community management for business: a primer

C

Presented by:

Community Management

16 November 2011Olivier Blanchard

C

Presented by:

Community Management

16 November 2011Olivier Blanchard

@thebrandbuilder / www.smroi.net

Part 1: Why do you need a community manager?

What the hell is a community manager?

What the hell does a community manager

actually do?

… and what the hell is the point?

You are basically looking at two schools of thought.

A:

So what you’re telling me is thatif we don’t get into social media, our company will just shrivel up and die?

I saw it on CNN.

1. The “we need to be in social media too” crowd.

This engagement strategy is going to be epic!

We’re going to score so many retweets!!!

I can’t wait to manage conversations!

Buzzword salad.

Wrong.

#$%@*?!?!

2. The “we want to leverage social media to improve business” crowd.

How can we use this mediumto build value

for our customers?

… and be even betterat what we do?

Can this mediumhelp us get

more customers?

Yep.

… and increase sales?

Yep.

… and increase customer loyalty??

Sure.

What aboutfixing a PR disaster?

Absolutely.

How aboutimproving customer service?

That too.

That would be clutch.

Your company doesn’t need 1,000,000 followers.


Your company needs 1,000,000 new customers.

Conversions are gold.


Or 1,000,000 loyal customers who won’t leave.



Or 10 – 1,000,000 advocates who will come to your aid.


Your market is a community.

Actually, your market is a community of communities.

Obama 2008 Supporters

Chihuahua ownersBlack hat wearers

Teachers

Communities form around common objects.

What do communities do?

Communities can form around a variety of objects:

Brand: Apple, Harley Davidson, CanonHobby: Wood turning, PC gaming, GardeningSports: Triathlon, Football, Car racing (and sub-categories)Clubs: Fraternities, associations, sports teamsLifestyle: Vegetarianism, modern primitives, hipsters, emoProducts: Ford Mustang, Google+, CheeriosCauses: Ending hunger in Africa, Fighting poverty in the USMovements: #OccupyWallStreetCelebrities: Lady Gaga, Ashton Kutcher, Bono, the PopeEntertainment: Music, movies, games, theater (and sub-categories)Religion: Denominations & topic subcategoriesPolitics: World views & topic subcategoriesTechnology: Categories & topic subcategoriesProfessional: Massage therapists, dentists, studentsEtc.

Communities can form around a variety of objects:

Brand: Apple, Harley Davidson, CanonHobby: Wood turning, PC gaming, GardeningSports: Triathlon, Football, Car racing (and sub-categories)Clubs: Fraternities, associations, sports teamsLifestyle: Vegetarianism, G&L, Products: Ford Mustang, Google+, CheeriosCauses: Ending hunger in Africa, Fighting poverty in the USMovements: #OccupyWallStreetCelebrities: Lady Gaga, Ashton Kutcher, Bono, the PopeEntertainment: Music, movies, games, theater (and sub-categories)Religion: Denominations & topic subcategoriesPolitics: World views & topic subcategoriesTechnology: Categories & topic subcategoriesProfessional: Massage therapists, dentists, studentsEtc.

Q: “How do we fit into this universe?”

Where are the areas of intersect between you and your market?

If you’re a General Mills, for example, communities to look into might be…

Foodies Recipes preparation ideas Storage ideas

Health-conscious Benefits of eating CheeriosEco-conscious How does General Mills support their values?Global Trade Watchers How is General Mills leading the way?Mommy blogger readers Recommendations, approval, validation

Where does your universe overlap with theirs?This is the bridge that connects you to them.

Hint: It isn’t just your gizmo or “your brand.”

Where are the areas of intersect between you and your market?

If you’re a General Mills, for example, communities to look into might be…

Foodies Recipes preparation ideas Storage ideas

Health-conscious Benefits of eating CheeriosEco-conscious How does General Mills support their valuesGlobal Trade Watchers How is General Mills leading the wayMommy blogger readers Recommendations, approval, validation

Some of your content can be pure marketing push, but it can also be links to content not produced by you or that doesn’t reference your brand at all.

Think about the broader narrative of the community, not just your own.

Q: “Do we want to just keep marketing to consumers all day? …

… or do we want to also try and embed ourselves into their communities and participate in their lives in a more organic, natural, more relevant manner?” (Because now, we can.)

Do you want to be out here – just marketing?

Or do you also want to be down here?

Q: “What are we ultimately trying to drive?”

…But you are still a business.

As a business, what do you really want to drive?

Customer Acquisition

Customer Development

Customer Retention

What should every interaction drive?

Awareness

Value

Preference

What should every interaction drive?



Customer Retention

AwarenessValuePreference



Part 2: What is a community manager’s job?

What roles does your community manager play?

