I consider myself very fortunate in that I work from home for a company in California. As you can imagine, working remotely has many perks which I list here from time to time. However, over the past couple of weeks I developed the Web Worker Blues as I dealt with spotty Internet connections at home and sporadic hotel and conference WiFi as I traveled. As I waited for the cable repairman to come by and fix my connection yesterday, I listed some pros and cons of being a web based worker.

1. Connectivity

Pro: You can work anywhere

Being web based means I can work from home or the local coffee shop. If my cable goes out, as it often does, I can drive to Starbucks or the library. I can even work while waiting for my son to complete kid activities because many of them offer WiFi to parents as well. When I’m not connected, I can use Tether via my smart phone and connect that way.  This comes in handy as I travel often for my job and finding hotspots is ultra important.

Con: You’re only as good as your Internet connection

Even Starbucks has Internet issues and Tether is slow sometimes. There have been times when my home connection is down, I can’t get my Tether to work and Starbucks and the library have issues. Without a good Internet connection I’m screwed and I can’t afford to be screwed. I have a job and book deadlines and outages are not an option. (But to be honest, sometimes they’re very welcome.)

2. Location

Pro: You can work anywhere

I  love that I can take my job anywhere.  If  I’m spending extended time with family or even taking a vacation, I can bring my laptop along and get work done.  I have a flexible life which means I can write at the playground, answer emails on the beach or make phone calls from the back deck. Not having to commute into a traditional office all day saves gas and my sanity.

Con: You can’t work anywhere

Technically, I can work anywhere. Truthfully, I can’t. Unless I’m alone or everyone around me is working too, I’m easily distracted. There’s too much sun glare outside and too much activity during vacations, sporting events or family gatherings.  I try but working remote from my remote location causes me to lose focus. Despite what everyone tells you, you can’t always work from vacations or while visiting your large, raucous family for the weekend.

3. Communication

Pro: Web based tools to keep in touch with coworkers

The beauty of the Internet is that it allows me instant access to my team. Email, Skype, phone calls,  and Dropbox afford me the tools to stay connected.  While I may not always get the immediate answers an office worker might get walking two cubicles over, If not for the web I wouldn’t be able to effectively do what I do because it requires heavy communication with my team.

Con: Email

Heavy communication requires heavy email. Every day my mailbox is filled with hundreds of emails from coworkers, and folks who have questions or comments. I’m glad to be of assistance and do my best to respond to everyone, but it takes a lot of time. Email (especially those dreaded “reply alls” ) pile up every day and I need to find solutions for effective communication without so many emails.

4. Dress Code

Pro: No dress code

You’ve heard it all before – home/web based workers can work in their pajamas if they’re so inclined. This is very true, we have a very casual life style.  It saves on wardrobe and shoe bills, and we don’t have to worry much about suits or business casual unless we’re at meetings or conferences.  Jeans are my regular uniform and I feel this comfort makes me more productive.

Con: No dress code

Notice how I said  ”jeans are my regular uniform?”  That’s because I feel there’s such a thing as being too casual. I work best when I change out of my pajamas or swets. When I’m too casual, I’m in a too casual frame of mind. Getting dressed separates that home/work line. Also, I like to pull myself together. It gets depressing walking around looking like a schlub all day. If I’m a mess, I feel a mess and it’s distracting. I shower, get dressed and fix my hair every day to put me in the proper frame of mind.

5. The Internet

Pro: You won’t get chewed out for being online all day

When I worked in an office I needed a good excuse to get online as it wasn’t really needed for my job. Now, I can surf to my heart’s content. Even if it wasn’t my job, if I want to tweet, I tweet. If I want to say “hi” on Facebook, I say “hi” on Facebook and if I want to look up information I can do so without looking over my shoulder to see if my boss is watching. In fact, my boss is probably online as well.

