pre-release community management | by two pi team

Community Managementwith

Pre-Release- Communities

© Two Pi Team, Developers Gathering NRW 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany

Just ask a home owner if it‘s easier to build a home, or to simply maintain one.

Pre- andPost-Release Community

Is There Really That Much Of A Difference?


» Community Building» Get to know your userbase» Idiosyncrasies» Make your name known

» Planning abilities are needed» Lessen subsequent work load» Be ready for exceptional circumstances

» Co-Operation» PR» Developers» Project Lead / Managers


Building a Community


» There‘s only one chance for a first impression» The community remembers everything» A CM never changes

» Get personal» Bonding with the community» Empathy

» Recognize trends at an early stage» Wishes» Protest» Forwarding


Get To Know The Community


» What are Evangelists?» … better than any PR campaign» … the best friends of a CM

» Are Evangelists important?» Yes!

» This covers PR, but what about Community?» High forum activity» Not always positive…» … but almost always relativizing

» How do I get these super users?» Enthusiasm (CM = Evangelist)


Pre-Release:The Chance To Gather Evangelists


» Following the release is always the anticlimax.» Idealism» Expectations

» Try to keep contact» PM» Emails» Talks and Interviews (Cons, Tradeshows, etc.)

» Always show that you‘re willing to do better!» „No“ is not an answer …» … unless it has a good reason

Pre- und Post-Release Community

Post-Release:The Effort To Keep Evangelists


» The community as a nuclear reactor» Critical phase» Self-Preservative

» Where do I get the nuclear fuel?» Information» Controlled flow

» How do I benchmark if my community reached a critical mass?

» You can‘t.» Lack of information» Growth trend


The Critical Mass, or:How I Learned To Love The Bomb


People, whom you withdraw information from, you incapacitate to help themselves. (Diether Hildebrandt, Satirist)

Information Management

Information Management – Once And For All?


» Time-consuming work» Information pooling» Dividing into classes

» Why should you divide, and how?» ‚Dispensable Information‘ (There is no such thing!)

» Non-Essential Information

» Essential Information (Unique Features)

» Who should be involved?» Everyone!


The Good Ones Go Into The Pot – Dividing Information



Information Delivery – Flexibility Is Everything

» Fan Sites» ‚Say, do you have anything new for us?‘» Specifically big info pool» Graphics, exclusive snippets, short interviews, etc.

» Forum» Regular updates (i.e. weekly)» External ressources mustn‘t deliver more» Small infos to ‚plant‘ into the forums by mods

» Press, Media, Events» ‚Unique Features‘» Live demonstration and presentation

» Pre-Release communities live off information!© Two Pi Team, Developers Gathering NRW 2010, Düsseldorf, Germany

» Hand in Hand with PR» Target audience planning» Deadlines (Milestones)

» Hand in Hand with the project lead» Critical Path (Analystic technique)» Deadlines (Milestones)

» Hand in Hand with the developers» Communication guidelines» Finding ways to integrate the community

» The Community Manager is an info hub


Information Convergence –I‘m Not All-Knowing, But Aware Of A Lot


It's always standing out if someone talks about things he understands. (Helmut Käutner, Director)


Community Management –Juggling Competencies


Community Management

Why PR Usually Has No BearingOn Community Management» PR and information

» Pure forwarding» No direct customer feedback» Rarely flexible» Often exaggerated

» PR and publicity» Mostly passive» Rarely personal

» Success must be measurable

» CM and information» Forwarding, Reacting,

Responding» Always immediate feedback» Flexible to a certain extent» Thorough

» CM and publicity» Always active» Personal, ‚showing face‘

» Success must be perceptible

Public Relations and Community Managent follow completely different goals with their actions, and cover different target

audiences.


» Common goal» Selling the product

» Coordination» Who, How, What, Where, When

» Contact sharing» Press events» Tradeshows

» Early warning system» „Stirring up a hornets‘ nest“


Why PR And CM Still Have ToBear With Each Other



Filtering Different Perspectives –From a Community Point of View

» Everyone knows them…. . . all those suggestions that one immediately thinks of

while playing a game that one hasn't personally developed on.

» The community doesn‘t have enough insight» Technical feasibility» Deadlines» Already planned features» … etc.

» What may help?» Feedback between CM and devs on a regular basis» Pre-filtering of suggestions by the CM» Dev-Diaries and the like



Social Networking –The Unloved Stepchild?

» Facebook is one of the most-visited sites of the world» Target audience» ‚Right at home‘» Easily maintainable» Possibility of direct contact» High proliferation through contacts

» Social Networks are optional for users» Free choice» High chance of using both the official site and the Network site» Possibility to integrate game into Facebook

. . . yet, the Facebook icon is still hiding in a tiny box on most game sites, or isn't even existing. Why?


Fan Sites

Fan Sites – The Spine of Every Community


Fan Sites

Big Time For The Small Ones – Handling Fan Sites

» Fan site = External Community» Support is only indirect, but important

» Constant contact» Good feedback on fan sites helps a lot» Fan sites can work as an early warning system» Fan sites create opinions

» Big fan site networks» Possible overlap between CM and PR» No privileges

» Informational flow» Information = Lifeline


Fan Sites

Compulsory Attendance –No Event Without Fan Sites

» Fan sites should be on every invitation list» Great PR» Possibility for interviews» Bonding with the player base

» Especially young fan sites are thankful for everything» VIP Area / Business Area» Small pieces of exclusive info» Merchandise for drawings


» Correct planning is a key element

» Information is everything a pre-release community can live off

» It‘s important to think further than just Community Management

» Never forget about the needs of a community when planning

Conclusion

Conclusion


Owner:Thomas Lagemann (CEO)Nadja Bastawi (CVO)

Gerresheimer Str. 9D-40721 HildenGermany

Tel: +49 (0) 2103 94 119 14www.two-pi-team.comwww.wheel-of-games.com

Thanks For Listening!

Hergen Thaens, Community Manager

Impressum

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY

The future of gaming is:

COMMUNITY!


» What is the critical path?A method in network planning, which is used for project

planning. With this method, events that can occur synchronously are shown next to each other, with the earliest possible starting point as well as the latest possible ending point connecting the time critical events. The critical path shows events, which can not be delayed to reach that goal.

» What does this have to do with information management?» Efficient allocation» Proper planing from start to end» Flexible re-allocation, should ressources get freed

Informationsmanagement

A Little Bit Of Network Planning– The Critical Path


pre-release community management | by two pi team

Business

pi team

community managent

community empathy

community doesnt

community manager

community building

impressionthe community

information forwarding