Community Management is a fresh- baked trend in the modern digital world. Newly emerging and rapidly developing Social Media services bring some new opportunities for communication. Nowadays, they present the platforms both for private communication and for the communication of brands with their customers. But the participants remain the same — ordinary users with their own tastes and preferences. One of the most effective ways to attract new audiences became the creation and maintenance of thematic groups, where the lead role is played by a professional in the field — a Community Manager.
Why is it essential to have a community manager by your side?
Special interest communities come into being in Social Networks here, there and everywhere, really. Online Gamers Communities, Clubs of Motorcycles owners, reading societies at a pinch.
For a group to remain engaging, agile and popular, it is badly in need of a person who will do the following every day:
- chat with users in real time;
- feel the audience, identify problems at the initial stage (a strong sense of empathy is required);
- assist subscribers, I mean all-round support ;
- give effective advice on the goods and services of the company;
- provide feedback management;
- pick up interesting content.
Modus Operandi
Increase the number of members of your community and involve them in communication, upholding, besides the classic SMM tools, the principles of community management.
“Entry barriers”
Close it!
A closed group gives a sense of elitism and exclusiveness. The entry barriers can be erected in other ways — by registration, confirmation of purchase. But, please, do not go overboard! Still, attracting an audience into a closed group is more difficult.
“How-do-you-do”
Greet it!
Greet each new member personally and introduce him or her to the rest of the group. It is not necessary to become friends for life, because the community may have a million subscribers, but a personal greeting, at least through the automatic mailing list, never killed nobody (like a little party.)
Sometimes you can put the cat among the pigeons, it will boost the activity. Regularly send private messages to the “passive” audience.
“Snowball content”
Discuss it!
Once the community is established, the main content provider will be the community manager. Ask for help from other employees or hire people to feign exciting discussions. Just do not take your subscribers for jolter-heads — they will immediately feel the “sour game”. When the user-generated content will be quite a lot, there may enthusiasts appear who will assume your burden — do not resist, let it go.
Brand updates
Put it nicely!
Tell people about company news, novelties or some important corporate events in a light and informative way. That way they will be noticed not only by loyal brand customers.
Co-Action
Do it together!
Organize promotions, meetings, flash mobs, photo contests if possible. Regularly the community should create something together: a project, a series of articles, a website, a conference, etc.
“In-jokes”
Make fun of it!
Forget about officiality. You are not a government (Donald J. Trump would say: “Psht! So what?”). Post memes, photos from gatherings and so on. The community should have internal jokes that only its members can understand.
Work with the negative
Fix it!
From time to time the group is visited by people who are dissatisfied with the brand or product. They are angry with the whole world. Try to channel the emotions of these users towards a peaceful settlement. Always offer help in solving the problem.
Estimation of efficiency
Spy on it!
To assess the effectiveness of the community, the usual metrics are used (likes, comments, dynamics of growth and decline, conversion). However, the main value is loyal and active users, the quantity and self-organization capacity of which will be an indicator of their engagement. Take them into account, observe the dynamics of their moods, monitor the quantity and quality of user-generated content. In an ideal scenario, keep “profiles” of community members, note there the involvement and the specific interests of each of them — this, for example, will help attract the right “expert” to the appropriate topic.
So if we managed to convince you of the importance of Community Management and you immediately rushed to find one for your company, Ninjapromo made a list of requirements for the ideal Community Manager. Take a look at it!
Perfect community manager:
- An expert in your business area, who has his/her own opinion about a product or service, based on practical use;
- An inveterate user of social networks, whose accounts are detailed and lively filled;
- A communicative person, preferably with an active audience in personal social networks;
- An intuitive psychologist, non-confrontational;
- A person with a mind of a wide scope;
- A proficient of marketing and advertising strategies;
- A competent author and copywriter, who can write in layman’s terms and in the style that suits your audience.
As you can see, working with an audience is extremely important for any community. The popularity of the group and the recognition of the company directly depends on it.
It is important for an entrepreneur to evaluate how much to invest in community development. Start small by giving the SMM department the task of adhering to the principles of community management, or approach strategically by hiring a specialist and allocating a budget to create a platform, conduct events, and promotions.
Community management has traction today. Western experts believe that the future of Internet marketing is lie in the community building. For example, Chris Brogan, one of the most famous authors of articles and books on social media and business in the United States, follows a 50/40/10 resource allocation strategy, where 50% is a community, 40% is content, and 10% is commercial.
Be smart, take a cue from Chris.