“Name a fruit that starts with P”

These are all fun questions I’ve seen asked on Facebook pages recently. The community managers who posted them were happy to receive many likes, shares and comments, and who wouldn’t want an active and engaged community?

Here’s the thing, though. If you had the ability to engage with your Facebook fans and learn what makes them tick, thereby helping you to better sell your product or service, why would you ask about fruit?

Engage with your community so it makes sense

We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of engaging so we can build a relationship with our community, but if we’re not learning anything from our conversations is it even worth the effort?  There are ways to chat with fans and followers and gather important information in the process.

Through your social networking engagement you can learn:

• Demographics
• Important feedback
• Who your competitors are
• Why your community follows your brand online

Focus on quality over quantity

The reason we work so hard on our Facebook pages or Twitter engagement isn’t necessarily because we want to grow our community and have an engaged community. Of course those things are important. We set up these communities with specific goals in mind.  Every brand has a different goal for their community but most do so to drive sales. There are also secondary goals including building trust, gathering demographic information, and creating an enthusiastic group of brand advocates who will share who awesome your brand and community is to their friends and family.

Too many brands have forgotten or don’t realize the goals for community engagement and just go for quantity. That is, they make it all about the numbers and go for Likes, Shares and Comments over quality interaction.  If they have high numbers it looks good.  The thing is, these numbers don’t necessarily help them in the long term. The key is to engage with your community in a way that makes sense.

Unless you sell fruit, forget all the questions about fruit

There are ways to provide fun and games for your online communities without having to resort to questions about fruit. When you think about it, the people who follow your brand online aren’t doing so because they want to answer funny questions. They’re doing so because they believe in the brand. They’re not dumb, either. They know you’re going to want to sell to them or gather information. They know someone will be reporting on the information gathered. So let’s stop pretending we’re growing our communities solely as a way to offer a fun place to hang out. As long as you’re not constantly going for the hard sell and being pushy with your pitches, it’s absolutely OK to talk about brand related topics with your online communities:

• If yours is a pasta brand encourage your community to share recipes and cooking tips
• If you sell automative paint, encourage your community to share photos of their cars
• If your sell pet supplies, Ask questions about your pet’s habits or the fun things your animals like to do
• If you provide a service such as consulting, as for tips in your particular niche

Not only are you staying on topic here, but you’re gathering important information about your community:

• What types of pasta your community likes to cook with or the recipes they enjoy help you focus on recipe creation as well as new products.
• Photos of cars will help you to determine which paints are best sellers and what secondary products your community might need when painting their cars.
• Knowing how your community feels about their pets helps you to determine which products to sell or offer discounts on.
• Learning tips from your community will help you to shape your online content for your blogs, websites and community posts, which in turn will help to sell your products.

Your community knows your intention and they’re willing participants or they wouldn’t be following you in the first place.  There’s nothing wrong with the occasional off topic conversation, but for the most part engagement with the community should be productive.

Unless you work with fruit, don’t make it about fruit.

How are you engaging in ways that make sense?

If you were to ask me to give one important reason why people want to be part of a brand’s community, I’d probably tell you it’s because people who believe in the brand like to feel as if they’re part of the brand and they especially enjoy sharing in their success. It’s like we’re extending an invitation for our customers to be part of our team.

The people who are part of our communities enjoy having a say and giving feedback and when they see us taking their advice, they take pride. However, one thing that can be disappointing is when the people we work with  aren’t as publicly enthusiastic about the brand as the community team and members of the community themselves.

If the team isn’t passionate, it shows through

How cool is it when your CEO comes to chat with the community? Or when representatives from different teams or departments drop by and comment on blog posts or discussions on social networks? Even if it’s not their job to come by and chat, when they do it shows their passion for the brand and the people who support it. It also gives the community a chance to get insight on different areas of the brand they normally don’t have access to.

When a team participates in community events it shows their dedication and passion, which then rubs off on the community.

