders
• Speakers
• Writers
• Industry influencers (consultants?)
• Digital extroverts from other social spaces
JUMPSTARTING WORKENGAGING CHAMPIONS STARTS WITH KNOWING WHO THEY ARE
• Direct and specific asks work better than blast emails (which hardly work at all.)
• Try the phone. *gasp*
• Meet them face-to-face.
• Find ways to reward champion involvement.– Game mechanics– Promote content from champions– Create a volunteer role for champions
CHAMPIONS NEED EXTRA CARE AND FEEDING
GETTING PEOPLE IN
NO ONE CARES• Have your own profile.• Add colleagues.• Post
blogs/discussions/comments.
• Access the resource library.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TOOLS. IT’S ABOUT WHAT MEMBERS CAN BUILD WITH THEM.
MESSAGING SHOULD FOCUS ON WIIFM (WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME)
EVERYONE CARES• Showcase your accomplishments. (profile)• Connect with people who are solving the same
challenges you face. (Or connect with your next employer, if they’re in transition.) (Add colleagues)
• Get specific advice from industry experts who can answer your questions. (post blogs/discussions/comments.)
• Share your perspectives on the latest (standards/regulations/effective practices) that are impacting the way you do business. (access the resource library).
Look what you can build!
WHEN IT COMES TO INVITATIONS, KEEP IT SIMPLE
• Focus on easy tasks in the right order.
• Initial tasks: login for the first time and create a profile.
• Follow up tasks: join a group, connect with colleagues. – Even better: suggest which groups or
colleagues!
• Follow up tasks: Read and comment on a recent discussion.– Even better: suggest active discussions to
comment on.
ONBOARDING IS A MULTI-STEP PROCESS.FOLLOW UP IS KEY.
• Thank folks who are active.
• Thank folks who have created a profile...remind them of next steps they can take to get more out of the community.
• Remind folks who have not yet logged in or completed their profile. Ask if they had a technical glitch, if they need a walkthrough, or if they just need more information about WIIFM.
Questions?
LESSON 3: Reporting Engagement Activity
WHY ENGAGEMENT?ENGAGEMENT IS A MEANS TO AN END. WHAT DO YOUR STAKEHOLDERS REALLY WANT?
• Support member retention?• Support commerce and revenue
goals?• Recruit potential volunteer leaders
and content creators?• Capture member knowledge?
2. TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT
Social Technographics Ladder(Josh Bernoff, Forrester Research, 2010.)
ENGAGEMENT IS NOTONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL.
CREATORS
CONVERSATIONALISTSCRITICS
COLLECTORSJOINERS
SPECTATORSINACTIVES
TYPES OF ENGAGEMENTMEASURE DIFFERENT ENGAGEMENT TYPES
TYPE WHAT TO MEASURE
Creator Post blogs, discussions, documents
Conver-sationalist
Post discussions, comments; send messages
Critic Comment, rate/review
Collector Add contacts, bookmark
Joiner Join groups
Spectator Sign in regularly, spend time on the site
Inactive Sign in rarely or never
TAILORING REPORTSGENERAL GUIDELINES FOR REPORTING TO DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS.STAKEHOLDER DETAIL PRESENTATION FREQUENCY
Board High level Visual Annual
Volunteer leaders
Group-specific
Visual Annual
ED/CEO High level Visual Quarterly
Staff group managers
Group-specific
Spreadsheet
Quarterly
Your boss Comprehen-sive
Spreadsheet
Monthly
Yourself Comprehen-sive
Spreadsheet
As needed
QUALITATIVE REPORTING
1. LISTENING REPORTS– Provide links to top discussions, most
active groups, unique use cases
2. FEEDBACK AND TESTIMONIALS– Share feedback you receive from
members by email, face-to-face, or even on the platform.
– Share feedback from staff who are finding the community useful.
TWO IMPORTANT WAYS TO SHOWCASE ENGAGEMENT BEYOND THE NUMBERS.
BENCHMARKING AND VISUALIZING
Well…we’ve got data. I have no idea what it means, but we’ve got
data.
VISUAL DATA HAS MORE IMPACT THAN SPREADSHEETS.
1. Charts and graphs don’t have to be fancy to add meaning.
2. Don’t create visualizations for every data point—just the ones you need to impress high-level stakeholders.
3. Visual data can be CRITICAL for communicating with the board.
Questions?
