Community Management & Communications

Communitech P2P

Sherry McMenemy & Melanie Baker

Hello

Melanie BakerCommunity Manager @ AideRSS

External community (product users/customers)

Sherry McMenemyMgr, IIBU Knowledge Management @ Agfa

Internal communities & knowledge management

Traditions - External 

Traditions don't work (anymore)...• Valuable information isn't shared• Learning opportunities missed• Companies make it hard to contact them• Customers don't feel like people• Happy customers help solve a LOT of a company's growth  challenges

Traditions - Internal    

 

Why this hurts• information silos • missed knowledge opportunities• dead docs • underground network is way

more valuable but youcan't tap it

Introduction of Community Management• CM/team interacts with many internal/external groups• Ties disparate groups and efforts together • Intent is to make user experience more personal, direct,

transparent• Internal-facing, external-facing, or both• About building relationships

It's about relationships with customers• You don't have to make friends with everyone - respect• Need to balance understand/advocate for both "sides"• Lack of ability to contact the company is very costly• Unfortunately, people have developed low expectations

And relationships within the organisation

• Break down silos• Be competent• Make knowledge sharing• explicit• Remove pain points• Don't over-promise• Be the "information" person

What is a community?A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group. An informal place where ideas are generated or work is done together  Externally, a community is a group of people with a common interest or stake in a product, site, hobby, etc., which is their primary reason to interact and collaborate. Web 2.0 refers to a collection of new technologies that enable community development and collaboration:

o Blogs o Forums o Wikis o Twitter/Messaging o Tagging o RSS (Readers, Lifestreaming) o Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn…)

New tools, old habits?    • Technology is key• Simple/free is okay...• If it's understood and agreed-upon how it will  be used/by whom• Enterprise-level is okay, too...• Need to work within  culture, systems,  policies

What are the tools for?ihatedell.netfutureshopsucks.compaypalsucks.com microsoftsucks.orgmac-sucks.comfordreallysucks.com ihaterogers.caihatebell.ca comcastsucks.orgwalmartsucksorg.blogspot.com deltareallysucks.com deltaisevil.blogspot.com southwestsucks.com mcsucks.comgeicoblows.com googlesux.comgooglesearchsucks.combushandcheneysuck.combarackobamasucks.net stephenharpersucks.blogspot.com

But what do I SAY?• Someone's probably already  saying bad things about you• Ignoring people won't make  them go away• Jargon-filled "messaging" isn't  communicating• Acknowledging people is a  great start• Making it easy for people to  engage is a good indication  the company WANTS to  engage• You are not stupid

What is a Community Manager?• Internal-facing (i.e. focusing on employees within their own

company), external-facing (focusing on customers, potential customers, or detractors) and sometimes both

• Community management = building relationships with people, not keeping them happy enough to keep them quiet, or trying to sell to them from time to time

• Don't have to become friends with people • Gives a human face to the company, lets people know there

are real people, like themselves, making the company run, and gives people a direct point of contact within the company for questions, problems, or feedback

A Community Manager is also...

What a Community Manager Does• PR• tech support• marketing• customer relations• business development• business analysis• QA coordination/beta

testing/usability testing/testing coordination (with users)

• administration• communications

• maintaining online/social web presences

• tech writing• researching tools• evangelizing• training (tools,

communications, collaboration)

• events planning/coordination

• presentations

Administration• Who does the CM work with?• Who should the CM report to?• What's a reasonable salary range?

The Community Management &Communications P2P• What do you want to get out of it?• Future topics:

 o Starting a Communityo Metricso Seeding, Lurking and Grokkingo Dealing with negative feedback, aggressive members,

soul-stealers and detractorso Selling and managing "up"o Customer Support and Communitieso Prioritising your attention (and your members)o Ideas from the group

Images used with thanks

http://www.aboundlessworld.com/the-abcs-of-personal-growth/

http://www.hsbandscwths.co.uk/schoolpictures/

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3993071

http://adshunters.com/food-drinks/chupa-chups-its-the-end-of-the-world-without-it/

http://juror.cjsonline.gov.uk/_includes/images/role_images/Judge_en.jpg

http://www.hobokenattorney.com/lawyer-attorney-1130800.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikvanhannen/2143007559/

http://www.barclayweb.com/DESTINAT/unitedki/ENGLAND/undergr.htm

http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Antique-Map-Cartographica-II-Posters_i1701926_.htm

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jF3ykQaoMak/SC2jl5BuJrI/AAAAAAAAAH8/U3UcWUgiIGU/S700/meter+maid.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/musebrarian/1464159408/in/set-72157602209600110/

http://www.granitegrok.com/pix/Man%20behind%20the%20curtain.jpg

http://www.buffaloideas.com/.a/6a00e54ee38ef5883301156eff3100970c-800wi

Images used with thanks• http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk/assets/images/storytelling.jpg (storytelling)• http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:World_at_work/Teacher (classroom)• http://pixhost.ws/avaxhome/0e/4c/000a4c0e_medium.jpeg (flags)• http://www.asiaexplorers.com/indonesia/bali_travel_guide.htm (nose to the

grindstone)• http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/387992959/ (spices)• http://blog.nj.com/hudsoncountynow_impact/2007/09/crash.jpg (downed phone pole)• http://wolafen.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/obama-inauguration.jpg (Obama

inauguration)• http://www.keung.biz/dilbert.gif (Dogbert tech support - Copyright Scott Adams)• http://www.doh.state.fl.us/planning_eval/vital_statistics/baby_on_computer.jpg (baby

using computer• http://www.softsmith.ca/Professional/Portfolio/images/IBM%20360%20Model

%2050.jpg (old mainframe)http://library.creativecow.net/articles/wilson_tim/win-mac2/the-angry-mob.png (angry mob)

• http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2377439/tongue1-main_Full.jpg (spreading rumours)

• http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic208455.files/tin_cans_and_string.jpg(cans and string phone)

• http://www.thatgoldenegg.com/Photos/services%20pic.jpg (geese flying V formation)