We were at the Community2.0 conference in Las Vegas. Many of us are brands or marketers. We want to engage with or build community to meet some marketing goal - itself designed around a business goal. We may want more loyal customers, a way to activate brand advocates, build brand reputation and value, and even sell products and services.
For marketers at a community conference, we needed to talk about real-world practices where we have engaged with communities to get business done. We need to go beyond community 101. We accepted the folllowing:
- we need to serve the authentic needs of community members
- our solution is not simply shoe-horning display advertising into community spaces
- activating and stewarding community takes a new expertise
I had four experts on our panel and another 50 in the room Each understands a marketer's perspective.
Amy Dalton, Senior Director of Marketing, Topix, LLC.
Peter Friedman, Chairman and CEO, LiveWorld, Inc.
Aaron Strout, Vice President, New Media, Mzinga
Dave Carter, Founder, and CTO, Awareness, Inc.
Our session the Insider's Guide for Marketers using "Community" - we wanted to hear what each has learned from developing or running communities with marketers. And we got great experiences for the community of experts throughout the room (there remains a great Tweme here)
Insider's Guide for Marketers using "Community"
- Avoid registration as it becomes a barrier to entry that slows down or can choke the community.
- Make the right choice about partnering vs. creating features for that community. Topix tried to create classifieds for their community when it turned out to be more efficient to partner.
- Don't try too hard to organize the chaos. Rather use it to your advantage. The message here is don't try to over control the community.
- It's a myth that communities don't like advertisers or advertising. If it's done right they not only tolerate it but they actually like it.
- Seek and embrace criticism don't simply allow it.
- Invite them to co-create as they become "owners" and ambassadors
- Use Twitter (there was a solid core of us at the conference "covering" our experience there via #c20 Tweme)
- Embrace as many points of enthusiasm as possible. Wherever people are expressing themselves - the core community, Facebook groups, Twitter memes - then embrace that activity somehow.
- Create community around brand-relevant topics that you find are already relevant to people (vs. communities directly around a product brand)
- Know who you are inviting to dinner and actively seek them out. If you want a thoughtful PBS-like crowd then design for them and go find them.
- Don't get lost in developing features. Spend your time getting people to express themselves and becoming engaged in dialogue.
- Know which KPIs matter. Start by deciding which metrics from the community will indicate success and progress - there are no relevant standards.
- Build your own ROI model. Use Charlene Li's ROI of Blogging for reference.
- Use studies that demonstrate the business value of community members (e.g. - better customers, more likely to advocate, lifetime value, etc...)
It was a lively discussion. These points are not a complete guide by any means. They are the practical insights of a few, great experts teased out in a great collaborative session at Community 2.0.
Useful Links:
B2B Marketers Fail The Community Marketing Test
Forrester Report: Online Community Best Practices
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