Con: Distractions galore

The Internet is a distraction. Even though I need it for my job, there are times when I purposely shut it off just so I can get more work done. I don’t know too many web based workers who can stay offline the whole day (with the exception of business purposes) because the web, the social networks, the music, and the connections call all day. All day. For this reason, I think web based and home based workers have to be extremely focused. It’s too easy to waste the whole day online on non-work stuff.

Your Turn…

I just listed my top 5 pros and cons of having a web based job. Are you a web based worker as well? What do you feel are the pluses and minuses to this kind of work?

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Everyone is talking about Pinterest, the social “pinning” site used to share, well, anything.  It’s a little early to say, but judging by the buzz (and the amount of people posting about Pinterest on their blogs), it has a good chance of becoming the top social site for 2012 and perhaps the next big thing.

Pinterest is different from your Facebook, Twitter or Google plus because it’s not about posting a sentence or paragraph in hopes of starting a conversation. Instead, folks post images of things that interest them and that’s what gets the conversation started. At this point, most of the people I follow on Pinterest are talking about food, fashion and home, but the sky is the limit. Pinterest is giving us an opportunity to share our interests and find other people who enjoy the same. It’s also giving me an opportunity to see another side of my social media friends. I can tell you who is renovating, who are moonlighting as foodies, who are expecting kids, and what kinds of books everyone is reading.  Pinterest is a very cool tool.

Because I’m now tasked with handling the community growth and outreach for the company I work for, I’ve been thinking about the different ways Pinterest can be used as a community building tool. Unlike Facebook, you create boards, not groups. And unlike Twitter, the image is the focus, not the pithy comment. Also, there aren’t brand pages on Pinterest, it’s all individual people sharing, so the community building might not be so obvious and cut and dry.

Still, I have some ideas…

1, Learn About Community Members

We only know as much as our community members are willing to share. And while many of our members will follow us on Twitter, they’re not going to friend us on Facebook because they don’t know us very well and most use Facebook as a tool for connecting with personal friends and family, not community managers.  Pinterest is interesting though, when we follow someone’s boards, we learn more about their likes and dislikes. We can tell their fashion sense, the types of television shows they’re watching, and even a little about their sense of humor.  We don’t have to follow every one of their boards, either, only those that interest us the most.

Pinterest is an excellent way to gather demographic information because we can learn age groups, interests and a little bit about what folks do for a living, and what they like to do in their spare time. But it’s not a big brother sort of thing. The peek into the lives of others isn’t intrusive because we’re viewing  what they want to share with us, and they know exactly who they’re sharing it with.

2, Start a Brand Board

Like any social network, the last thing anyone wants Pinterest to become is a haven for spammers.  However, there’s nothing wrong with having a relevant brand board. I’m not saying to drop links and advertisments all day, every day, because that’s not community building. Instead, share. For example, the board I’m just starting to build for BlogWorld will share photos from our event, fun stuff from community members, and team and member achievements.  I might also share fun stuff found at other conferences, tips for attending our conference and share news about our speakers. Remember, though, Pinterest is more visual. So the sharing will be in images with only a little descriptive text underneath.  There’s plenty of room for comments, though.

3. Find People of Interest

Pinterest offers community managers a whole new opportunity to find new community members. By searching relevant topics we’re able to meet people who might be interested in what we do. Simply follow the boards and people who you feel would benefit from your community and engage (with spamming or being pushy, please.).  They’ll receive a notice that you’re following and if they’re into it, they’ll also follow your boards to learn more about you or your brand.  They’ll also learn more through conversation.

4. Start a Related Board

An alternative (or companion) to the brand board is a related topic board. For example, in addition to a board for BlogWorld, my employer, I can also start boards for new media, blogging, conferences, and social media. As people start to follow those boards and the conversations ensue, they’ll learn more about who I am, what I do, and hopefully join BlogWorld’s other online communities.

5. Have a Conversation

It’s not enough to pin up a board or follow, like or repin someone else’s boards and pins. By taking some time to comment on pins and ask questions, you’re engaging with people who could become part of your online community. Search interesting topic and let Pinners know what you think of their pins. Join existing conversations and share your point of view.  Even though Pinterest isn’t a text heavy social network, it’s still a place to engage.

