There has been recent discussion in the blogosphere about how some companies are abandoning their blogs. And much of it sounds very familiar and is something we have heard in the online community sphere as well. And it’s not surprising. Many companies aren’t quite sure what they are getting into when starting these projects and all too often it goes something like this:
- Company hears a case study success story
- Company decides we should “try” that.
- Company puts existing employee in charge of new initiative often without the proper skills and training or without thinking through how much work it will be.
- Turns out, it’s more work than anticipated.
- Turns out, it’s takes a specialized skill set to do it well.
- Results are not easy to quantify early on.
- Employee gets frustrated. Company gets frustrated. Initiative is dropped.
The good news? For those who think through their community initiatives there is great reward and their communities can be highly successful and add to the businesses bottom line. Check out our recently updated slideshare on Community Management Fundamentals to learn more. We particularly like slides 14 & 15 which illustrate the long tail and power of online communities that come with proper planning, management and time.
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