LESSON 4: Content Strategy for Your Community
COMMUNITY CONTENT IS DIFFERENT
STRIKE THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL CONTENT AND MEMBER-GENERATED CONTENT
TRADITIONAL MEMBER-GENERATED
sharing links and articles
blogging
Commenting, rating, reviewing
Peer-to-peer discussion
promotions
news updates
announcements
DEVELOPING CONTENT FOR COMMUNITY
Build a team
• SMEs (staff and members)
• Group leaders
• Marketing/communications
• Education/conferences (staff and speakers)
• Government relations
• Owners and volunteers for other programs
STOP DEVELOPING CONTENT—STARTDEVELOPING CONTENT CREATORS.
• How might you present the content to generate an active discussion?
• How might you build community activity around education content or a conference?
• How might you help groups use the community to talk amongst themselves?
• What’s coming up (not finished yet) that warrants asking the community a question?
ACT AS ADVISOR, EDITOR, AND CURATOR
CURATING CONTENT
Content curation is the process of sorting through the vast amounts of content on the web and presenting it in a meaningful and organized way around a specific theme.
(Beth Kanter, Content Curation Primer, Beth’s Blog | http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/)
THREE UNIQUE WAYS COMMUNITY MANAGERS CURATE
1. CURATE IN CONTEXTEnrich peer-to-peer discussions.
2. CURATE FOR GROUPSTarget content to groups based on special interests.
3. CURATE FOR ENGAGEMENTLeave no question unanswered.
HAVE YOU ASKED YOUR CHAMPIONS FOR HELP TODAY?
1. ASK DIRECTLY
2. BE SPECIFIC
3. SET A DEADLINE
4. FOLLOW UP
WORKING WITH CHAMPIONS
THREE IDEAS FOR GETTING CHAMPIONS TO CONTRIBUTE
1. Make them the leader of a group.
2. Reply to unanswered questions.– Send a link to the specific unanswered
thread when you need their help.
3. Write about a hot topic.– Do an email “interview” then ask them
to post their reply.
PLOT YOUR CONTENT AND CHECK THE BALANCE.
1. Plan editorial as well as ENGAGEMENT.
2. Brainstorm posts and topics a month ahead.
3. Assign content to your team, track deadlines, track follow-up.
4. Leave resources and flexibility for “pop up” content.
USING A CONTENT CALENDAR
Questions?
LESSON 5: MANAGING RISK IN YOUR COMMUNITY
REFRAMING RISKTHREE SIMPLE STEPS
1. Identify
2. Analyze
3. Prioritize
REFRAMING RISK
1. Identify
2. Analyze
3. Prioritize
THREE SIMPLE STEPS
•What are the common risks for a private online community?•What additional risks concern your staff and leadership?
REFRAMING RISK
1. Identify
2. Analyze
3. Prioritize
THREE SIMPLE STEPS
•What are some actual scenarios in the community that illustrate each risk?• How likely is that risk to happen?• How much could it cost the association?
TOP PRIORITY:COSTLY AND LIKELY
MIDDLE PRIORITY:COSTLY BUT NOT LIKELY
MIDDLE PRIORITY:NOT COSTLY BUT LIKELY
LOW PRIORITY:NEITHER COSTLY
NOR LIKELY
3. Prioritize
LIKELY NOT LIKELY
NO
T CO
STLY
COST
LY
POLICIES & MORE POLICIESWEBSITE TERMS OF USE
• Welcome• Purpose & Use (what you
can/can’t do)• Properties (trademarks,
service marks, designs, logos, etc.)
• Content, Information & materials
• Licensing for user-generated content
• Copyright & Trademark Ownership, Notices & Infringement
• No professional advice
• Privacy• Security• No Warranties• Other sites (linking)• Members only area• Reporting content violations• Termination of access• Disclaimers, exclusion of
damages, & limitation of liability
• Indemnification• Governing law• Changes to terms• Contact us
POLICIES & MORE POLICIESSPECIAL POLICIES FOR YOUR PRIVATE COMMUNITY
• Social media policy (for staff and volunteers)
• Community rules and moderation policy
• Policy for blog authors
WHO OWNS THE CONTENT?
• Spell out a licensing agreement for user-generated content in the Website Terms of Use.– Users favor non-exclusive licenses.
