Here’s a summary of the basic premises every community manager should keep in mind. And companies that are creating communities should also realize their importance.

• How can you ensure that your community will be successful?
• Identify a need and provide resources to fulfill it.
• Build a community around that concept.
• There needs to be a lifestyle affinit
• How do you make others aware of the community?
• partner with related sites
• provide meaningful information
• How do you identify those that need your product/service?
• by listening to online conversations & utilizing tools
• I’ve been using Google alerts since Oct 06 & acting on them
• My day job is with Techrigy SM2 and we have a free version
• Monitoring social networks as well as web analytics is imperative
• Why will people return?
• to learn more about the product
• to get their questions answered & discuss niche related items
• How do you get people to link to your site?
• it’s human nature to want to help each other, so they do it to be helpful
• if you have resources that others find helpful then they will link others
• How do you build interest around new product releases?
• know your customer segment(s)
• what interests them? what types of activities do they thrive on?
• we held events such as chats (our ladies loved real time chats), offered prizes, celebrated niche specific events

And probably the most important realization that I had:

• Why will people want to buy at your site?
• if people find value in the information and resources they will want to support you
• time is of great value to many & if your site demonstrates extensive knowledge then people will want to purchase the product or resources

In the community that my sister & I created at DigiScrapInfo.com we started with no expectation of a business model. We later added the affiliate program because our community appreciated the resources so much that they asked how they could support us. People sincerely wanted to make sure that we were compensated if they  purchased.

My blog and site are another example. After less than one year people were offering me work opportunities. When I started this blog I never had any intentions of monetizing it, but it happened in a subtle way. Even though I have a full time job now people still assume that I do contracting work. With the recession I can connect those seeking positions with employers who read my blog. The job sourcing and mentorship is free as time permits because that’s how I can give back to my community.

My focus is on helping you create opportunities for yourself no matter the size of your community whether it be a blog, forums, small business, or a company.

If you are a company that is creating a community you should have a business case. But it will be much more successful if the focus is on providing information and resources first and realize that sales will be a natural progression. That will be a subsequent benefit after realizing many other benefits such as positive WOM, increased brand visibility online, etc first. It’s about establishing a presence based on giving back resources for what your community needs and establishing a relationship with them.

What have I missed?

I have a startup making a product. We’re selling them online. We have:

• a website
• a blog
• forums

The problem is that not many come to the forums. And if they do, they don’t register or participate much.
Instead of trying to have our own forums, should we just join our customers where they are? But then I won’t be able to customize or monetize the forums.

Whether you have a blog and/or forums, it’s all the same. You need to build community around YOUR community. That’s how I started my online community work.

Here are the steps for getting things going:

1.  Provide a central gathering place.

• It can be as simple as a blog all the way to fully featured forums (or both).
• Add resources and information that provides value to your product & related topics.
• Then jazz it up with interactive events of interest to your customer segment.

2.  Set up web analytics at your site.

• Plug in Google Analytics
• Claim your blog on Technorati
• Set up Feedburner (although Google seems to really have broken this)

3. Start listening to find where your customers & potential customers are at

• Set up Google Alerts
• Monitor Twitter – Tweetdeck nicely sorts groups into columns
• Set up a Social Media Firehose (put it in a dashboard like Netvibes.com)
• Use an integrated tool like Techrigy SM2 (& yes I work for them)

4. Monitor and start noting trends

• Check your monitoring  on a daily basis if you’re serious about this.
• As you get things going, check your web analytics on a weekly basis (which may shift to more often as it becomes addictive).
• Identify where your potential customers are hanging out at. It’s not practical to join every social networking site. So be selective.

5. Participate

• Join specific social networks and get involved. Provide value & resources. It’s not about you or your product. It’s about developing relationships. Meet people as people.
• Comment on blogs that are identified by your listening system. Join the conversation.
• Contribute to the conversation at large by blogging about industry related topics on your blog.
• Respond to those that are looking for your type of product. How will you know? if you’re listening for industry related topics then they will surface.

6. Build Brand

• Be consistent & be everywhere. Listening will enable you to efficiently do that.
• Provide a unique point of view that is memorable.
• Find a way to be repetitive. Is it your logo, your photo, your username, etc Make it easy for people to remember you.
• Establish yourself as a voice in your niche. Get to know others with common interests.

And if this sounds like work, it is. There’s no question about that. It takes time & energy. But remember that you’re creating relationships and something much bigger than just selling items. You’re creating a brand. If you pay it forward & provide value to those you interact with, then they will support you. In two to three months you’ll look back & see your progress.

