Here’s a scenario some community managers are facing: You’re hired by a business interested in building a web presence. Your superiors consider themselves hip pioneers for jumping on the social media thing, but they reality is they haven’t a clue. As a result, you can’t do your job properly. They question the amount of time you spend on social networks, shuffle you around to different departments, don’t think conferences are necessary, and don’t take any of your ideas for social media promotion seriously, and really, have no idea what to do with you. Put on a brave face folks, and don’t pull your hair out. You can make it work.
You were hired to create an online presence using forums, blogs, networks and other social media tools. You know you’re good at what you do, and you know there are logical reasons for doing what you do. Now, you have to communicate it to your superiors. This isn’t always easy, and can be very frustrating, but if they didn’t want a heavy Internet campaign they wouldn’t have hired you in the first place, right?
Take a deep breath. Don’t get angry. If you find you’re getting questioned every step of the way or that folks don’t take you seriously, take some time to write up a proposal or outline. List all your social media strategies and why you feel they will benefit the business. Send it to all the players and request a time to discuss follow up. Now gather data and statistics so you can make your case. You CAN make this work!
It’s hard for many old schoolers to embrace social media but it’s part of a community manager’s job to make sure they get it. Don’t let frustration give in to anger. Use your energy to create a rocking community instead.
Tagged as:
Community Management,
community manager,
social media
Mary Davis
Blog: Everyday Baby Steps
I’m a blogger and mom to three. I have a professional background in higher education and mental health counseling. I was voted Outstanding Academic Adviser of the Year for two years in a row at the community college I worked for.
I love writing, and I feel that a community management position would be ideal for me because I’ve also proven myself professionally as a people person and a natural listener. I have a wide variety of interests and look forward to discussing how I can help your company grow its community.
If you would like to contact Mary Davis for more information regarding her experiences and expertise, please send an e-mail to marydaviswrites[AT]gmail.com.
If you are looking for a job, please submit your details to be included in the next round at the Looking for Employment page.
Tagged as:
employment opportunity,
job seeker,
looking for employment
Mashable has a great article up that I think all Community Managers should read entitled, HOW TO: Survive a Social Media Revolt.
Hulu recently made a mistake in how it removed content from its site, and its community turned on the company rather quickly. Of course they tried to fix the mistake, but some damage was already done.
Muhammad Saleem goes over some things that they could have done that would have stopped this whole mess from hurting their brand.
My favourite section, also the first tip from Muhammad is:
Communicate Even If You Have Nothing to Say
It baffles me to see that most of the people running popular social media sites (and new media sites in general) hardly communicate with their communities. When they do, it’s usually for one of two reasons, either an announcement of new features (which is useful for PR purposes), or to apologize for their mistakes (these apologies usually come after massive uproar, not in the absence of). Write to your community and participate in your community even if you don’t have something ground breaking to say, and definitely communicate with your community if you’re going to be making changes that will effect thousands of loyal users.
Read the other four lessons over on Mashable.
Tagged as:
community management mistakes,
handling mistakes,
social media
So I was having a conversation on Twitter today with @iFroggy (don’t you love using @’s instead of names?) about perhaps planning a Community Manger meetup in Austin during SXSWi, which is going on from March 13 - 17th. I’m trying to gauge interest, and if we have some takers I’ll see what I can do about finding a venue. I don’t know Austin at all, so I’ll have to enlist the aid of others there.
Will you be at SXSWI in March? If so, are you interested in meeting and talking with other community managers?
Do you know what the first thing I do upon logging on to my laptop each day? No, it’s not checking email. I head directly to my Tweet Deck, to check out Twitter and then I head over to my company’s forum. To me, this is the equivalent of walking into work first thing and stopping at the water cooler or my friends’ desks for a little chit chat. Except that it’s my job. Even if it wasn’t my job, it would still be all about community and people. It’s what I do, it’s what I like to do, and it’s what I am.
When I manage a community, I give it my all. I live, breathe and sleep that community. I check in first thing when I wake in the morning and last thing before I go to sleep. I stop by on weekends and even on holidays. Not because it’s my job, but because it’s my community. I don’t know that many folks who aren’t into the whole online community thing would get this, but it’s a passion.
Anyone looking to take on a community management role must be aware that it’s not just a job. Good community managers form relationships with people and wish to see them succeed. They care about the people in their group and get to know them in a way customer service reps never will.
If you’re thinking of taking on a community management role simply because you want to spend more time on Twitter, please reconisder. While this is a fun job, there’s more to it than hanging out in the social networks. It’s making personal connections with real people and fostering a community among individuals. It’s a 100% committment, not a 9 to 5 job.
So I ask you, how vested are you in your community?
Most community management gigs appear to 9 to 5 jobs, but are they? I work for a 24/7 social radio network and it certainly doesn’t shut down at 5:00 p.m. every day. Folks are still visiting each others’ chat rooms and talking in the forums and Yahoo Group. They still need me to wear my moderator hat. I’m also expect to provide a blog post or two over the weekend to keep the traffic flowing.
This is something all Community Managers need to think about - what happens to your community on the weekend. Do you just leave it and come back on Monday spending a frenzied day trying to catch up, or do you drop by here and there on the weekend just checking to make sure the joint hasn’t been taken over by trolls?