If your team doesn’t care about the brand, why should your customers? If your team doesn’t use the brand, why should your customers?  If the team doesn’t want to be part of the community, why should anyone? I’m not saying everyone who works for you needs to start pimping products on their private Twitter accounts, but a little participation in community discussions goes a long way when it comes to brand visibility  and trust.

Brand-wide participation shows unity.

The community team has a responsibility to encourage teamwork

The 9 – 5 or “not my job” factor is an important consideration. The last thing anyone wants is to take on additional duties they’re not getting paid for, or to have to work past business hours because some crackpot on the community team wants everyone to tweet. However, the community team shouldn’t feel as if they’re crossing a line by asking their co-workers to participate in community discussions or share news.  Having a strong internal community is equally as important as having a strong external community, and shows that all involved will do what it takes for the brand to get ahead. Nothing is more frustrating to the community team than asking for participation from their co-workers and getting nothing in return.

A few ways to get your team involved with the community

When it does come time to ask other departments to join in community programs, don’t make it as if you’re asking for some great, time consuming favor. You’re asking for a few minutes of their time each day, so make sure their participation is easy and pleasant.

• Do most of the work for them: Arm your co-workers with links, prewritten tweets, bullet points, and stuff to promote each day. Create an internal community newsletter so everyone who works for the brand knows what’s going on and how to share.
• Ask for participation: Your co-workers might not be getting involved in community because they don’t want to step on your toes. However, if you ask them to participate you’ll find many are more than happy to get involved.
• Share a regular list of stuff to get involved in: One thing I like to do with my internal community is share a list of items to promote each week. If there are any promotions, news, launches, or discussions to get involved in, it was listed on the list as well as the various ways to get involved.

Don’t force participation

There may be people you work with who don’t want to participate in community discussions or events. Some don’t care for social media and some are adamant that it isn’t their job. You can’t force community. If people aren’t feeling it, it will show through in their participation (or lack thereof). Encourage the enthusiastic co-workers and hope the rest will see the light and join the fun.

Let me know your thoughts:

• How do you ask your coworkers to participate in the community?
• Does it make a difference to you when people who work for the brand (besides the community team) participate in discussions, meetups, etc.? 
• Do you notice when a team doesn’t seem to be passionate about the brand they work for?

Your brand’s most important asset isn’t a product, service, stock options, or inventory. It’s not real estate, web sites, or your Facebook page. Your brand’s most important asset is people. And before you start laughing about how corny I am or that I’m stating the obvious, many brands really don’t pay much attention to the different groups of people they see on a daily basis. So many people don’t take time to notice the way they respond to others and how it impacts their bottom line.

How you treat others goes a long way. There are those who feel they have to be hard and ruthless to get ahead, but they only get people to do what they want because out of fear. There are those who feel you have to be soft in order to get people to like you, but you can’t get ahead by allowing people to walk all over you. Instead of treating people how you think they should be treated so you can gain success, treat people how they should always be treated – with respect, dignity, compassion, kindness and interest. Show people they’re valuable, not a nuisance.

Those who run brands see a variety of folks every day, but they don’t necessarily see them as an asset. It’s time to stop looking at people as machines who make you money and begin looking at their individual roles. It’s time to treat them as they deserve to be treated.

The People Who Are Part of Your Team

As a community professional, I’m supposed to tell you  those who make up your community are the most important people to your brand, but that’s only half correct. The people who are part of your team are equally as important and if you don’t treat them with the respect and value they deserve your brand will fail. If you’re not passionate about the people who work for you, they won’t be passionate about your brand. It will just be a job for them, a stepping stone for them to take until they begin working for someone who values them as people and co-workers.

There’s a saying that you get what you pay for. This doesn’t only hold true for cheap mass produced objects, but for people as well. If you don’t pay your team what they deserve, the truly good people will move on. If you don’t value their opinions, they will move on. If you don’t communicate well, they will move on. If you ignore the people who work for your brand, they will move on. What happens next isn’t pretty. People outside your brand notice a high turnover rate and will wonder if they, too, should move on.  Encourage and reward passion and the benefits will be way more than monetary.

