Framework for training on the essentials parts of Online Community Management. This framework was used in a facilitated workshop where participants were actively involved and experienced: - Difference between a following and a community. - Why it is important to be very clear on the target group, the mission and the values in a community. - What is takes to create a safe community for sharing information. Participants learned about: - Community KPI's. - What community tasks to focus on. - How to advance the community to the next phase. - To tap into the wisdom of the group and community.

1. Online Community Management
Turning a ‘following’ into a community

2. Marja Godvliet
WE-Club.EU
@marjagodvliet
marjagodvliet@gmail.com

3. What is a community?
1. common interest +
2. specific place +
3. relationships
More revenue, lower (aquisition) cost and
achieving mission through input and co-
creation of the community.

4. Essential elements community
● User Generated Content
● Interaction between members
● Offline gatherings
● Information flow (outside <-> inside)

5. Following Vs Community:
Following Community
Short-term Long-term
Quick growth Slow growth
Focus on growth Focus on engagement
Unlimited # members Limited # members
Limited interaction between members High interactions between members
Fixed strategy Emergent strategy
Easy Hard
Coca-Cola Innocent Drinks
Develop audiences for products Develops products for the audience
Content about topic Content about community
Centralized control Share power with top members
Reactive to questions Stimulating discussions
Any products Sociable products
Audience wants info about products Audience wants info about each other
Build relationships with group as a single entity Build strong relationships with top members

6. Motivation for members
● Power and influence (self-efficacy)
to make an impact in the world around us
● Fame and status seeking (appreciation)
to increase our status within the community
● Affiliation (belonging)
to make friends

7. Assignment: Define target group

8. CM framework

9. Strategy
● Channel objectives
● Analyse health & progress (Growth, Activity,
Sense of community, ROI)
● Apply suitable strategy -> 5 examples
● Action plan calender
https://www.feverbee.com/how-to-build-an-online-community/
http://course.feverbee.com/PSCommunityStrategyTemplate.pdf

10. Community Health KPI
Quantitative
Members = registration
Content = posts and views over time
Traffic = page views
Responsiveness = time to first response
Interaction = nr. unique members and nr. messages in a thread
Liveliness = average nr. of posts per film
http://www.lithium.com/download?p=/pdfs/whitepapers/Lithium-Community-
Health-Index_v1AY2ULb.pdf

11. Community Health KPI
Qualitative
What is being commented?
Are new posts and comments relevant?
Do members interact and how?
Who are the key members?
Ask the members for instance in a survey.

12. Conversion funnel
co-created services/products,
revenue
18-24
months
#idea creation, downloads
# interaction shares, likes,
comments
9 months
% active members
# posts, self starting dialogue
# subscriptions
# views
start

13. Community lifecycle
Three ingredients for
bigger and better
communities.
https://www.feverbee.com/the-online-community-lifecycle/

14. Time allocation

15. Assignment:
● What can you do to convert visitors into
members? = Activation
● What can you do to proceed your channels
community to the next life cycle?

16. Outreach...
If the content is about the community, the
members will do the outreach for you!

17. Content
● News. Short posts highlighting what's new in the community.
● Announcements. Major announcements about the channel, community, or sector.
● Feature Articles. Interviews, analyses, reviews, previews, in-depth features, polls etc...
● Guest Columns. User generated content with members sharing their predictions, experiences, or
thoughts on different issues.
● Classifieds. Member to member sales or company to member sales.
● Statements. Community statements on topical issues.
● Promotions. Unique opportunities/deals exclusive to community members.
● Miscellaneous. There is a range of things here....

18. Questions Illuminata
1. How do you ensure of a consistent tone on a community page that has several different administrators?
CMX Hub -> create a Wiki and draft text for the different circumstances of your community.
2. Are there tips you could give us on building a community from scratch? (For instance, which comes first, the content or the
followers?)
First is the mission, the WHY. Take the Lean start-up approach. Work towards first 50 members -> personal network!
3. Are there any boundaries that you wouldn’t cross on social media?
That depends on the channel. Take the time to discuss the norms and values the with the creator/brand. Co-create and evaluate the first
posts and comments.
4. Do you know of any cross-culture differences in handling communities? (Our biggest communities are in US, Brazil, Russia and
Japan).
I can’t tell you the difference. Get in touch with native CM’s online and find out!
5. Could you advise on methods of dealing with negativity and hate in a channel community?
(Co-)create house rules and obey them firmly from the start. But watch out: A good online discussion can generate a lot of activity!
6. How do you manage a community on behalf of somebody else?
Priority nr. 1 - You need to have a healthy interest in the subject and you must love the target group!

19. Examples online communities
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cmxhub/
https://www.threadless.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.nl/
http://www.baristaexchange.com/
http://forum.viva.nl/

20. Sources
http://cmxhub.com/
Twitter - #cm #cmgr #cmgrhangout
https://www.feverbee.com/
http://experts.feverbee.com/
http://www.communityroundtable.com/
http://thecollaborativestartup.com/
https://moz.com/blog
http://www.frankwatching.com/
http://www.meetup.com/Community-Managers-Amsterdam/
http://communitymanagerappreciationday.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cmxhub/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/adminsfeedback/
….