Q: I see my competitor posted an ad looking for an online community manager. We just finally got our social media in gear, we're on Facebook and we actively tweet. Is that enough?
A: Setting up your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media accounts is the easy part. Engaging with your community in a co-ordinated fashion and being a good online community manager is the hard part.
Don't take this role lightly; it's not easy to build a vibrant online community in a time-starved, attention-deficit world.
Q: Who should I get for this community manager role?
A: The community manager function is really core for most organizations. There is no shortage of "social media experts" that will offer to manage your online community for a fee, but ideally organizations should have someone internally who is responsible for nurturing their online community.
Q: We don't have the budget for a full-time community manager. Is this still doable?
A: This is a common problem where organizations take their website to the next level of interaction and offer online groups, forums and blogs, but then their online community becomes a virtual ghost town.
If you build it, they won't necessarily come, unless you're prepared to do the hard work of nurturing your community
If you're on a tight budget, consider hiring a student or recent grad to work with your company as an online community manager.
It's win-win: great experience for the budding online community manager and it often adds a skill set that might not exist internally.
Q: Should I focus on my Facebook presence or my website?
A: It doesn't have to be one versus the other but usually when you have customers or prospects on your own site you don't want to send them away. Consider embedding your Facebook and Twitter activity feeds on to your home page so you can engage deeper with more control over your content and brand.
Q: What are the online community management dos and don'ts?
A: Know the purpose of your online community and set some key measurable goals. Select one person to be in charge of your overall online community building and give this person the resources he or she needs to truly nurture the community. Consider implementing online community tools like BuddyPress for your organization.
Personally welcome all new community members and monitor the interactions between community members. Be prepared to jump in quickly when things go sideways.
Make sure your navigation and general usability are excellent; nothing kills an online community faster than people getting lost and frustrated.
Follow the four tenets of a good online community manager articulated by Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang):
•be a community advocate;
•be a brand evangelist;
•have savvy communications and editorial skills; and
•gather community input for future product and services.
Don't outsource this role unless you need help temporarily. Your online community manager really needs to be part of your core staff, not just a hired gun.
Don't assume that online community building is free. It takes a lot of time and effort and doesn't work well when it's just done off the side of someone's desk. •
Cyri Jones, the founder of ZENPortfolios.ca, teaches at BCIT and Capilano University. He blogs at 24posts.com. Ivan Surjanovic, the CEO of iPower Lab, is in the marketing faculty at Capilano University. He blogs at whereispuck.com.
