The warning

Summer 2009

» Habitat tried to capitalise on trending hashtags to promote its competition

Results in backlash for its followers

» ‘For shame. Doesn’t your own product inspire?’

Brand Republic

» ‘An example on how not to use social media’

We know what makes your customers click.

The community

manager

More than just...

Someone hanging around on Facebook, Twitter, etc, all day

Good community managers aren’t tasked with just broadcasting company news, they have to create meaningful

discussions around topics that are important to the overall community

Understand the brand Lead

Develop content Analyse

Mediate Strategise

Be empathetic Be relevant

We know what makes your customers click.

Before you start

Make it easier on yourself

Must have

» Social media policy

» Hootsuite (or similar)

» A listening tool

» Guidelines for participation

Nice to have

» Tool for scheduling activity

Have a plan

Why do you want to grow a community?

What do you want to get out of it?

Do you know what your members will get out of it?

Do you have a conversation strategy?

And if so, make sure you are being a little selfish with it

I, we or it?

Is your brand an ‘I’ or a ‘we’?

What is ‘I’ or ‘we’ like?

You are whatever your brand needs you to be

Whoever you are, it’s not all about you

Whatever you decide to be, be consistent

We know what makes your customers click.

Good community

management

Sell (but not in the usual way)

You’re likely here to sell – there is no shame in it

Don’t focus on it, but don’t shy away from it either

The trick is to determine how you can create this emotional bond between your product and communities

Get involved

Be part of the community, not the controller of it

But lead by example

Encourage discussion

And occasionally shape it for your own benefit

Be relevant and frequent

Know your audience and build content around them

Be as frequent as you need to be

Reward loyal members

Loyal members are worth their weight in gold

Through time they will generate content for you

And will act as brand advocates

But don’t encourage the haters

They will only waste your time

However if you must deal with a hater

Focus on the resolution

Reply quickly, reply always

Even when you don’t have the answer

Don’t blame or justify, fix

And never, never, ever delete the negative interactions

Above all, keep calm and never react emotionally

Admit mistakes and apologise

And finally

If you are off on holiday, make sure someone is there to

take your place

You have spent a lot of time growing your community

You will have set expectations

Make sure they are always met

We know what makes your customers click.

Be everything you

want your community

to be

Let’s discuss… @EmsGlasgow

SSD