When your team is passionate about your brand, it will shine through to the community who will share in that passion.

The People Who Make Up Your Community

Your customers and the people who make up your community have something to say. They tell you what they think when they write to your brand or call your customer service hotline. They reach out to you on the social networks and give their opinion. They participate in your surveys and calls to action. They tell you what they think because they care. If you’re not responding with thanks and making appropriate changes, you’re ignoring your community.

If you ignore them, they’ll go away.

Listen to your community. They buy your products and use your service and are in the best position to offer feedback. When you don’t respond to their comments or keep making the same mistakes, you’re telling them you don’t care and they don’t matter. If you don’t care, your customers won’t care, and it’s no one’s fault but your own.

The People You Don’t Know Yet

Out of sight, out of mind isn’t an excuse to not go beyond your regular community to reach people. As many people as you have using your product or service right now, there are potentially millions who can benefit. They either don’t know you or have heard about you but really don’t have the time or inclination to see what you’re all about. It’s up to you to find them and court them.

We take comfort in our existing communities, but we need to grow. Don’t rest on your laurels and get off the social networks if you must. Find the people who aren’t yet a part of your community and welcome them. All of them.

You Are Judged Based On How You Treat People

People notice how you treat others. If you’re rude and abrupt, you’ll have a reputation for being, well, rude and abrupt. If you ignore phone calls, email and feedback, you’ll have a reputation for not caring about anyone but yourself. If you don’t take care of the people who work for you, no one will want to work for you anymore.

Think about how you treat others. People really do notice.

Recently, controversy arose among the tech community when Adria Richards, a developer evangelist, overheard a conversation at a tech conference where the two men behind her were joking to each other about “dongles” and “forks.” The jokes weren’t overtly sexual but it’s easy to see where some might feel they bordered on innuendo.

Richards took a photo of the men and complained to the conference via Twitter and her 10,000+ followers that their banter was inappropriate and violated the conference’s policies. What happened next divided the tech community, caused arguments amid the blogosphere, and resulted in Adria and one of the two jokesters losing their jobs.

Before being fired amid all the controversy, Adria Richards was an evangelist for her company. As someone in an evangelist role, Richards’ duties were to act as a spokesperson for her brand, and to act as a mediator, mentor, translator, and, yes, even a type of community manager for developers who used her brand. Here’s where the things gets dicey for me. If Richards was attending the conference on behalf of her brand, I’m wondering if she was acting in the best interests of said brand, or if she was simply donning a crusader cape and acting in the best interests of Wronged Women Everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with crusaders, but there’s a time and place for everything. You can’t put on a cape and play superhero if you’re acting as a brand or community evangelist. Capes and egos have to be checked out the door.

My community has to be able to trust me. Even people who aren’t (yet) part of my community have to trust me. They have to know that I won’t look to call out individuals online or breach that trust in exchange for a little online drama.  I’m not so sure a first course of action for any brand evangelist or community professional should be to post a photo on Twitter. A better course of action would be to use some of the more important tools in the evangelist arsenal: analytics, reason and discretion.

Step 1: Analyze

When overhearing two men in conversation joking about technical terms that can also be steeped in innuendo, the situation calls for one to truly think about what is being said. Are the men generally being misogynistic? Were they deliberately setting out to harass, belittle, or insult women? Was the conversation a private, whispered conversation between two co-workers or was it something everyone was meant to hear?

Stopping to analyze the situation means no rush to judgment.

Step 2: Reason

Let’s be honest, everyone whispers jokes at conferences. We all have had moments where we remarked or commented on something a speaker said. We don’t mean for others to overhear, but sometimes it happens. If someone behind me is being unruly or offensive, they may not even realize they’re doing so. In this case, reason may have worked better than snapping a photo. This situation calls for a reasonable response (if a response is needed at all). “Hey guys, can we ease up on the dongle jokes? I know it’s a funny word and we can twist it in so many inappropriate ways, but you’re really making me uncomfortable. You may not even realize it but you’re also violating conference policy. Thanks for understanding.” If the guys were truly being hurtful they probably would have told me to shut up or mind my own business, but I like to believe there’s good in everyone and am more inclined to believe they would have stopped and even apologized for making me feel that way.