• Spell out how you will be able to use the content.– Promotion of the site?
– Reuse in free member resources?
– Reuse in publications or other products that will be sold?
– Right to modify and reuse?
– Will you give attribution to the content creator?
SPELL IT OUT, BUT DON’T BE EVIL
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PRIVACY RISKS ARE A COMMUNITY MANAGER’S TOP PRIORITY
Intellectual
Property
Privacy (And HIPAA)
Maybe
Anti-Trust,
too.
TIPS FOR MANAGING RISK IN YOUR COMMUNITY
• Post community rules and policies where they are easy to access from any page in the community.
– Train staff and content creators on the policies.
• Monitor and respond
– Have backup when you’re away
• Work with senior staff team and legal council on risk assessment
– Use that team as a resource when something comes up.
Questions?
LESSON 6: Private Communities in the Digital Ecosystem
• Public sites (FB, T, LI, G+, P) are important because that’s where your people already spend time.
• A private community is never a replacement for public social media platforms and a strategy for using them.
REMEMBER THIS: A COMMUNITY IS DEFINED BY PEOPLE, NOT PLATFORM. And…
people win by a
landslide!
• People engage with your association in public sites, too.
• If you only measure engagement in your private community, you risk undervaluing engagement in public social media sites.
MEASURE ENGAGEMENT ACROSS THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.
WHO OWNS WHAT?PRIVATE COMMUNITIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA OFTENLEAD SEPARATE LIVES IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
BEING PURPOSEFUL
Components of a good, site-specific plan:
EVERY SITE NEEDS A PLAN.
• Background• Goals• What does success
look like? • Defining the
audience• Growing the
audience
• Content Plan• Promoting
association products, services, and membership
• Moderation• Member
involvement
PROVIDE CLARITY FOR BOTH STAFF AND MEMBERS
How is the private platform any different
from what we’re already doing on
LinkedIn?
CROSS-PLATFORM CONTENT STRATEGYWALLED GARDENS NEED WINDOWS.
1. TEASER CONTENT– Executive summaries (lead to full report)– Blog post summarizing a hot-topic discussion (lead to
full, ongoing discussion)– Infographic of research (lead to full research report).
2. TRIAL MEMBERSHIP– Could also create a free, online-only membership– Helps generate leads for full membership
3. POST PASSWORD-PROTECTED CONTENT AS-IS– Lead with “FOR MEMBERS” and end with “Login
Required”
THREE CONTENT TACTICS TO ENTICE PEOPLE TO YOUR PRIVATE ONLINE COMMUNITY.
Questions?
LESSON 7: What Does Success Look Like?
GAUGING SUCCESS
1. At what stage is your community in its development?
2. How many people are in the community?
3. How many interactions does your community generate?
4. Are members exhibiting a sense of community in the way they interact?
5. Is the community generating ROI for the organization?
FIVE IMPORTANT LENSES TO CONSIDER. HINT: THE FIRST ONE IMPACTS ALL THE REST.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDERDIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS DEFINE SUCCESS DIFFERENTLY.
• Board• Executive
Director• Staff who “own”
the community• Other staff
• Other volunteers/volunteer leaders
• Champions of the community
• Active members• Outside world
TO BE SUCCESSFUL, YOU MUST RECONCILE DIFFERENT VISIONS OF SUCCESS.
The board wants business results. Staff
is all about their department and their process. Now what?
• Well known throughout the membership
• Recognized as an important benefit
• Accessed by a significant number of members
• Used regularly by a smaller (but still significant) number of members
SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES ARE…
1. How many members know about the community?
2. How many members access the community?
3. How many members are active in the community?
4. What contributions are active members making to the community?
5. How does staff use the community?
6. How does the board use
the community?
7. How do other volunteer groups use the community?
8. How do new members use the community?
9. How do members perceive the community?
10. How do prospective members perceive the community?
VISIONING EXERCISE: IMAGINE THE COMMUNITY IS A HUGE SUCCESS IN [XX] MONTHS.
DEMYSTIFYING SUCCESSTHE MORE TRUSTED THE COMMUNITY MANAGER,THE MORE SUCCESSFUL THE COMMUNITY
1. FORMAL STRUCTURE – lucky community managers are empowered.
2. GOING GUERILLA – most community managers find another way.
Questions?
