It's not about you - community management for a brand

1. It’s Not About You:
Community Management
for a Brand
Jessica Spiegel &
Jennifer Dombrowski

2. Jessica Spiegel Currently:
• Freelance writer
• Freelance social media/community
manager
• Plansify community manager
• Italophile, singer, Sazerac enthusiast
Former:
• TBEX community manager
• BootsnAll community manager & staff
writer
• American Cancer Society community
manager (pre-internet)
@andiamo
jessicatravels.com

3. Jennifer
Dombrowski Currently:
• Social media strategist and
communications manager for Grand
Canyon University
• Blogger and content creator
• Shoe-lover, Northern Lights chaser,
oenophile, hiker
Former:
• Customer experience manager
• Employee training manager
@jdomb
jdombstravels.com

4. What is a community manager?
storyteller
marketer
insights
forager
customer
host
therapist liaison

5. What is the brand’s community goal?
customer
service
marketing
content
public
fun
education relations

7. Consumers today expect customer service
over social channels.
of consumers now
expect companies to
provide customer service
via social media. 55%
15%increase in the churn
Failure to respond via social channels leads to
rate for existing
customers.
Synthetix 2012/Gartner 2013

8. “The community decides when it’s a
community. You don’t.”
Mitch Joel, Digital
Marketer & Author

9. Community Strategy Development

10. Tools for Community Strategy

11. It’s Not About You
● Go with the plan (even when it’s not yours)
● Brand sets the social tone

15. It’s Not About You
● Go with the plan (even when it’s not yours)
● Brand sets the social tone
● Grab company name on all platforms, &
then go where the audience is
● Be a social media diplomat
● Remember: You’re not the decision-maker

16. It’s Not (Just) About You
● Do not share only brand content
● Do not share only brand content
● FTLOG, DO NOT SHARE ONLY BRAND
CONTENT

18. It’s Not (Just) About You

20. Community Teamwork
Benefits of Teamwork
• Diverse interest areas
• Focus on different social
platforms
• Tight-knit team will always
outperform individual
superstar
• Extended service hours &
real-time marketing

21. 32% of people who had ever attempted to
contact a brand, product, or company through
social media for customer support expected a
reply within 30 minutes.
SproutSocial “The Social
Habit” Report 2012

23. Community Teamwork
Benefits of Teamwork
• Diverse interest areas
• Focus on different social
platforms
• Tight-knit team will always
outperform individual
superstar
• Round-the-clock attention &
real-time marketing
Challenges of Teamwork
• Maintaining one brand voice
• Cross-posting, multiple posts
• Thinking someone else is
taking care of it
• Wait, who answered that
question?

25. Tools for Community Teamwork

27. Knowing When to Shut Up
(AKA Crisis Management)
● Pause schedules during world events

29. Knowing When to Shut Up
(AKA Crisis Management)
● Pause schedules during world events
● Don’t make everything a marketing opportunity

31. Knowing When to Shut Up
(AKA Crisis Management)
● Pause schedules during world events
● Don’t make everything a marketing opportunity
● Don’t mix business with pleasure

34. Knowing When to Shut Up
(AKA Crisis Management)
● Pause schedules during world events
● Don’t make everything a marketing opportunity
● Don’t mix business with pleasure
● Make sure accounts are secure

37. Knowing When to Shut Up
(AKA Crisis Management)
● Pause schedules during world events
● Don’t make everything a marketing opportunity
● Don’t mix business with pleasure
● Make sure accounts are secure
● Don’t try to have the last word with trolls
● Understand hashtags before using them

40. “For the last time, brands of the internet, pay
attention to what you’re doing. Or just do us
all a favor and stop tweeting.”
Jared Keller, Mic.com

41. It’s Not About You...
...Except When it Is.

43. ευχαριστώ
Jessica Spiegel
@andiamo
@italyexplained
jessicatravels.com
italyexplained.com
Jennifer Dombrowski
@jdomb
jdombstravels.com