Pinterest is still in early adapter stages, but more people are joining every day. The ways to grow community may not be as obvious as Facebook or Twitter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Take some time to explore and learn how Pinterest can benefit you, your brand and your community. You may find it to be an important tool in your outreach.

How are you using Pinterest?

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Every year Chris Brogan posts his three words to live by for the upcoming new year, and every year for the past three or four years I, and many others, have followed his lead. (And for the second year, the BlogWorld team is doing the same, so stay tuned for that.)

I don’t take my three words lightly. I find they give me a plan and I need to hold myself accountable for stuff. Last year, my three words were “passion,” “focus,” and “delegate” and though I think I still need a little help with word #3, I’ve done pretty good staying true to those words to live by. This year my goals are more personal and less professional, though they can carry through to both areas.

FOCUS

Focus is making a repeat appearance on my list this year because I’m too much of a multitasker. The problem with all this is that I have trouble finishing one thing because so many different things are calling me. When I was freelancing as a writer all my projects were handled via a schedule and editorial calendar and that helped to keep me organized. This year I’m also going to try and have each task scheduled to keep me focused. I’m also working a fitness routine, and a housekeeping routine into my schedule because they are both areas where I’m seriously failing.

HEALTH

I get so busy taking care of everyone else, I forget to take care of myself and this has to change. I have the best intentions, but they fall flat. My health suffers and my weight suffers.  This year I have to get my health in check, not only for me – but because I promised my 9 year old son. I will make sure to take time to exercise every day (I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to do some kick boxing and let me tell you, I’m hurting) and will make good food and lifestyle choices. I miss being thin, it’s time to get it back.

CELEBRATE

What good is having it all if I’m not taking time to enjoy it?  I have a wonderful job,, an incredible family, and so much to be thankful for. So how come I spend all my time working? Last summer my family took our first vacation in four years and mostly unplugging was the best thing I’ve done for myself and my family in a long time. This year, I’m making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings.

What are your goals for 2012? Do you have any words to live by?

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It’s hard to reflect on 2011 without seeming self serving. The truth is, I’m almost sad to see this year end. It’s been an amazing ride, and I achieved goals I worked for my entire career. So while I’d like to give a fond look back, and discuss what’s coming up,  I’ll also do my best to keep the self serving part in check.

The Year That Was 2011

2011 was my first full year with BlogWorld & New Media Expo. In addition to being part of an incredible team of people, I also played a major role in shaping the educational content for two conferences. I can’t begin to describe to you what an honor it is to to work with both speakers and attendees in order to bring the right mix of education to our events. Through my job and at other conferences and events I met people from all walks of life, some famous in this space, some on their way up the ladder, and some who are ok with hanging in the background. All are equally important. Meeting people is the best part of my job and I feel so fortunate to get out of bed each day and know I’m going to do what I love. After over 20 years of not wanting to get out of bed to do a job I don’t enjoy, I don’t think I need to tell you how good that feels.

I traveled more for work in 2011 and I have to admit, this is one of my favorite parts of the job. I love seeing new cities and meeting new people. I miss my family terribly but thanks to Facetime, I still get to see them every night.  I don’t like the jetlag part, or the not sleeping well in hotels part, but I do love the travel.

2011 was also the year I landed two book contracts and achieved my childhood dream of becoming an author.” Online Community Management for Dummies” went on sale in November to good reviews (hope they keep coming) and I just signed to co-author the second edition of  ”Social Media Marketing All in One for Dummies” with Jan Zimmerman. I’ve already gotten started on the writing and look forward to seeing it published this summer. I hope to not stop at two books and have several ideas for future writing.

By the way, the top post for Kommein for 2011 was my Open Letter to Teens Who Use Facebook and the top referrer of traffic to this blog was Facebook.

