community manager

Power and Influence

Posted by Richard Millington on July 2, 2014 at 9:30am in quick tips

You can’t use your power to get any member to do anything. Much of what we recommend is impossible unless you have influence. You can have influence in one or two ways.

Why I Don't Like The Term "Troll"

Posted by Crystal on February 26, 2014 at 9:57am in social media

I'm finding more and more that I'm uncomfortable with the way that the term "troll" is becoming a catch-all term for "person who's doing something I don't like." It's an easy word to use: say "troll" and everyone says "Ahh," and nods their head in empathy. I've used this shorthand myself. And I'm resolving to stop using it and find out what's really behind the "troll."

CMX Summit 2014: Trust, Collaboration, and Community

Posted by Crystal on February 14, 2014 at 9:52am in best practices

Last week, David Spinks and the team at TheCommunityManager.com gathered together over 300 community professionals for a first year conference that proved to be highly polished and extremely informative - CMX Summit. Here are our takeaways:

8 Signs Your Community Is In Trouble

Posted by Richard Millington on February 4, 2014 at 3:59pm in quick tips

Your online community won't die overnight. That never happens. Most communities end with members gradually drifting away. There are some clear danger signals that your community is going downhill, these are a few to watch out for.

Creating Healthy Communities in Social Media [Video]

Posted by Crystal on January 16, 2014 at 2:43pm in community management talks

On Thursday, we had the pleasure of hosting Ric Dragon, CEO and co-founder of DragonSearch, for an enlightening hour on Creating Healthy Communities in Social Media. From the origins of the term "community" to how dysfunctional communities are like families, this was a fast-paced hour packed with information.

Measuring the ROI of Online Communities

Posted by Richard Millington on December 17, 2013 at 12:32pm in tools and tech

Many of the key benefits of online communities are measurable. None of these should be your objectives, but they should be used to justify the costs of an online community. Remember all these are derivatives of a successful online community, not it’s purpose.

What To Listen For (and how to act on it)

Posted by Richard Millington on December 3, 2013 at 12:17pm in quick tips

If you know what sort of information members seek for and the format they like it, you can create areas in the community solely for this. If members frequently ask questions related to a specific issue and like simple tips, you can create a place in the community for this.

First Class Lessons from The Ritz-Carlton Employee Community

Posted by Crystal on November 26, 2013 at 1:50pm in quick tips

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company prides itself on being the gold standard for hospitality across the world and their record backs up that pride: the list of awards bestowed to their properties is quite impressive. Their service has received note, as well, making them only hotel company to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the United States Department of Commerce twice. What can you, as a community manager, take from their example?

Concentrate Activity

Posted by Richard Millington on November 22, 2013 at 11:47am in quick tips

When you launch a community you want to focus your activity in as small a place as possible.

3 Hallmarks of an Excellent Modern Community Manager

Posted by Alethe Denis on November 1, 2013 at 9:00am in best practices

Managing a few different types of communities, all at various stages of development, has taught me a great deal about people. Through my trials and tribulations I have discovered that three key elements are paramount to any community’s success. While they can be described simply as “work” for you, I believe that incorporating these three attributes into any community management strategy will result in marked improvement in engagement.

Awesome Questions To Ask New Members Of Your Online Community

Posted by Richard Millington on October 24, 2013 at 7:00am in quick tips

Ditch the About Me section and ask specific, interesting, questions instead.

Creating A Sense Of Belonging In Your Online Community

Posted by Richard Millington on October 17, 2013 at 7:40am in quick tips

Not many groups offer a sense of belonging. Most groups don’t try. Members join for a tangible benefit rather than an emotional need. When a member really feels they belong amongst a group, their loyalty, commitment, and willingness to help increase dramatically. You have them for life.

Organizing an Unruly Community: A 5-Step Series

Posted by Carrie Melissa Jones on October 15, 2013 at 9:00am in best practices

I'm here to answer the question: Where do you begin when you're tasked with something so overwhelming? You have so many questions and yet you have very little time to ask them. Your users may be angry, they may be frustrated, or they may be breaking rules that don't even exist yet. It's tempting to jump in and start responding right off the bat. Instead, you should arrive with an action plan.

Measuring An Online Community: Master Your Data to Gain an Unfair Advantage

Posted by Richard Millington on October 4, 2013 at 6:20am in best practices

Don't guess what is or isn't working in a community--gather and analyze the data. Richard Millington outlines a few of the data points you should be measuring and how you can use this data to form actionable insights and improve the health of your community.

Human-Centered Aspects of Community Management [Video]

Posted by Crystal on September 11, 2013 at 8:40am in community management talks

Using his experience in a variety of communities, Marc Siegel took us through the steps necessary to create, build, and nourish a human-centered online community experience. Watch the recording and tune into Marc's fabulous stories of community cultivation successes and failures.

Why Ambiverts Make Great Community Managers

Posted by Crystal on August 30, 2013 at 11:19am in social media

Myers-Briggs personality testing has been popular in academia and human resources as a way of discovering how different students and employees learn, work, and rest. In regards to attitude, the test sorts people into two categories: extraverts, who derive energy from outward actions, and introverts, who gather energy from inward pursuits. An ambivert is someone who falls in between those two extremes.

Unpopular Communities

Posted by Crystal on August 23, 2013 at 12:13pm in quick tips

I recently read "The Power of Unpopular" by Erika Napoletano, the no holds barred brand strategist who makes a splash in the marketing world with her frank, uncensored advice. While the advice in her book is primarily aimed at brands and companies, I found that much of the wisdom could easily be applied to online community. Here are my favorite takeaways for cultivating an "unpopular" community.

Professional Community Course by FeverBee Now Available

Posted by Aaron on August 13, 2013 at 4:45pm in best practices and ning news

We're excited to announce a free course for Ning Network Creators developed in collaboration with FeverBee, a top community management consultancy. In the course, you'll learn the skills, knowledge, and resources to build a thriving community. This self-paced course, which contains 10 lessons, covers the objectives of a community, understanding your audience, recruiting your first members, creating thriving discussions, developing content and facilitating exciting events. At the end of each lesson, you'll find a list of specific action points. These are elements that you can directly apply to your community efforts.

The Online Community Lifecycle - Stage Four: Mitosis

Posted by Richard Millington on August 6, 2013 at 9:00am in best practices

Your goal, and the goal of every community manager, is to progress their community through the lifecycle. If you achieve this, you maximise what your community can be, the benefit it brings to your organization, and the benefits that members gain from the community.

Back to School Community Reading

Posted by Crystal on August 2, 2013 at 9:30am in tools and tech

As August rolls around, the Back to School signs start going up and recommended reading lists start coming out. Did you spend your summer on beach reads like Nicholas Sparks and World War Z? Time to get back in the scholastic mindset. Here's our list of Back to School Reading for Community Managers.