Be Discreet

Calling people out online should always be a last resort, something one should never take likely or do off the cuff. With social media influence comes responsibility; the responsibility to not use that influence to shame people or bully a person or brand into compliance.

Someone who is an evangelist for a brand wouldn’t have gone for public embarrassment. Instead, she would have tried reason. If reason didn’t work, she should work with the conference privately to ensure everyone in attendance feels comfortable.

By using Twitter as a platform to make the two men sitting behind her feel uncomfortable, the evangelist doesn’t have the best interests of her brand or her community in mind. When we bring our personal feelings into it, the worst can happen – in this case it’s controversy, negativity, backlash and the loss of jobs.

How would any community be able to trust me to have their back after that?

Warning: This post probably goes against every feel-good, kumbaya, let’s welcome everything post I’ve ever written. But those were business and this is personal. It’s time to draw some lines.

I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time. I’m stopped from writing it because I know there are people who will take it wrong or think I’m being rude, exclusive, or just plain mean. However, I’m hoping most will take it in the spirit in which it’s intended – an explanation of why I don’t follow or Friend every person who asks.

It should go without saying…

I have different reasons for following who I want to on the various social networks, and there are different reasons for each social network.

When I first started on Twitter and to a lesser extent, Facebook, I did a mutual follow back to all who asked, but all that led to was a bunch of noise. Nowadays I take more care in selecting my friends and follows and choose people I’m truly interested in having a conversation with. I can’t think of any one person I follow because they share out a lot of links each day. However, I can name dozens of people who I follow because they share interesting links followed by a fascinating discussion.

Regardless of my reasons for following anyone, the truth is, I don’t have to follow anyone at all. And as harsh as it sounds, I don’t understand why it’s a personal affront to a person I barely know or never even heard of if I don’t want to Connect on LinkedIn or Friend on Facebook. In real life there are people who are friends, people who are acquaintances and people who we don’t know at all. I don’t go from house to house bringing everyone I don’t know into my network in the real world, so I’m not sure why I’m considered a snob if I do if I choose my friends the same way online.

I also use a lot of filters so if you follow me on Google+ or Facebook, you’re not going to see everything I post. My neighbors don’t need to see all my discussions with blogging and social media friends, and my family doesn’t necessarily need to share in neighborhood news. If I use filters it’s not because I’m choosing to exclude you, it’s because I’m doing my best to make you feel comfortable and not clog up your newsfeed with stuff that isn’t interesting to you.

By not following you, I’m not attacking or insulting you

I’m not sure when it became a personal insult not to want to follow people I don’t know from Adam, yet not a week goes by when a total stranger isn’t asking why I don’t follow back. In real life I’m always nice to people who I don’t click with, but I don’t invite them to follow me everywhere I go. And you know what? Neither do they.

As a community manager it’s my job to include everyone and treat everyone as an equal and as a friend, but that’s business. Professional communities and personal social networking are two entirely different animals. It’s like working at a large department store. You’re genuinely friendly and helpful to all the people you see every day at work, but do you want to interact with them on Facebook or Twitter every day? Not hardly.

I think too many people are afraid to draw lines because they don’t want to hurt feelings, or they feel they won’t be part of the “A-List” or “in crowd” if they don’t include certain names. This is silly. If someone doesn’t interest you, you should feel no obligation to spend time with them online or off.

I don’t have to follow you

I don’t have to follow you and I don’t have to be your Friend. I’m not a mean girl because I draw a line between my personal and professional interactions and I’m not a snob because I like to keep my private life private. Social networking isn’t a participation trophy. We don’t have to let everyone into our lives simply because they show up.

