The community manager often lives at the sharp end of business practise – which means balancing the demands of your bosses and the expectations of your community members. It can be exhilarating and exhausting as Scott Drummond has explained previously. Somewhere in this sandwich of innovation topped with a lettuce leaf of frustration is the diversity that constantly attracts curiosity seekers to these roles. But what is the business of a community manager? This report from the Community Roundtable does a good job of explaining the state of play – with contributions from respected practitioners working in agencies, in small business and in the enterprise.
Brands try to inspire excitement among their communities so that their fans and supporters will do the selling for them. That’s called advocacy, and it’s much more powerful than self-promotion. There are of course many ways to cultivate that fan base and get your advocates motivated
Community websites have come a long way since we first stumbled upon chatboards, posted our questions and marveled at the influx of information.
Today’s online communities are beautiful to look at and easy to join, but the real trick is getting users to participate, and many sites are still struggling to keep users engaged.
I’ve learned quite a bit in my dealings with large and small companies in social media. Mostly that there are still some pretty dangerous misconceptions about the best way to build a community. While companies may understand the importance of getting involved, they’re still not getting what it means to fully become a “social” company. Below are five common misconceptions I see businesses making in regard to social media and community building, and how you can beat them.