Even though my weekend time is family time, I still take an hour or so each day to check on the community. Someone might be having difficulty dealing with a situation, and I don’t want them to have to go through the frustration of waiting two or three days for a response. If I know I’ll be away from my laptop for a few days, someone else takes over.
Everyone knows how frustrating it can be to reach Customer Service personnel over the weekend. Rather than have a frustrated community, it’s probably in your best interest to make sure there’s some sort of presence during the non-business hours.
What happens to your community on the weekend?
Tagged as:
Community,
Community Management,
community manager
Even WalMart understands the need for Community. Actually WalMart totally gets the community thing. The have their 11 Moms blogging network, with accompanying BlogTalkRadio shows, they know the importance of community and a heavy web presence. They’re also making sure to get the most bang out of their social media buck because they’re hiring a Community Analyst. It’s a great way to assess the needs of the consumer.
Here are some details:
The Community Analyst is an advocate for the community initiative and all its components (e.g. classifieds). He or she identifies best practices and insures no inappropriate content gets on the site, or is identified/escalated in the organization or media. As a part of supporting the community team, this individual is responsible for making sure performance of the experience meets expectations, including timeliness of the user generated content experience. As a subject matter expert for community, they will deliver reporting and insights for all community functionality to advance the organization’s knowledge about online community. Key success metrics for the role are zero internal or media issues, uptime/responsiveness/customer service metrics, and delivery of reporting metrics and insights.
They’re looking for skills to:
*Strong analytical skills
*Experience developing reports/custom inquiries and with
execution of dashboards and reporting
*Retail Industry experience is a plus
*Familiarity with online marketing metrics such as ROI,
click-through rate, cost-per-click, conversion rate, average order
size, etc.
*Skills at working with proprietary and leading web site
reporting tools
*High Level of Comfort with MS Office, specifically MS Excel,
MS Access and Power Point
*Ability to organize and prioritize multiple requests or
escalate unresolved issues when necessary.
*Previous vendor management experience.
*An understanding of and passion for online community and
consumer-focused e-commerce
This isn’t a job for the sweats and bunny slippers crowd. You will have to go into the office in Brisbane, California. Since WalMart is destined to survive the current crisis with the economy, and their stock is actually up, it doesn’t seem like a bad gig to have. Check out full details for this gig at Forum One Networks.
Tagged as:
11 Moms,
Community,
Community Analayst,
Community Manager Jobs,
Walmart
Ever sit down and list all your tasks as a blogger? Chances are, it’s no small list. You do a lot just to write and promote a single post. As a blogger I think about my skills all the time. There’s so much expected of me. So much, in fact, it inspired me to sit down and list all the skills I learned as a blogger and think about the places it could take me.
Here’s the fun part…the things we learned as bloggers are skills- the skills needed by big and small businesses alike. Many are launching successful blogging and social media campaigns and need experienced people to run them. That’s where this e-book comes in.
I’m not going to lie. There are no secrets in this short book. There’s nothing here you can’t figure out on your own. The purpose behind this 23 page e-book is to inspire you to take the skills you learned as a blogger and use them to propel you bigger and better things.You’re not guaranteed a job upon completion of your reading, but you may be inspired to seek out a new career. I just want you to think, and if you work hard enough, make a lucrative career choice.
[click to continue…]
I recently unfollowed a couple of people from Twitter. The first I unfollowed because of spam. I stopped following the second person because most of her posts are laden with profanity and followed up with “Don’t like swearing? Too bad. Don’t follow me then.” Well ok. I don’t follow people for the sake of haiving a large pool of followers, anyway.
I’m not a prude. Though cursing doesn’t hold the same pleasure for as it did during my teens, I’ve been know to throw out a bad word now and then, particularly if pain is involved. However, I’m of the belief that creative people can get their points across without resorting to profanity or vulgarity.
You are what you Tweet. Whether you use Twitter for business or pleasure, folks have to think about what they put out there. Employers are cruising Google and the social networks to see what employees and potential employees are up to. Maybe some people don’t think about this stuff - or even care. I do. I care how my community sees me and the example I put forth.
The folks I meet on Twitter are friends, colleagues and even perhaps important business contacts. Why turn them off? I’m not saying not to be you, but it’s always a good idea to take some time out and think about what we’re tossing out there.
When you use Twitter, does it matter to you what your followers think?
Tagged as:
Community,
social media,
social netwowrking,
Twitter
Victoria Bianchini
Support. It’s as important to happiness as it is to healing. Studies tells us that having a supportive group behind us is what makes the difference when it comes to meeting a challenge or overcoming a catastrophe.
Last year my boss gave me a card to hang by my desk. A beautiful photograph of hands embracing a butterfly taking flight, it said simply: Help. It’s my word, my calling, my unique selling point, my point of differentiation.
I’m passionate about helping people realize they’re not alone and that even the smallest exchanges can bring clarity.
I’m looking for a new or soon-to-be-online community to help tend and inspire, support and grow.
My background includes marketing manager for Prodigy’s communities and communications, community manager for the guides at About.com, customer experience manager for Register.com, blogger evangelist for Sphere.com and Community Director for First30Days.com.
If you would like to contact Victoria Bianchini for more information regarding her experiences and expertise, please send an e-mail to vbianchini16[AT]gmail.com.
If you are looking for a job, please submit your details to be included in the next round at the Looking for Employment page.
Tagged as:
employment opportunity,
job seeker,
looking for employment