What are your thoughts on following? Do you follow everyone? Where do you draw the line?

You know what I despise? Community  managers who are part of a special clique within the communities they’re tasked with managing.  When community managers gossip, exclude,  and act as if certain members of their communities don’t belong it makes me cringe.

As community managers we’re expected to be unbiased. We’re to include everyone in our discussions, meetups, and outreach whether we care for them all or not. The community isn’t about us and how we feel about particular members, it’s about making everyone feel comfortable and welcome regardless of community drama.

Moderating doesn’t mean taking sides

Moderating a community discussion means asking questions, steering the conversation so that’s it’s on topic, and making sure everyone is being respectful and playing nice. It doesn’t mean parenting, though. So you should generally allow all conversation unless someone breaks the rules by being abusive, goes off topic, or swearing if swearing isn’t allowed. However, no matter how much you agree or disagree with anyone in your community, it’s up to you to remain neutral.

Taking sides looks like favoritism to a lot of people. When community managers show favoritism, it makes those who aren’t receiving the same level of approval feel bad. These bad feelings aren’t always directed towards the community manager, but to the community itself and, also, the brand. Remember, it’s not YOUR community. It’s your brand’s community. Everything you do is reflective upon them. If you are choosing to be part of a clique, it means the brand is also cliquish and exclusive and that’s not what community is about at all. Moderate, but don’t take sides. Not even in private.

Invite all or invite none

There’s no worse feeling that being a part of a community and learning every one has received an invitation to a meetup or party, but no one invited you. It’s tough being the person no one wants to invite anywhere. Every community has irritating or annoying people, but they are part of the community for the same reason everyone else is. It’s not up to the community manager to arbitrarily determine who is worthy of being invited to community functions. If you can’t invite everyone, you shouldn’t invite anyone.  It’s one thing to put up a first come, first served notice when hosting a party or meetup at a place with limited space. It’s an entirely different animal to handpick the people you’d like to participate.

Don’t complain about community members to community members

People want to be able to trust community managers. Nothing is more of a betrayal than when the community manager gossips about community members behind their backs, shares their private details or snarks about them to other members of the community  - even if those other members are friends with the community manager. If you do this, you need to reconsider your position. No matter how you feel about a certain person, you have to maintain professionalism at all times.

Community managers have to act like grownups 

Community managers are adults, they’re not holding court at the popular kids’ table in the high school cafeteria. Every community has its fair share of drama. Our job job  isn’t to get involved but to keep it at bay.

Have you seen community managers get involved in community drama? What usually happens to the community as a result?

Every brand experiences a negative situation now and then. Sometimes it’s something major and the negativity escalates to something that causes people to look unfavorably on the brand. More often then not it’s a customer service issue that can be handled with a single phone call.

In any event, to ignore negativity or write it off as insignificant can be a major mistake.

3 Positive Things About Negativity

Before we get into why you can’t pretend a negative situation doesn’t exist, let’s get into why negativity is a good thing for every brand.

1. Every complaint is an opportunity to improve: All feedback is good feedback. To write someone off as a crank can feel good, but there may be some valid concerns there. Sometimes there’s truth in trolling, even if it’s not delivered in such a nice manner. Stop writing people off as trolls or naysayers and take a look at what they’re really saying. If what they’re trying to convey is truly valid, don’t ignore then, thank them.
2. Even the most disgruntled person can become an advocate: People are negative or disgruntled for a reason. By ignoring them, you may never learn why. Take a deep breath and talk to them anyway. It’s hard to hear criticism for sure, but if you listen instead of ignore, you may find the other person to be socially awkward. You may also be dealing with someone who has a hard time conveying feelings without sarcasm or anger. If you listen, respond, and react if the occasion calls for it, you might turn that person from someone who is always hating on your brand, to someone who becomes your fiercest advocate simply because you took the time to let them know you care.
3. You can become a case study of how to do things right: Community managers gain a reputation usually for one of two reasons- they either do something wrong, or they do something right. By being known as a person who works with people rather than turning your back on them, you’ll be known for the right reasons.

