Connie Bensen

There are many analogies about community building. Some say it’s like gardening. Planting seeds in fertile ground, then providing the seedlings with the things they need to flourish. As the garden grows it continually needs maintenance and ongoing support (water & fertilizer). Another is that a community is like a party where the community manager is the host.

I think that the community manager role is like parenting. Parenting has it’s challenges and there are no specific instructions. Each family has it’s own culture, routines, traditions and expectations. As a parent you wonder about things. My daughter is 20 and I’ve went thru many phases.

Here are the parallels that I see.

• a continual worry – are you doing the right thing by everyone?
• are you treating everyone fairly & not showing favoritism?
• are you encouraging everyone to spend time together & participate?
• are you giving the community space to grow independently?
• are you empowering them to be individuals? yet encouraging them to learn together?
• are you ensuring a happy, safe environment for everyone to participate in?
• are you introducing new ideas and encouraging the community to grow, thrive and contribute to it’s own success?

And I view my colleagues as my work family. And that’s just as important as the community/customers.

• are you encouraging your team to learn new things about social media?
• do you encourage them to work cross functionally and build on each other’s knowledge, share new ideas & grow the company together?
• are you sensitive to to other’s needs and support your colleagues when they need it?
• do you work to identify & break down barriers in a constructive way?
• are you introducing innovative ideas that better your workplace?

I’m sure that you can think of more! And if it sounds like the position is part social worker, psychologist and parent there’s probably a reason for that! Those of us that thrive on this type of work enjoy the challenges of working with people, leading, teaching and empowering others.

Do you agree with my analogy?

Not too long ago I wrote about the joy of being a change agent. I firmly believe that it’s the community manager’s role to push the boundaries. Some friends pushed back and suggested that it wasn’t advisable. But I think that the attitude of wanting to get things done is part of the leadership aspect.

I have one of these pins. They gave them out at a library conference. I kept mine on a bulletin board in my office. It suited me!

Community means relationships and that’s as much with coworkers as it is with customers. Over the years I have learned some easy ways to initiate change.

1. If you can make a difference – do it! People will appreciate your initiative.

2. Don’t just complain about an issue, offer solution(s). You’ll be amazed at how quickly things will be resolved if you do some homework and offer the solution. (As a bonus your ideas will either be used or kick off the discussion).

3. Plant seeds of your ideas and grow them. If you have an idea, do some research and present it. Sometimes the adoption of an idea depends on the amount of change & how well you can sell your idea. After working with two library boards I realized quickly that it sometimes took many months to convince my stakeholders of the importance of the idea. This was a valuable time that allowed me to consider it from many angles and create a more complete project. It was always sweet to see it come to life.

How do you effect change at your organization? I’d love to hear your tips & tricks.

Kristin Paulick and her staff did a great job with Community 2.0! I had heard wonderful things about last year’s conference & I was excited to join the second annual gathering of people who live & breathe community.

When Kristin & I first talked, she was exploring topics/speakers for this event & asked what challenges community managers have. This presentation evolved from that brainstorming session. It’s an overview of the role from the employee and employer’s perspectives.

After I finished my slide deck I asked my friend Bill Miller, CMO at Digium to review it. He reminded me what other CxO friends have told me, “You need to show ROI and how it affects the bottom line”. For a long time I tended towards the purist side of community, but I do understand that business conversion goals are needed. Having a community manager is dedicating precious resources and it needs to be justified.

Here is my slide deck along with a quick overview of my presentation.

I was a librarian for 10 years and I was a disruption there too. I’m a connector by nature so providing resources and information comes naturally to me. I mentor community managers from around the world despite the fact that I’m geographically challenged. (Starbucks is 60 miles away!).

Community is a new channel for business. It offers new strategies for customer acquisition, customer satisfaction, retention, product development & the list goes on… but it takes a human touch! The Community Manager is a MetaCustomer who connects with customers, potential customers and identifies new markets which translates to increased revenues.

The community manager position will increase your brand value in 3 months. What is your brand worth? Consider the converse question – What is your brand worth if it has no visibility?

Slides nine & ten outline the traits of a community manager. If you quit listening to them they will go away. If you have an excellent one cherish them. It’s a challenging job and we love what we do. But we want to make a difference!

I was the first to broach the topic of salary & some may consider it tacky. I strongly believe that this role provides so much value that it shouldn’t be compensated as an entry level position. Having a community manager is like giving them an open checkbook for your brand. There needs to be trust, respect and they need to be compensated for that level of responsibility.

There are many advantages to having a community manager that works remotely. They see beyond the four walls of the company. And they’re project oriented so they have ‘deliverables’ rather than do ‘seat time’. Many of us know that we get so much more done by working off site.

Slide thirteen is for organizations considering adding a community manager. If you’re not interested in listening to your customer’s ideas, acting on them and open to change then don’t bother with the position. It’s a waste of everyone’s time (and will result in a frustrated community manager).

On slide fourteen the circles will expand when a skilled community manager is engaged. Our role is to provide resources and information. This will increase conversionfor your business goals. We compliment the efforts of the other teams & work cross functionally to increase communication & break down barriers.  People WANT to support brands that interact with them in a positive way.

Here’s a short video of my presentation with an overview at Community 2.0 blog.

Here’s your dream job listing! I was thrilled to see how flexible this employer is being.

A month ago I received an email from someone asking where to find a community manager. Look at the posting they did up!

Note the location – Anywhere in the World! & the option to telecommute!

The trips to the home office would be great too! I had a lovely time in London last year.

Is this job for you? The biggest question is does the topic fit your expertise & passion?