The Community Roundtable

Empowering global community leaders with research-backed resources, training, and tools.

CMGT 101: Community Value Statements

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Note: This content appears in a slightly different form in our ebook: CMGT 101: 17 CommunityLeaders Share Their Secrets for Success.CMGT 101 is packed with engagement ideas, governance tips, career advice, and more from community leaders working at innovative organizations like CA Technologies, Aetna, Electronic Arts, SAP, Pearson, Akamai, and Atlassian. 

Download the ebook here for free. 

PattyMcEnaney_CMGT101

Patty McEnaney is the Director of Knowledge Management & Social Strategy at Envestnet. She shared her best practices for creating a standard purpose/value statement for a community management program.

The process of creating a statement of Shared Purpose/Shared Value should precede the formation of any community. It is the raison d’etre. To quote Rachel Happe, “Shared purpose is why you are coming together and shared value is what you will do together to address it.” Using a format like The Community Roundtable’s helps you identify your community’s organizational objectives and member objectives.

Do your research.

Start by doing user research with potential or current community members about what they want in a community.

Do look for examples.

Immerse yourself in the use cases of other successful communities to be able to see the possibilities for your own.

Don’t move too fast.

This is not an exercise you can do in one hour. This is a strategic process that requires research, feedback, identification of best practices and the involvement of key stakeholders who want to see the community succeed.

Don’t mistake your software for your community.

Investing in a community requires much more than an investment of software. The time invested in creating this value statement will pay off in the long term as it helps you identify all the ways your community (and you) adds value.

CMGT 101: Moderation in Online Communities

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Note: This content appears in a slightly different form in our ebook: CMGT 101: 17 Community Leaders Share Their Secrets for Success.CMGT 101 is packed with engagement ideas, governance tips, career advice, and more from community leaders working at innovative organizations like CA Technologies, Aetna, Electronic Arts, SAP, Pearson, Akamai, and Atlassian. Download the ebook here for free. 

Jerry Green is a Community Strategist at The Community Roundtable. He shared his best practices for moderation in online communities.

Why is it moderation important to the overall health of an online community?

A well-moderated community provides a welcome place for members and guests. Good moderation builds trust among the members and ensures that the community is a safe place to engage. Once assured that a community is safe, users will feel comfortable sharing and the quality of the engagement improves.

Moderation in Online Communities Tip #1: Do welcome new members to the community.

This is especially important when launching a new community. Acknowledge new members, reiterate the purpose of the community and encourage them to participate.

Moderation in Online Communities Tip #2: Do show members how to participate. 

Give new members a list of three things to do. These can include: Read the guidelines for participating; like a post, you value or enjoy; search for a topic of interest; respond to a post you can contribute to.

Moderation in Online Communities Tip #3: Do be sure you understand the question or issue.

Before you respond to a member’s post, read the post again. Especially in a customer support community, it’s important to show that you understand the question and are genuinely interested in assisting. Too often I see a member respond “That’s not what I was asking. Did you even read my post?”

Moderation in Online Communities Tip #4: Do establish clear guidelines for participation.

Your guidelines should focus on encouraging the behavior you’d like members to exhibit in addition to discouraging the conduct that is prohibited. Be firm and consistent in applying the guidelines to all members. When dealing with undesirable member behavior, use the guidelines as justification for corrective action.

Moderation in Online Communities Tip #5: Don’t be a robot.

Respond in a sincere, personal voice. Some community moderation platforms provide the functionality of selecting a pre populated response. Avoid using “canned” responses unless volume necessitates it. Even when you’re using an automated response – take the time to make sure it is in the tone of your community so it won’t feel robotic (unless robots are your thing. In which case: be-boop-boop.)

 

Mastering Moderation

CMGT 101: Building Narratives in Your Online Community

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Note: This content appears in a slightly different form in our ebook: CMGT 101: 17 Community Leaders Share Their Secrets for Success.CMGT 101 is packed with engagement ideas, governance tips, career advice, and more from community leaders working at innovative organizations like CA Technologies, Aetna, Electronic Arts, SAP, Pearson, Akamai, and Atlassian. Download the ebook here for free. 

Dina Vekaria is a Community Manager at Pearson. She shared best practices for building narratives in online communities.

Why should community managers focus on building narratives in their online community programs?

At Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, we have incredible stories. Vlogs (video blogs) are one way we are telling those stories and building our brand. We use our most effective storytellers, our employees, to share our vision. The vlog posts to our community, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Do Plan in Advance

Plan three months of vlog content in advance. By knowing what you are covering in advance, you can begin to ask colleagues for contributions with plenty of time to compile and edit the content.

Do Control the Narrative

If you’re the vlogger, storyboard or script the vlog from start to finish, right down to where you’re going to insert your colleagues’ sections. This way, when you record your part of the vlog, you know what you’re saying and can even film future vlogs in advance. For January 2018’s vlog, I storyboarded the entire vlog in November, assigned sections to my colleagues, and filmed my sections prior to going on leave for the holidays. This was great for two reasons: I got to enjoy my holiday and, more importantly, the vlog was posted on time.

Do Strive for Diversity

The purpose of my vlog is to highlight our Pearson employees, so I include our people in every single vlog. Consider including colleagues who may not normally have a voice, because they work remotely or are on a team you are unfamiliar with. Ensure you’re inclusive of colleagues from all over the world. If they’re comfortable, have your colleague speak in their first language as that helps show how diverse your workplace is.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Started

If you want to vlog and don’t have filming or editing skills, don’t let that deter you. I knew very little about filming and editing, but everything I have learned so far is from using free resources, like YouTube. There are thousands of videos showing you how to produce a video and, as long as you are committed to the project, the rest is easy enough to pick up. It doesn’t have to start off polished, you work towards that, one vlog at a time.

Don’t Be Afraid to Let the Real You Shine

A vlog is a way to showcase the personalities of the people you feature, including yourself. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, even if you get a little silly; include the silly in the bloopers at the end. Be your authentic self and allow the colleagues you have highlighted to be their authentic selves, and nothing but good can come from it.

CMGT 101: Why use storytelling in your online community?

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Note: This content appears in a slightly different form in our ebook: CMGT 101: 17 Community Leaders Share Their Secrets for Success. CMGT 101 is packed with engagement ideas, governance tips, career advice, and more from community leaders working at innovative organizations like CA Technologies, Aetna, Electronic Arts, SAP, Pearson, Akamai, and Atlassian. Download the ebook here for free. 

Chris Catania is the Community Team Lead and Strategist at ESRI. He shared best practices for using storytelling in a powerful way in your online community.

Why is storytelling a powerful tool for community managers?

Stories move us. And community professionals must prioritize and master the art of storytelling in their daily work. Storytelling is vital to communicating the business value of community to stakeholder audiences. An inspiring well told community story can win minds and transform an organization.

Do Demonstrate Value

Focus on WIIFW: What’s In It for We. Appeal to the shared common good not just individual gain and you’ll connect with your audience and make a greater impact.

Do Target Your Message

Focus on having different stories to share with different people. Always be ready to share your stories at a moment’s notice in a meeting or in the elevator.

Do Seek The Right Stories Out

Stories don’t just come to you. You have to know what stories you’re looking for and then go get them. You have to put on your journalist hat, ask the right questions, be constantly curious and discover the gems yourself. And once you find the story you have to mold, shape and refine it so it’s ready to share. But don’t wait for perfection. Sometimes just beginning and sharing it over time is part of refining your story.

Don’t let your story get stale

Evolve your story. Adapt and grow your community story to show how your community is growing and evolving, too.