What Happens When You Ignore Even the Smallest Situations

How you handle a situation online can mean everything when it comes to your or your brand’s reputation. If you ignore it, you can ignite a chain of events causing major damage.

Let’s explore some of the things that can happen when you ignore a negative person or situation:

• The situation doesn’t go away: When you continue to sweep dust under the rug eventually you have a very lumpy rug with  making more work for you in the long run. It will take less time to say, “I hear you,” than it will for you to have to deal with a messy, public aftermath. Granted, there are people who tend to bait brands and community manager hoping to provoke an argument, but ignoring them will only make them step up their game. Be nice, be gracious, and let the negative person at least know you’re taking his thoughts into consideration. Even if it’s a situation you won’t be able to fix, or if the person is just picking for the sake of picking, it’s better to say “I’m listening,” than to not say anything at all.
• Other people notice: What happens when brands ignore complaints? Everyone wonders why no one at the brand is responding. I’ve seen situations where folks are wondering why the community managers isn’t online handing things. Again, even if it’s just a nitpicky situation no one can do anything about, saying “I hear you” will look a lot better for you and your brand than to ignore it all. There are other considerations too. Since community management is a public role, other community managers talk. I belong to several online groups for CM’s and at least once a week we’re presented with a “where’s the community manager?” discussion after online negativity was ignored. Moreover, if you’re known for being a hands off community manager, it may be hard for you to land a job in the future, because many people will remember your name in a not so positive way. I hate saying “people talk,” but the truth is, they do.
• Other people join in: Negativity has a snowball effect. Even the jerkiest people have friends and you never know who is going to join in the chorus. It only takes a matter of minutes for a small situation to get out of hand. Nipping it in the bud will control the snowball effect and show that you’re on top of things.
• People you work with notice: A brand is made up of an entire team. No one wants to be associated with brand negativity. If you’re avoiding or ignoring a negative situation, it not only reflects upon you, but it will also reflect upon people you work with. In essence, you’re ruining many reputations in addition to your own. Plus, the people you work for won’t like it and it can lead to a tense situation.

Everyone is Worthy of a Response

Nothing pisses me off more than a community manager who doesn’t feel everyone is worthy of a response. When you ignore a situation you’re telling the other person “you’re not worth my time.” In community, everyone matters – even the grumpy people. Every single community has their difficult members. By writing them off you’re making the situation even worse. You don’t have to get negative back at them, but the courtesy of a reply is always in order. Any community manager who doesn’t think so, shouldn’t be a community manager.

What You Can Do Besides Ignore

Ok, so some guy is baiting you on Twitter. What do you do?

• Assess the situation:  Why is this person calling out the brand? There may be a valid situation. Sometimes, in their anger socially awkward will use negative or insulting language. Look beyond that to the actual complaint.
• Determine a cause of action: Many times the complaints are valid but there’s nothing you can do about it. For example, say you work for a peanut butter brand, and someone heckles you for not adding enough peanuts to the crunchy variety. One complaint certainly isn’t enough to change your entire operation, but the last thing you want to do is to roll your eyes and move on. If the amount of peanuts didn’t matter to this person, he wouldn’t have mentioned it. And, as a person spending money on your brand, he has every right to mention it. In this case, you can’t really do anything about the product, but you can tell the person you hear him and you’ll be sure to share his thoughts with your team. You may even send him a free jar of peanut butter for caring so much about the brand. No, it doesn’t change things, but at least the other person knows you’re listening which can lead to a more positive view of the brand.
• Respond: There’s never an “I can’t do anything” situation. At the very least you can tell the negative person you hear his complaint. To not respond is to not care. Is that what you want to be known for?

Here’s something else: A little humor goes a long way. Sometimes when someone snarks at me online, I respond with humor. I don’t snark back. I don’t cause drama. I don’t get petty, but if I can make people smile with my response it helps to diffuse the negativity.