The Year That Will Be 2012

I’m even more excited about 2012. In addition to the aforementioned books, I’ve been asked to head all community efforts for BlogWorld.  Though I’ll still be doing some of the usual Conference Director stuff, and I’ll continue to work with speakers, my main focus for 2012 will be to grow our community and create new programs and campaigns. Again, I’m honored. Those of you who also follow me through the BlogWorld channels and networks know how passionate I am about our community.

In addition to writing and community, I hope to keep on keeping on. I’ll continue to update Kommein when I can and will still spend time with you all on the various  social networks.

I have some personal non-work related goals, but I’m keeping them between me and my family. For us, 2012 will be a wonderful year of togetherness and growth.

What are your shining moments from 2011 and what do you hope to achieve in 2012?

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Community management is a lot of trial and error, and every community is different. However, there are a few universal things that seem to be a given no matter what type of community you’re managing. For example, scheduled updates to the social networks.

When I owned my freelance writing community, I had both Twitter and Facebook accounts set up to carry the feeds from all eight blogs in the network. Let me tell you, it drove plenty of traffic my way and I was pleased with how it was turning out.  As much as  it drove traffic, that’s all it drove. Because I “set it and forget it” I wasn’t participating in a discussion that ensued around my content. I continued to carry my feeds on the social networks, but when it occurred to me I wasn’t building community, but, rather, traffic, I began looking for ways to engage rather than broadcast.

The people who own online communities are very much interested in results. Perhaps they want community engagement to lead to a sale, or more traffic or ad clicks, but there’s always a bottom line. When you only drop scheduled links and announcements, there’s no incentive or vested interest and you’re telling your community they’re not important and interesting enough to have a conversation with. You’re telling them  you’re only interested in the bottom line.

You can’t schedule a spontaneous conversation

Community is spontaneous. No matter how much you schedule updates, there’s no guarantee folks will respond to what you’re telling them. What kind of boring conversation is going to ensue after you post ” Don’t forget to buy what we’re selling” a dozen times a day, anyway?  You simply can’t schedule community.

Now, I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t schedule announcements and updates. However, if you’re only scheduling tweets and Facebook updates and not doing much of anything else, you’re not conversing, you’re broadcasting. By all means, schedule your important announcements but try and do it at a time where you’re sure to be around to answer any questions.

Also, take some time for your community. Stop by your channels and networks several times a day to see what folks are talking about and join the conversation. If a member mentions a milestone, offer congratulations. If another person is having a bad day, commiserate (without being negative) or offer best wishes for things to get better.  If members are discussing the latest tools and technology, ask questions or offer your own opinion. In between all that, start your own conversation and share links to interesting, relevant content found around the web.

Show your community they matter

When your community outreach features nothing but antiseptic, scheduled updates, you’re telling your community they’re not important enough for a conversation. You’re showing them they’re only there to follow a sale and lead to the bottom line. Community members don’t want to be a bottom line, they want to know you know who they are, and more important, that you care about them.

If there are only certain times a day you’re available for community outreach, that’s fine.  Instead of using that time to schedule updates throughout the day, have a conversation.  The more you try and be a part of your own community, and the more you let your community know interaction is important, the more your community will grow.  Once you have a positive, productive community you can worry more about your bottom line.  Just remember, if your community feels they’re more important than your bottom line, you’ll lose them.

Do you schedule updates? How much time do you spend scheduling v. interacting?

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It’s almost a month since “Online Community Management for Dummies” launched to the public. If you think it’s challenging to promote a web project or speaking gig without being spammy, try selling a book.  I don’t want to be pushy.  Nor do I want to make every conversation about me or my book.  It’s hard not to though.  I realize Dummies books aren’t normally expected to be top 10 best sellers, but it sure would be nice if mine was. Heck, I’ll take a top 100 or 1000, even a top 100,000 best seller.  Still,  the book won’t sell at all on it’s own and it’s up to me to help get the word out. I have to step out of my comfort zone for this as I’m not a sales person.

