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
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
This past September at BlogWorld Expo, my co-Kommein conspirator David Peralty and I hung out in the blogging lounge and had a little discussion about community forums. Specifically whether or not it’s a good idea for businesses to have a community gathering place. David wasn’t so sure he liked forums as they’re a lot of work to moderate, and as David showed me with his own company’s forum, the most popular folder is the one designated for complaints and technical support issues.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of community forums. I find they can really bring a community together - moreso than comments or social networks. It gives a bunch of like-minded people the ability to carry on a continuous conversation without word limits and it’s a great way to for folks to share ideas, help each other out and cultivate friendships and relationships.
The place I work recently launched a forum and I’m about to open one at the blog network I own. David was right. So far, the most comments have gone to the technical issues folder. Now mind you, we’re only a couple of days into the forum, but I did expect a bit more of the warm and fuzzy. Something else to keep in mind is that the company I work for just launched a major website redesign and the regulars are feeling a bit out of their comfort level. I’m willing to give the complaints about the relaunch a bit more time as the community gets used to a new interface.
The good news is that the forum has eliminated a lot of the email the team gets on a regular basis. Instead of emailing technical support or customer service, folks post at the forum. Our team visits regularly and responds in kind. I also enjoy watching everyone discuss and share.
A couple of days into it, I’m glad we launched a forum. Yeah, the technical issues folder is a thorn in my side, but isn’t it our job to find out what works and what doesn’t? I’m still a big fan of forums. They’re a great place for the community and team to interact and they bring everyone closer together. I’d rather not be in the dark about what my community is thinking.
I’d love to learn your thoughts about community forums. Is it better to not know what your community is thinking?
Tagged as:
Community,
community forums,
Community Management
One of my biggest frustrations is when I want to communicate with a blogger or web site owner and his or her contact details are no where to be found. If anyone should be easy to reach, it’s the Community Manager.
Make sure the members of your community know your email address as well as hours you’re available to chat via Skype or other means. Post these details on the company blog, website and community forum if you have one. Feel free to establish guidelines, for instance, if you’re only available during certain hours make sure everyone knows. Having a Community Manager who is easy to reach and talk to is one of the most important things a business can do.
Tagged as:
Community,
community manager,
online community,
online community manager