You can’t just be manage a community on an arbitrary basis by paying attention to some things and ignoring others. Take some time to see what is being said behind the snark and negativity and you’ll probably find valid feedback.

How are you responding to negativity?

To the Wonderful NMX/BlogWorld Community,

It’s with a very heavy heart that I tell you today is my last day as Director of Community for New Media Expo.   Though I’m exiting my role on the best of terms, the decision to move on was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made on both a personal and professional level.  Through my time as both Conference Director and Community Director, I’ve met the most extraordinary people and it’s so hard for me to say good bye.

As the song goes, I’ve had the time of my life.

I won’t be far. I’ll always be a member of the NMX community, a conference I’m so passionate about I’ve been to every single one. Through my passion, I even managed to somehow to wrangle my way into making the switch from “attendee” to being part of the wonderful NMX team. I’m always around online I’d love to stay connected with you all on Twitter, and of course, here on my blog.

To the NMX team: Rick, Dave, Patti, Alli, Shane, Chris, Dani, Jill, Carrie, Tina, and Megan, I’m always here for you. Thank you, not only for all your help and guidance over the years, but for your friendship. I have the deepest love and respect for you all.

To the NMX community:  You’ve made me think, you’ve made me laugh, you challenged me, and you helped me to learn so much. It’s been such an honor and privilege  to spend time with you all. I’m so grateful for all the time we shared together.

I don’t know what the future holds. I’m taking some time to mull things over and find my groove. I’m going to work on my home, work on my garden, spend time with my family and do a little contract work in between. Eventually I’ll find another community in which to share my passion and learn from, and hopefully you’ll be a part of that too. I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life and hope you’ll join me on my journey.

With much gratitude and love,

Deb Ng

It was an honor to learn, share and collaborate with this great group of community managers.
Image by Laura Horak

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed a lot of tweeting about community management stuff all last weekend. That’s because I was in New York City for the Community Management Unconference, and I was so blown away by what was being shared that I had to share too. There’s something about being in a room filled with people who are passionate about community that put me totally in my element.

I’m still processing everything we talked about, but I came away with  plenty of thoughts and ideas about communities, community management, and the evolution and future of online communities, and I’d like to share those with you.

I give you: my top takeaways from the Community Manager Unconference:

It’s important to understand the deep roles within a community

During Ric Dragon‘s  talk, he compared online communities to feudal systems and dysfunctional families, but that isn’t to be taken in a negative way. The members of an online community all have deep roles, even if those roles weren’t directly assigned to them. Roles can be nurturing or even critical but they’re all important. It’s essential for the community manager not to discourage the deep roles each community member takes, but to analyze them, know how they work and understand where each person fits into the different roles.

The future of community isn’t a social network, a list, Likes, or a bunch of numbers

If you truly want to be a successful community manager, you have to get to know your community in a big way. This goes beyond Likes and Shares. It’s time  to get into the hows and whys. In order to manage any online community it’s important to learn the true, nitty gritty details. For example, why are folks joining the community? What are their habits? What are they hoping to get out of the community?  What are they sharing? What are they reading?  Who are their heroes? What areas of your community does each particular community member spend time at the most? Which conversations lead to the most productive discussions?

The future of community management isn’t how many Likes you receive on Facebook, nor is it how many people are following on Twitter. It isn’t even how many sales you reel in as a result. The future of community management is psychology, anthropology, history, analytics, and statistics. It’s learning about who you’re interacting with so you know how to make the most of that interaction. You can’t give people what they want or expect them to advocate for you unless you provide them with the most positive experience possible.

Thanks to Jury Klepic for reminding us to go beyond the numbers and into the mindset.

Brands are so busy looking at numbers they’re not necessarily seeing the big picture

A common frustration among many of the community managers I met last weekend is how big a role numbers play in their jobs. They feel the people in the C-suites are paying more attention to a bunch of numbers on a social network than the things they should really be into. They’re also paying more attention to sales than anything else. While we all know the main goal of building an online community is generally to lead to sales, this is just a small part of what we should be looking at.

