About

Connie Bensen

Community Strategist

Building Community by Listening, Communicating & Connecting

My goal is to connect people to like minded people & resources.
My focus is on utilizing social media tools creatively to realize effective marketing & PR results.
I also focus on the necessity of communicating with customers & providing the highest quality of customer service to leverage word of mouth & building brand.

Community Building Expertise

Establishing best practices for community building
Strategizing & implementation of social media campaigns
Highly successful brand building & monitoring (both product & personal)
Development of a successful evangelist & outreach programs
In-depth understanding of social media tools & effective use of them
Documenting & providing feedback on product issues/bugs
Establishing metrics for quantifying interaction
Establishing a network that includes many thought leaders in social media, marketing, PR & web strategy

My contributions to Best Practices for Community Managers:

Leadership & Moderation of Community Manager Facebook Group
Trend monitoring of Salaries for Community Managers
Case Study in Online Community Best Practices by Jeremiah Owyang, Sr Analyst at Forrester
Case Study in Customer Service, The Art of Listening & Engagement Through Social Media by Brian Solis
Contributing Member International Online Community Management Association
Editor of Personal Branding Magazine (Published by Dan Schawbel)

Valeria Maltoni, Author, Conversation Agent says about my work:

“Connie understands what it takes to build a community - engagement, commitment, the ability to listen and to be a positive conduit for useful feedback are all part of it. Most importantly, it is a deep knowledge of and passion for the dynamics and needs that bubble up in any group where caring for the whole is as important as making sure each individual is heard. These are much sought after skills now and for the future of marketing.” May 11, 2008

Listed as a top Community Manager by Jeremiah Owyang, Forrester Analyst (interviewed by Shel Israel in his FastCompany video at 2:55).

How did I become a Community Manager?

In early 2007 my sister & I created a niche community at DigiScrapInfo.com with a focus on providing resources for the community. I started blogging there & experimenting with social media tools. My previous experience of almost a decade of marketing, public relations & customer service excellence for public libraries easily transferred to the online world. The community building online is the same as it is in real life. It’s all about relationships. Focusing on customer service & adding value thru resources proved to be a successful model. My sister has taken over the site.

In September 2007 I joined ACD Systems as their Community Manager. This position allowed me to expand my skills & explore community building at a deeper level. My scope expanded to include customer segments ranging from our niche market to home, professional & corporate customer segments. My focus has always been to maintain a dialogue with the customers & listen to their needs. And you can read about my first steps into social media & the Web 2.0 world.

If you are interested in being a community manager or what a community manager does please see my Resources tab.

And, yes, I’m interested in speaking at your event! Jeremiah Owyang has an informal recommendation on his blog.