What questions do you have? Which parts should I expand on? What has worked for you?

What makes his new community so outstanding? He started it four days ago & has over 2800 members. And he is inviting people to come, join & create groups within his community. Although as you browse the following links, you’ll realize that created new issues.   One thing I noted & really appreciate is that Chris likes good grammar & spelling.

He has some great ideas here. The videos have more information in addition to the text. (I really appreciate having both, because I don’t watch videos much.)

• How to Build an Internet Community

• What Information Should You Put in a Social Profile?
• What’s the Best Way to Write a Forum or Blog Post?
• How Can You be an Awesome Commenter?
• Do You Need Community Group Leader Tips?
• User Generated Contentedness

And join the community if you want to watch it grow. I’m hoping to interview Chris & find out more about this project. But in the meantime I just joined it to experience it.

Finally, voyeurism has went to a whole new level! Chris has live video streaming from his home office space 24/7. Twitter makes it easy to keep up with where people are at & where they’re going, but I’m not sure that I would be comfortable with a video going all the time. I’ve had it open tonite while I browsed the links above & Chris stopped in to check on something. Someone was with him & they talked about the location of a monitor. Very trippy, but I suppose if you get used to it…

When Darren asked for a guest post we chatted about what the topic should be.

He suggested ‘Taking your Blog to a Community’ which is a broad canvas. I wrote a compilation of ideas for extending awareness of your blog or site to new communities.

Many of you read Darren’s blog regularly. If you’re not familiar with his work I recommend that you browse his blog (especially if you’re just starting to blog). He has amazing ideas.

Thank you Darren for the opportunity to share my community building ideas with your community. And thank you for introducing your community to my blog & work! That was one of my main points: Collaboration is a great connector.

I hope that you find the ideas useful. Building community is fascinating & very gratifying.

In writing this it occurred to me that I have enough readers to invite guest posts. So I invite you to email me with the topic(s) you’d like to write a guest post on. My email address is on the left under my photo.

Decide on a strategy & build a platform. Toss on some content & mix in some social media tools. And you’re done? ……. not quite! You’re missing the most important ingredient: the one that stirs it all together & serves it up. What is a recipe without a cook? (the dish probably won’t create itself – the ingredients will just sit there).

It’s really important to invest a qualified community manager. They’re the mortar that binds your community together & grows it. Tish Grier has an excellent outline of Seven Traits of Highly Effective Community Managers. It’s focused on journalism application so I’ll generalize her great ideas:

1. Commitment to "the cause". It’s very important for your community manager to believe in your cause. Their communications need to be transparent & authentic. The job has many challenges so they need to inherently believe in their work & the brand.
2. Love people. The position is about connecting & communicating. There is interaction with all types, so a community manager needs to enjoy it. (This is why it’s a great position under marketing).
3. Must enjoy technology. It’s a web 2.0 job. Technology is changing quickly. The tools are constantly shifting & evolving. One has to thoroughly enjoy being immersed. And if your product/brand is technology oriented then it’s natural to be involved in product development & providing feedback.
4. Must understand online culture. Did I mention this a web 2.0 job? Working online is a bit different than face-to-face. A person needs to maintain a sense of humor & not take things personally. Working online requires a level of perceptiveness so that you can interact with all types of people.
5. Powers of Observation. I just mentioned being perceptive but it’s more than that. Providing feedback on trends, monitoring brand & being ever present require one to be ever watchful. As a metacustomer the community manager is the eyes & ears for the company – all teams – and responsible for providing feedback from the customers.
6. Flexibility. Community work is 7 days a week. Checking in on my communities & responding to their needs isn’t a 9 – 5 job. (I do sleep though). But I’m cognizant of the time zones when I add people to teams. It’s nice to have people providing assistance from around the world (so I can sleep!   ).
7. Life experience trumps youthful energy. Tish’s point is to not entrust this important job to an intern or someone who is a short-timer. The more life experiences a person has, the more they have to offer the community.

Scott Moore provides his insights based on her 7 topics.

What characteristics do you feel are essential for a community manager to have?

Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community between individuals within a regional area (such as a neighbourhood) or with a common interest. It is sometimes encompassed under the field of community development.

A wide variety of practices can be utilized for community building, ranging from simple events like potlucks and small book clubs, to larger–scale efforts such as mass festivals and building construction projects that involve local participants rather than outside contractors.

This is my definition: Community building is a process of building a following of people with a common interest around a product/brand, personal brand, blog, or site online.

What do you think of that? please share your ideas. Then we need to identify how it’s accomplished.

For my new readers I want to describe the basis behind the community manager position (the person doing the community building). It’s the why.