What can be more important than numbers?

• Loyalty:  Knowing how a community feels about the brand is worth its weight in gold. When you have a loyal community they’ll go all out for you. They’ll provide positive feedback, give recommendations, and when it comes to purchasing time they’ll consider your brand over others. Moreover, a positive, active community is like a magnet for bringing in others.
• Word of mouth marketing: People don’t buy every day or even every week. However, when they’re not buying they might still be talking about you. Don’t underestimate the importance of word of mouth marketing and brand advocacy among your community members.
• Affection: Positivity is a powerful tool. Seeing happy people talk about your brand is better than any advertising your brand can buy.

Community managers are still having to prove their value to their brands

The community manager is absolutely the most important person on the team. We’re the voice of the brand and we’re the people the members of our communities come to when they need someone they can talk to. We have the trust of both the brand and the community and make sure there’s an open dialogue between both.We’re also the people who share important information with the brand about the people who use their products and services. Through our outreach we learn about our individual members’ wants and needs and take the necessary steps to ensure everyone’s happiness. You can’t trust this type of responsibility to an intern or a glorified tweeter.

Yet, community managers are still having to prove our value to people who aren’t sure we’re necessary or feel community management is a low paying, entry level position. We’re still having to show that the job is more than a bunch of Likes and follows. You’ll rarely find people who are more passionate about their jobs and the people they represent than community managers. Let’s hope brands start appreciating that passion (and the results of said passion) soon.

Setting boundaries and taking time away from the community is equally as important as everything else

No one can be online 24/7 but sometimes it feels as if that’s what’s expected. Many community managers are so busy taking care of everyone else, they’re not taking care of themselves. Judy Martin not only showed us the important of relaxation and deep breathing exercises throughout the day, but she also reminded us how important it is to step away from our desk and:

• Go for a walk
• Have lunch with some friends
• Run some errands
• Take a catnap
• Do anything but work

Sometimes the best learning is done in a more intimate setting

You know what was missing from Community Manager Unconference NYC? Egos and loud parties.

I’ve been to many conferences, and I’ve always walked away with something of value. However, there’s something about stripping down the conference experience and removing the big names, swag, parties and vast corridors, and just hanging out in a room of like-minded people. I learned more about community management last Saturday than I have throughout all my years of doing this and I believe the unconference experience lent well to that.

Internet Media Labs in New York City was the perfect setting for the UnConference. There were no slides or microphones, and most important, everyone checked their egos at the door. Instead of stages, podiums, panels, and pontification, we discussed, shared and collaborated.  No one insisted their way was the best way, and everyone tossed around ideas and shared how we can best help our communities and brands.

The most important thing you can tell your community is:

Angela Maiers presented what I felt was the most important tip of the day: The most important thing you can tell people every day is “you matter.” When we take time each day to let people in our community know how special they are to us , we’ll matter for them in return. Like Angela’s smile, caring is infectious. Don’t forget to tell your community they’re important to you. You’ll see, it will make all the difference in the world.

Thank you to Tim McDonald, Brandie McCallum and the rest of the My Community Manager team for putting on an absolutely fantastic and valuable experience, and thanks t0 all the community  managers who gathered to share, commiserate and contemplate. Let’s do this again soon.

The Community Manager Unconference is taking its show on the road. Keep an eye out for dates, folks, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Have you ever followed a brand where the community manager:

• Puts up an image on Facebook, with no content, no call to action, no story,  just an emoticon wink or an “LOL?”
• Tweets out links but very little else?
• Makes statements with every update, but doesn’t ask questions or invite participation?
• Keeps days and weeks old announcements pinned to the top of a blog or Facebook page so no one can see new content?
• Posts off topic content not everyone in the community can relate to?
• Ignores community questions?
• Is friendly to all on the outside but creates community drama behind the scenes?

That’s not engaging.

That is all.