-Becomes the face of the brand online.- Humanizes the brand- Serve as a primary brand ambassador- Represents the brand offline as well (engagement is analog too)

-Monitors digital channels - (Changes in volume of mentions, tone, topics, threats, opportunities)

-Acts as first line of defense online during a PR crisis.-Acts as a your representative and the community’s-Manages and curates your content & social feeds-Be expected to be a knowledgeable resource-Support all other relevant business functions

- Customer service, PR, product management, quality control, marketing, sales

What should every interaction drive again?



Customer Retention




What does a Community manager do?

ListenRespondShareDriveCoordinateReportEnable & Support

ListenMentionsQuestionsIdeasComplaintsTrouble

RespondShareDriveCoordinateReportEnable & Support


ListenRespond

MentionsQuestionsIdeasComplaintsTrouble

ShareDriveCoordinateReportEnable & Support


ListenRespondShare

Content (blog posts, videos, articles, podcasts)News (Company-related, community-related)Information (Tips, special offers)Social objects (Retweets, mentions, etc.)

DriveCoordinateReportEnable & Support


ListenRespondShareDrive

Conversations (Directly)- #Chats, discussions, WOM

Business objectives (Indirectly)- Awareness for xyz- Preference for xyz

CoordinateReportEnable & Support


ListenRespondShareDriveCoordinate

Response to mentions, questions, ideas, complaints, crises- With appropriate departments & outside agencies

Supports: PR, marketing, ad campaigns, consumer insights, data analysts, market research, customer service, HR, etc.

ReportEnable & Support


ListenRespondShareDriveCoordinateReport

Upwards to management (Social Media Dir., CCO)Sideways to business teams / product teamsOutward to community

Enable & Support


ListenRespondShareDriveCoordinateReportEnable & Support

In-community advocatesIn-community expertsIn-community thought leadersIn-community contributors


This is how things scale:

Part 3: Identifying, hiring and developing a CM

Think of a community manager asa Chief Communications Officer in training.

Grab a sheet of paper and create 3 columns

Qualities(Most important)

Cannot be taught

Skills

Can be taught

Red flags

Relating to qualities = badRelating to skills = assess and address

QualitiesSomeone naturally friendly, helpful, compassionate and giving. (Whatever the opposite of an asshole is, that is what you want.)

Passionate about your company, its products, its mission.(Hard to be an ambassador and front-line defender if it’s just a job.)

Natural communicator. Grammar, spelling, tone, etc.(Offline, online, everywhere, on every platform.)

Eager collaborator.

Good sense of humor.

Good sense of what is and isn’t appropriate.

Will keep a cool head no matter what the crisis.

Skills / experience

Fluency with your company & brand(s)Technical fluency with your productsAbility to legitimately establish leadership role within the community

Fluency with social and digital platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)Fluency with social and digital workflow tools (Spiral16, Radian6, etc.)Fluent with your social media org chart (collaboration)

Conflict resolution experienceCrisis communications experienceCustomer service experienceBusiness (operational) savvyOther community management experience

Red flags

The applicant looks great on paper but strikes you as an asshole.

Poor communications skills.Any sign of immaturity that isn’t charming.Too much focus on a “personal brand.” Talks about themselves a lot.Virtually no online social engagement. (Anemic feed.)Too focused on social or digital “marketing.”Can’t or won’t take work home. (CM isn’t just a 9-5 job.)Has worked as a community manager for “a ton of companies.”Lone wolf syndrome (doesn’t play well with others).

Their online behavior.Their CV’s “narrative” does not match their online profile.

It is the social media director’s job to properly identify, recruit, develop and manage community managers.

It helps to partner with the company’s PR, Legal, HR, IT, Customer Service, and Product Management resources (among others) to address any and all skill gaps and potential red flags.

A framework of training, evaluation and internal certification needs to be established and followed.

It is crucial to have a qualified social media director on staff who knows how to do this OR to work with consulting organizations that can perform this function.

Who is responsible for the community manager?

Thank you!

Ask away.

Olivier Blanchard864.630.7398www.thebrandbuildermarketing.com@thebrandbuilder (on Twitter)

FIND OUT MORE AT SMROI.NET

Slide Credits

Some slides shamefully borrowed from Flickr and Google Images. Attribution or lack thereof may not necessarily reflect all international image copyrights or ownership. If you feel that one of your images was used in this presentation without your permission or proper attribution, please contact me at your convenience and the image will be either properly attributed or removed at your request.

Slides 1, 2, 22-28, 35, 40 Archival imagesSlide 3 http://img.moonbuggy.org/children-in-gas-masks/Slides 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 16-21, www.ufoseries.comSlide 10 www.systemcomic.comSlides 11, 12, 13 www.tomfishburne.com Slide 15 www.templeofcats.com Slide 51 www.smroi.net Slide 52 www.olivierblanchard.net

FIND OUT MORE AT SMROI.NET

http://img.moonbuggy.org/children-in-gas-masks/

http://www.ufoseries.com/

http://www.systemcomic.com/

http://www.tomfishburne.com/

http://www.templeofcats.com/

http://www.smroi.net/

http://www.olivierblanchard.net/