5. Why do you need one?
Build trust, which helps build brand
recognition, loyalty and affinity
Obtain a deeper understanding of your
audience’s needs and wants
Create personal, one-to-one
relationships with potential customers
People want and expect it
7. Your opportunity
Build relationships and trust with your
target audience
They can be your best allies, sharing
your information with others who trust
them
Social media allows them to pass that
along to hundreds more people
9. Goals
What do you hope to accomplish?
(Think concrete, tangible and
quantifiable)
How will you measure results against
your goals?
What benchmarks will define success?
Be prepared for these to evolve and
change.
10. A few things that matter …
Number/percentage of members who
participate regularly
How many discussions are started by
members
Amount of growth that is member-
driven
Quality of ideas and feedback the
community generates
11. … and not so much
Number of members
Page views
Ad clicks
12. Have a purpose
What matters to the people you’re
trying to reach?
Find it, don’t force it
Build your community around
something your target audience
cares about
13. Why people join communities
For entertainment or enjoyment
To connect with others
To fix something
To improve themselves
How can you satisfy one of these desires?
14. A business-centric approach
Restrains communities to benefit
your business
Puts your interests ahead of your
audience’s interests
Kills participation and growth
If you’re only interested in moving
product, an online community won’t
work for you.
15. Complete this sentence:
“People will join and participate in
my community because ______.”
(The more specific, the better)
16. Identify your community manager(s)
If no one is responsible for
management, then no one is
responsible for a lack of management.
Besides, someone has to take on all
this work.
17. Your community manager is:
The party host
An active and high-profile community
member
Community advocate
Brand evangelist
The “voice” of your brand
18. He or she should be:
Friendly
Smart
Patient
Creative
Proactive
Funny
Articulate
An excellent writer
Knowledgeable about your brand
21. Research and discover
Audience
Relevant topics and issues
Influencers
Technologies and platforms
Interests
Motivations
Personalities
22. Tools
Google Alerts
Twitter Search
TweetBeep
Socialmention
Google+
Technorati
LinkedIn Answers and Groups
WeFollow
Google Keywords and Insights
23. Where is your audience?
Social media
Blogs
Forums
Video
Photos
Review sites
Find them.
Follow them.
Listen to them.
24. Listen carefully
What topics generate the most
discussion?
Use this information to shape your
messaging strategy
25. Why listening matters
They may be interested in your
company, product or industry (your
target audience)
Helps define and refine your target
audience
They may not be who you expected
26. Influencers
Recognizable
Greater than average reach or impact
through word of mouth
Their opinions matter to others
Engaged in conversations with
hundreds or thousands of people
27. Why do you need influencers?
When they talk, people listen
They may talk about – or to – you
More people will be aware of you
More people will join your community
29. Identifying influencers
Where do you find information that’s
relevant to your industry or niche?
These are some of your influencers
They’re talking to your influencers.
They’re talking about your influencers.
30. Your messaging toolbox
Key words
Key messages
Protocol
Engaging
Responding
Escalating
31. What is good content?
Speaks to audience’s interests
Is community driven
Fills a need
Sparks discussion
Establishes you as an expert in your field
Positions you as a valuable resource
Tells a story
33. What’s a good content strategy?
Focus on the goals of your audience and
your company
Find a unique angle
Don’t try to be everything to everyone
Drive traffic to other pages and channels
Mix it up
Less about you, more about your
audience
34. Ask yourself:
What value does this bring to my
community?
Why would my community members
care?
What kind of conversation could this
generate?
35. Seed initial content
No one wants to be first
We all want to be part of something
bigger than ourselves
People don’t come back to an empty
party twice
37. Pre-launch checklist
Goals and metrics to measure
Purpose
Manager
Target audience
Influencers
Relevant topics and issues
Messaging strategy/voice
Set up social media and other
necessary accounts
Seed initial content
39. Launch
“Officially” activate channels
Reach out to and interact with your
target audience and influencers
Invite them to join your community
40. Remember:
A polite, effective invitation
doesn’t include a sales pitch
41. Engagement matters
Promote
community and
attract new
members
Attract people
with shared
interests
Foster honest
conversation
42. Wallflowers need not apply
Ask open-ended, thought-provoking
questions
Conduct polls
Offer incentives
Join in others’ conversations
Become a trusted friend
43. Responding and interacting
Communication is a two-way street
People want to know they matter
Immediacy is key: respond quickly to
complaints, endorsements or any kind
of mentions.
A response, especially a fast response,
will build or strengthen trust
45. When responding…
Be positive
Be transparent
Be honest
Be timely
Be helpful
When in doubt, revert to real life
46. Negative feedback
Balance between moderating (reactive)
and managing (proactive)
Often the best course of action is no
action
Know when (if ever) to delete a post
ALWAYS save a screenshot before
deleting a post
Never get defensive
47. The hardest word to say
If you make a mistake, own up to it
Swallow your pride
Be helpful
Make it right
49. Trial and error
Who your audience is
What content resonates with your
audience
When and how often to share and
interact
Where your audience hangs out
Response time
Escalation (as necessary)
50. Change happens
Tools, services and networks are
constantly evolving, which means your
community will evolve too
Expect and be prepared for change,
especially community-driven change
If something isn’t working, don’t be
afraid to ask the community what
they’d like to see
51. If you remember nothing else …
Be respectful
Be genuine
Be helpful
Step outside your comfort zone
Don’t fear funny
Take risks (within reason)
Give up control
Be human