Connie Bensen

This is the last part in this series. It’s also the segment that caused the most discussion in the original post.

As a community manager, I work with advocates at a number of levels. And I think that as your social media program succeeds you’ll realize this also. Over time you’ll have those that are super advocates, others that are proponents & you’ll encounter brand influencers out on the web & in real life. So engaging the energy of these people should be allowed to grow dynamically.

Here are some suggestions for success:

1. Create a communication area (Jeremiah Owyang describes it as an Air Traffic Tower). This area serves as a place to:

• provide training material & contact information – this greatly eases the transition when more people are brought on board
• provide advance information on products, promotions, etc – it’s part of their perk
• provide feedback that they’re not comfortable sharing in front of the public, but it’s still worthy of discussion amongst the moderators
• get to know each other at a higher level than in the general public – I think this part is really important. If you’ve ever moderated forums it can be stressful at times. I’ve done enough tech support & customer service to realize that people can be really demanding (obnoxious?!). So it’s nice to be able to provide moral support behind the scenes & give atta-boys.

The easiest way to make this area is if you have forums, just create an area that only the forum moderators have access to. My sister & I use wikis & another set of forums to collaborate also. Bottom line is that it’s about communication & connecting.

2. Your strategy to work closely with your evangelists needs to be a delicate balance between:

• interacting closely with them but enabling them to engage fully with the community as they would naturally
• allow them to have ownership – there are so many benefits to this: when people in the community act inappropriately (attacking the product or the brand) then their peers will step in quickly. Anyone who values the community will take action. Whenever I see this occur I’m always proud of the sense of value we’ve created. You can empower people by:
• involving them in projects, planning & brainstorming – give them the objective & they’ll add the energy
• provide them with the resources as they need them & step back – no need to micro manage

3. Finally, thank them & reward them. This was always the most challenging part for me as supervisor in my last job too. I need to remind myself to express my gratitude to those I work with. In my last article on “10 Rules for Designing Social Networks“, Stephen commented that

establishing reward for participation is of the utmost importance. These can be social AND emotional as well as financial or knowledge-based. To define them, one must work hard to understand the motivations, needs and wants of the community. This very activity is at the heart of our own Planning stage of community creation.

Thanks Stephen, those are very valid points! People may be promoting your brand for various reasons. These people can get burned out so if you value their contributions make sure that they’re aware of it.

Well, that’s my overview of engaging proponents of our brand. It may sound complex, but it’s really quite easy & very gratifying. These people are your most valuable resources! Can you afford to not engage them?

I was recently asked – What would your “top ten rules” of designing social networks or communities be? 1. Evaluate the company’s brand & how it relates to it’s community. Where are your supporters at? 2. Have a strategy – who is your target audience? 3. Decide on the platform that is suited to your community’s needs 4. Decide how you will provide the community with the tools it needs -

• what type of platform, tools to utilize, etc
• Identify people with expertise to nurture it
• Provide a company presence for moderation & direction
• Have a plan to keep adding content & resources

5. Realize that integrating with other networks & sites is important 6. Involve the community in all stages of product development – realize that receiving negative feedback is a good thing Updated after Toby Bloomberg’s comment – these 2 points added

• Ensure the community realizes that they are being heard
• Provide a company representative that interacts implicitly

7. Be prepared to continually evaluate & respond 8. Establish metrics to realize the business value 9. Promote the community at all touchpoints including company blog, website, internally & externally 10. Realize it’s about relationships, not technology What would your top 10 rules be? What have I forgotten?

This question is asked often – What is the average salary? Last September I tackled it & posted some numbers. But it’s like trying to nail down measurement of social media – it’s quite elusive.

On the other hand is it time for Community Managers to start talking about salaries? As this position becomes more prevalent I think it would be helpful for job seekers and company’s alike to have an idea of a salary range.

At present the salaries that I’ve heard of are $50 k and up. Mack Collier was shocked at that reality. He thinks that it should be $100 k. I think he has a good idea of the specturm of tasks that a Community Manager is responsible for: Customer Service, Tech Support, PR, Marketing, web 2.0 trainer, projects, building community, etc.

It also seems prevalent that companies are asking the prospective employee what they’d like for a salary. This leaves the person wondering what is fair. Granted there are many factors that affect a person’s salary: previous experience, location (but does it really? does working remotely affect the salary?), size of company, responsibilities.

So what should the salary be? Is this position a highly skilled position? When companies search for their Community Manager what value do they place on finding someone with proven skills in community building, customer service & knowledge on use of social media tools?

Do you ever talk with someone & just connect immediately? That’s what happened last week when Anna Farmery & I talked via Skype. She is truly an incredible person! Her motto at her blog, The Engaging Brand is: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

How perfectly does that describe what we want our customers to take away from experiencing our brand? Anna did a great job of guiding the questions in the podcast about my role as a Community Manager. (Ok, she may have just let me talk. ). It’s the most comprehensive overview of how I view my work. I emphasize the importance of speaking in the language of your customers.

So hop on over to Anna’s blog & give it a listen. Her blog is a treasure trove of information on leadership, social media and best practices.