Guest blog post by James LaCourte, Online Strategist and Community Manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina. He blogs at The Gaspar and you can find him on LinkedIn.
5 ways your community can be more engaging and still keep your sanity!
Community Manager Appreciation Day is here again but I don’t think most people outside the social media realm even know about it. Community Managers are the unsung heroes working behind the scenes to nurture and grow the community. It’s a tough job that many underestimate the skills and time required. In a single day you can go from feeling energized to worn down and lonely. But it’s worth it. That’s why whenever two Community Managers get together there’s an instant connection. They know what it takes and the rewards to be gained from such a role.
Here’s 5 ways you can help your community be more engaging and still keep your sanity!
1. Set the tone Define the purpose and set the stage by planting the seeds of discussion.
2. Make visitors feel at home Recruit and welcome new members. Give them a tour or better yet have another member mentor them.
3. Connect people and ideas
The key to any community is in the relationships among participants. Building relationships online takes time. A successful Community Manager can foster relationships by connecting ideas and members to each other.
4. Steering conversation Sometimes conversations need a little help getting started. Other times conversations need to be steered in another direction or cooled down. Do it with confidence and creativity.
5. Shining the light on others
I think one of the most powerful tactics a Community Manager can remember is to find ways to empower and praise community members. Let them shine in the light, allow them to become advocates for the community and in the end the more advocates a community has the easier your job will be.
So from one Community Manager to another I wish you a wonderful day and know that what you do may not be understood by many, but you have a small group of peers who understand and are here to help. That’s the great thing about the Community Roundtable, it’s a support group for all of us crazy people who took on this role, many of us not knowing what we were getting into!
Enjoy your day!
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