Getting by with a little help from my friends

I don’t generally ask favors from my friends in the social media space. I never enjoy it when folks come out of the woodwork asking me to ReTweet, Stumble, Digg, Reddit, or otherwise share their stuff, especially if they’re not people who choose to have a regular conversation with me in every day life. However, I do know there are people who I can ask for help and they’ll say “yes” because we have built relationships over the years and we do for each other in the way friends do for each other. Also, as I reviewed many books for online friends over the years, I didn’t feel too out of line asking some of those same friends to return the favor. It was a difficult thing for me to do, because I didn’t want to scare anyone away. I often worry about abusing relationships. Most people said “yes,” a few people never responded, but no one said “no.” As a result, there are a couple of good reviews on blogs and even Amazon.

Participating in the right communities

Just like we seek like-minded communities in order to promote blog posts, videos and other content, I’m also interacting with the people who I believe to be the target audience for “Online Community Management for Dummies.” Fortunately, those channels are many of my regular channels so it’s not like I’m infiltrating a group that doesn’t want me around.  In addition to belonging to several different community manager groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, I also do my best to take part in #CMGRchat on Twitter.

My core audience isn’t only community managers and as this is a beginner’s reference book, I know some of my community management friends know all this stuff. I’ve also been reaching out to bloggers and participating in their community. I’m not spamming them, but I’m having conversations with them. Pizza King Ramon DeLeon paid me the ultimate compliment when he said, “I like your way of promoting your book. You build the relationships and your friends talk about the book.”  I never like it when someone joins a community only to promote something and I’m not going to start being that obnoxious either.

Talk is cheap

Mostly I just keep doing what I’m doing. I created “Online Community Management for Dummies” groups on both Facebook and LinkedIn where I share news and reviews about the book for those who are interested. I also try and drop discussion worthy topics from time to time.  I find that talking to people and answering questions is the best way to promote my book and present myself as someone who knows what she’s talking about. I don’t know yet how that’s impacting sales, but I hope it’s something positive.

Introducing book project #2

Soon after completing “Online Community Management for Dummies” I was offered a second book project. I’m just beginning work as on the second edition of “Social Media Marketing All in One for Dummies”  with my co-author Jan Zimmerman. The other original co-author had to bow out of the project and the second edition will have me working on the blogging, Twitter, Facebook, photo sharing and Google+ sections.  I’m very exciting for this next project.

What’s after that?

I’m also working for a book proposal for a topic that’s very special to me. Those of you who are regulars here at Kommein know I write often on safe social networking and online etiquette for kids and teens.  I hope one day to turn all that into a book, but that’s for another time. Right now, I’m working hard at promoting “Online Community Management for Dummies” and co-authoring the second edition of “Social Media Marketing All in One for Dummies.” I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a great year.

Do you have any favorite marketing tips to share? Perhaps you haven’t written a book but you do something else requiring some promotion. How do you get others involved? How are you growing your community? Please share in the comments.

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This is the time of the year when my commuting into the office, full time employment peers tell me how lucky I have it because as a work from home contractor, I get flexibility over the holidays.

This is true. I can make my own hours, if I’m so inclined. And I’m also extremely fortunate.

But as a work from home contractor, you know what I can’t make?

• Health benefits
• Paid sick time
• Paid vacation time
• Leaving the office at the office
• Paid holidays

It’s not all party, party, party

Now, I know I can start and stop work any time I want in my home office. If I want to stop to bake holiday cookies, I can. If I want to take a break to do some shopping, I can. Heck, if I want to spend the entire afternoon watching bad TV movies, I absolutely can.  As long as I get my work done.

See, I can take a week off at Christmas time, but unlike some of my friends who take vacation time during the holidays, no one is going to pick up my slack. I can’t call in a temp or train a co-worker to cover for me.  If I commit to a job or project and I agree to a price and deadline,  I have to get that done within the required time frame or I don’t get paid. So, yes, I can show up at all the holiday gatherings, and take time to be with my family, but unlike those of you who receive vacation time I’m also waking at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. or staying up late in the night to fulfill my obligations.