Many companies are realizing that they can be out interacting with the advocates of their brand. And some are changing their product development lifecycles based on customer feedback. (It’s shortening that process). So it’s a function of marketing & product development. But the question is, from what department should this happen? (IT, marketing, development, etc). It doesn’t really matter as long as someone is doing it. The customers are creating their own groundswell the way it is (initiating this movement by talking about the brands that they like – word of mouth is not to be ignored & needs to be fostered).

So who should do this? Some companies are adding the Community Manager position. I’ve been working in this position for a software company. I work with customers online & am the ‘meta-customer’ internally. I provide feedback & route info to: cust service, tech support, prod development, QA, marketing, exec level, etc.

There is a process around building that community. Some would say it’s building brand, but it’s so much more than that. It’s getting people to participate and interact each with other. The end result is to create a vibrant community around a person, a product or a brand.

If you have a presence on the web (whether a blog, website or customers discussing your brand) then you should be considering community building strategies to grow your community (identifying where your potential audience is, increasing awareness, driving traffic, etc) as well as using the appropriate social media tools.

So we need to define the online version of ‘practices for community building’. Feel free to change this first part too:

Community building is a process of building a following of people with a common interest around a product/brand, personal brand, blog, or site online.

(outline of how this is accomplished online – utilizing social media tools, providing a platform, contesting, online chats, webinars, providing resources, etc)

I look forward to your help!

Here is a question that’s frequently asked:

I need help getting people to use a forum. I find that people will look at the questions but do not cross the threshold into actually responding to them. I work for a non-profit so the product is essentially engaging people in important regional issues and decisions. Can anyone help me?

Forums are all about people. For every one person posting, there are almost 100 reading. The majority of people are lurking, so how does one get people to come out & play? engage them if you will? Here are some ideas that I’ve used & once you get the ball rolling… it’s a exciting to see the forum take on a personality of it’s own!

1. Be present – as a site owner it’s important that you’re there & active. Get to know your people & they will notice & respond. Make your customers feel special.
2. Engage the people that are active at your forum because they probably love your product. They’re your power users & can help you greatly.
3. Empower your power users – give them a private area in the forum & let them brainstorm. You’ll be amazed at what a group will come up with! Encourage them to keep it simple so no one gets worn out. Have them help moderate.
4. Personalize your forums by trying the following -
   • encourage members to post their picture by providing instructions for uploading an avatar – seeing their photo personalizes the online experience
   • use your name rather than admin. for your username – admin is sterile
   • encourage people to come out of lurking – run games or contests to see who is frequenting your forum. You may be surprised!
     • where to get the prizes? If you don’t have resources, partner with related products & ask them to donate. You’ll be surprised at how many will join your venture.
   • encourage members to put info in their signature
     • for ex: a photography site – they could include their camera, lens info & software (It will encourage conversations amongst members
5. Listen to your customers.
   • Ask them what they’d like to see in the forums.
   • Post a poll of interest to your community
   • Ask them to provide feedback on your product/resources
6. Ask yourself what makes your site unique? or how would you like it to be unique?
   • How are you providing the user with value?
   • Consider what makes your site unique & focus on that. If you can’t think of something – then look around at other’s forums to get ideas
7. Be flexible…. and realize that sometimes you’ll have a great idea & oopsie, things don’t go as planned. But try try again.
8. Be creative… watch what others are doing & gather ideas. I’m a people watcher, can you tell? And I love trying to figure out why things are successful. Plan ahead – this will guarantee success – and make you happier when you’re more relaxed in the execution of your plans.
9. Be transparent – say what you mean & mean what you say. You’ll gain far more respect with all those you work with. And this is obvious, but good business practices are absolutely necessary. Remedy customer service issues quickly & follow up. Even the most negative curmudgeons will post their appreciation which adds value to your forums because it shows that your company is listening to their customers & most importantly *cares*.
10. Other things in no particular order:
    1. offer a freebie
    2. find ways to creatively get people moving thru your forum like a scavenger hunt (they’ll have fun while doing so too!)
    3. send a newsletter out to your members
11. *update* Are you participating in related forums, blogs, etc? That is an excellent way to talk about what your forums/community offer & encourage participation/partnering.

I think what holds site owners back is that they’re afraid to take risks, but consider it an experiment instead! It can be great fun trying new things & going in new directions. It is your community & you know their needs.

Here are some links for more reading:

10 mistakes that will kill a forum

Top 10 lessons I’ve learned about managing a forum

10 tips for promoting your forum

What suggestions do you have for kick starting a community?

• 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?