how to build a successful community of practice
TRANSCRIPT
How to Build Successful
Communities of Practice
Communities:Be there to learn, network and share
A community is a centralized repository for all of the
information and experts that someone could ever want
about a particular project or subject.
Successful communities are supported by passionate leaders
who dedicate their time and expertise to community members
by regularly sharing and promoting knowledge.
I won’t share…
• I’m too busy
• I’ll get in
trouble
• Playing with
social media
isn’t “real”
work
• I don’t know
how
Barriers to
collaboration
CommunityLeaders
Sponsor
The Community Sponsor has ownership for the community. For
instance, this cat might be the sponsor or owner for our
“Community of Fish,” because, for whatever reason, he wants to
bring fish together in a centralized place...
Knowledge
Manager
Sponsor The Knowledge Manager
has eyes like a hawk for
how your communities
should work and acts as a
consultant to oversee your
strategy at a high level by
identifying the business
priority for your
community.
Welcome to the
community!
The Moderator is the manager of the community and is responsible for
keeping content fresh, developing relationships with members,
promoting the community and providing metrics about its health.
Community Tools
• Your primary communication tool in a
community
• A place to share your news and updates
• Like a newsletter, but allows for two-way
conversations and comments
Update your blog at least once a month
Blogs
Microblogs
• Use a microblog to share your community’s
news, updates or questions within a limited
number of characters
• Promote discussion, events and ask
questions to find experts and information
Post to your microblog at least once a
week
Wiki
• Share broad information that can be developed on many
levels of pages, like a mini web site
• The web site Wikipedia is an example of a wiki
• Attach documents
The number of wiki posts will depend on
the nature of the information
Events
Give your community members a chance to put a face to an
online identity, or even to chat in real-time. A best practice is to
hold events every other month. Make your events interesting by
inviting guest speakers and thought leaders.
Frequency vs. Effort
High Frequency
I. Microblog (once
a week)
II. Blog (once a
month)
III. Events (bi-
monthly)
High Effort
I. Events
II. Blogs
III. MicroblogsVS.
Community Support
Peer support is really important when you’re running a community.
After all, a community is about collaboration, so you need to reach
out and share insights with your fellow community managers to get
ideas about how to make your community a success for members.
Communities in the Future
Help us evolve!
Continue promoting
collaboration, content
contribution and knowledge-
sharing across the business,
aligning with your
organization’s priorities and
strategies.
Good luck in your community
adventures!
Community Questions?
Thank you!