Unlike many of my friends who work in an office, I don’t necessarily have the ability to leave work completely at 5:00.  Usually, because I work at home, there are distractions that make it so that I’m working much later. Also? If I do blow off work and have some fun and don’t make it up, my clients know. If I’m contracted to work 40 hours for them, and I’m spending the day playing  games or going to a holiday gathering, and only work an hour a day, the work I turn in to them looks like an hour of work a day. No matter how I swing it, I can’t fit forty hours of work into five hours and look like I worked 40 hours.

Now, don’t cry for me blogosphere, I have a good life. I love what I do. I love where I work and I love the terms I agreed to. I even love that I have a second book project on top of all that.  But before you assume I can take off any time, or that I can get away without doing much at all simply because there’s no one watching over me, remember that most contractors have a full work day to put in with no benefits, perks, days, or bonuses.

I realize that all of the above are my choice and I’m not complaining at all. However, the next time you tell me how lucky I am because I can take off whenever I want, remember that just because I’m enjoying time with friends and family over the holidays, doesn’t mean I’m not working. I’m usually spending my down time working, sometimes at hours when most revelers are sleeping in.

What’s your situation?

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Every day, at least a dozen people tell me to post something in my Facebook status. They usually go something like this:

I love puppies. They’re cute, cuddly and the best gosh darned friends ever. Post this in your status if you like puppies too.

Sometime they tug at the heartstrings a little:

No one should die because they cannot afford health care. No one should go broke because they get sick, and no one should be tied to a job because of a pre-existing condition. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.

Now, I’m sure we all agree everyone should have access to exemplary healthcare and doctors, but how boring would Facebook be if it was nothing but lectures and status updates making people feel sad, bad or guilty?

Speaking of guilty, these types of statuses are my favorite:

It’s breast cancer awareness week. Please post this in your status to show your support for the breast cancer awareness movement. I know 99% of you wont Re-Post this and I Know the 1% that will. Thank you ♥

Whoa. My grandma could have written that post. She liked to tell me what I wouldn’t do for her too.

Here’s the thing with Facebook status message requests: Am I a tool if I don’t show support for your cause? Am I a jerk if I don’t put your status in my status?  Am I a bad friend if I’m not one of the 1% who repost? Are the status update requesters keeping count? I’m pretty self conscious and if I know I’m on a list of people who don’t care about (insert cause or campaign here) , well I don’t know if my fragile self esteem can take it.

Lest you write me off as uncaring or callous, please know I support plenty of causes and charities. However, the one thing I don’t want to do is force anyone to take my point of view. Also, I think there are plenty of people who agree with me when I say if every person’s updates were all flame lighting, unicorn and rainbow status requests, well, that’ll just drive me over to Google+ even quicker.

I’m  not saying folks shouldn’t share their messages on Facebook.  I think we all talk about topics that are important to us now and again and we shouldn’t be made to feel bad for that. It’s the guilt or being made to feel as if we’re not a good friend if we don’t copy and paste a message into our own statuses that’s getting a little uncomfortable.

And you know what else? The statuses we really should see? We never do.

Now, I know many of you are thinking the same thing, so I’m going do you all a favor and come out with it. These are these status updates folks should really be asking us to repost:

1. Game updates:

If you play any Facebook games ending with “ville” or “wars” we don’t need to know about it. We don’t want to know what jewels you’re collecting or if the sparkle fairy paid you a visit. We don’t want to send you cows nor do we want to join your mafia family. Please post this in your status if you think folks need to keep their gaming to themselves.

or

2. Duckface:

Duckface is a disfiguring disease causing normally attractive faces to purse lips into an overblown pucker. Latent stages of this awful illness also cause extremely pale people to throw out gang signs the moment a camera appears in front off them. Please post this in your status if you feel friends shouldn’t let friends make duckface. (image via knowyourmeme.com)

or

3. The Anti-Status Request

If you make a Facebook status request, chances are, I won’t repost it. It doesn’t mean I’m a bad friend or I don’t care about your cause, it simply means I don’t choose to put your status in my status. Please repost if you agree not to repost status updates in your status.

or

4. Spelling Counts

Facebook isn’t Twitter and status updates aren’t text messages. Please post this in your status if you like to see whole words spelled out. (Image via WhiteWhine.com)

or

5. We Know What You’re Up To

It’s not a good idea to play games, Spotify, read the news and have all these updates posted to your Facebook when you’re friends with the boss and co-workers. You can’t complain about how hard you work when your Farmville updates tell us otherwise. Please repost this in your status if you can point to five people on Facebook who aren’t really working today. (image via lamebook.com)

Don’t get me wrong…

I’m not trying to be a Facebook Scrooge, far from it. It’s a great platform and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be used to raise awareness for a cause. But there are other ways to go about it besides having others repost your status update. For example, start a page or a group and invite other like-minded people to join you. If they want to want to join in, they will – and they’ll invite others to join in too. However, making it clear that I’m not a very good friend because I don’t post your status in my status is just lame.

What are some Facebook status  requests you’d like to see?

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Community love isn’t a sure thing. There are days when you post and no one participates. You use the best stuff in your arsenal too. You’re funny, you’re smart, you ask intriguing questions and yet, despite doing everything but yelling “COMMENT! DANG IT!” it’s as if no one is paying attention to anything you do. The worst part is that you’re hired to build a community. Your job is to get folks to “like” your Facebook page, comment on the blog, follow you on Twitter or retweet your links. But some days, despite your best effort and thousands of friends and followers, it just doesn’t happen.

It’s so frustrating.

Communities are so fickle. One day they show up in droves, the next day it’s virtual crickets. And community managers do everything they can to find the special formula to make it work. We study our community to learn their most productive online times of the day and we spend time analyzing keywords and entry pages. I think something people don’t often understand is the science and logic behind community management. We can’t just post a couple of lines and expect community to ensue, we have to work hard at making it happen -and the hard part is if we look like we’re trying to hard then we look like tools. Each community is different and it’s up to each community manager to learn as much as they can about the people who are liking or friending them in order to have a productive community.

Sometimes, if I see a brand post on Facebook, Twitter or a blog and no one has responded I like to drop a comment or give them a retweet because I know how frustrating it is to try and foster conversation and it doesn’t happen.  It’s like that tree falling in the forest thing. If a community manager posts on the social networks, and no one responds, is there still a post? It’s like giving a talk to a packed room full of people but when it’s audience participation time everyone leaves.

That never feels good.

Whether we’re cultivating our own communities or managing them for someone else, we live for the likes, retweets, and comments. Our jobs depend on them. Because even though we know we still might be achieving certain goals through our social media efforts, if the people in charge don’t see community participation they often feel we’re a failure.

Every community manager has a bad day. It’s not necessarily a lack of skill or the inability to foster a conversation. Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen.

• Don’t take it to heart, it happens in the best of communities. Just not every day.
• If it’s a one time occurrence or happens only now and then, it’s not an indication of community apathy.
• Community participation isn’t always a measurement of success, if your community is still positively reacting with sales or a good word of mouth vibe, they’re still paying attention.

However, if it happens more often than not, it might be cause for concern.

• For newer communities you may need to give it time.
• For more established communities you may need to find different topics of discussion, or research your community to discover optimal posting time.
• If you have a good community turnout on certain networks but not others, you might consider dropping that one network as there’s a chance your community just isn’t into it. (But give it time, don’t just drop a comment or two and give up.)

I think the worst thing we can do is force community. When we beg for comments, we kind of look silly. Asking “Anyone?” or saying “Doesn’t anyone have an opinion on this?” two hours after the day’s topic was posted is only calling attention to the fact that there’s no comments. Sometimes, it’s fine to just chalk it up to a bad day.

Do you ever have a slow comment day with your community? How do you revive the conversation?

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