Have a Social Network inside of your company? See where others have gone right --and wrong.

Archive for the ‘CMAD’ Category

View Comments

A Worldwide Salute to Community Managers

Categories: CMAD, Community ManagerPosted on January 23rd, 2012

It’s the third annual Community Manager Appreciation Day (every fourth Monday of Jan) and I’d like to salute the folks working on the front lines at companies big and small leading the charge.

These folks are critical in the change as companies have moved from the static website to the dynamic human focused social business we’re seeing across every agency.

Charged with the following four key responsibilities: a community advocate, brand evangelist, savvy online communicator, and involved in shaping future products and services they’ve got their hands full. This exciting new role is common at many companies within the social media team, see composition of a social media team, and how community managers fit in.

Yet despite the sexyness of the modern day community manager job, these roles aren’t just “playing on Facebook all day”. They’re plagued with dealing with customer issues after hours (the “burnout”) , and on weekends, learning to manage undesirable community members, and trying to balance the needs of customers and sometimes conservative corporations unwilling to lean towards social.

Despite the upsides, and challenges, there’s a bright future for this role, as they learn to measure based on business goals, tap into the emerging outsourcing service providers, and extend beyond marketing and support to helping define future products based on real-time customer feedback.

A salute to you, Community Managers!

Related Resources

Posted in CMAD, Community Manager | View Comments

View Comments

Wrap Up of 2nd Annual Community Manager Day: Voices Around the World #CMAD

Categories: CMAD, Social MediaPosted on January 23rd, 2011

It’s hard to believe that this desire to thank those on the front lines in digital mediums between customers and companies took off so quickly. The first year, it was just a murmur online and now it’s spread on its own to physical events around the world. I had nothing to do with the first group (Boston) leading the first ever physical event, but then quickly suggested that other regions (even my local area SF) to step up.

Blogs, Tweets, Pictures, and Videos of CMAD around the Globe:
Below I’ll curate the interesting voices around the world at the 2nd annual Community Manager Appreciation Day.

Find events and voices

Press

Discussions about the role

Select Tweets:
I’m watching the various streams, and it’s very hard to keep up (data from Alterian found over 2000 tweets), but here are some select tweets.

Pics

Kindly leave a comment below and I’ll aggregate into this post.

What’s success? In year 3 and beyond it just happens on its own, and I don’t have to promote if further, people forget that I spurred it. The real testament if our friends at Hallmark are able to get behind it.

And most importantly, a sincere thanks to those Community Managers are forging the relationships between customers and companies using these new technologies.

Thank you.


Community Manager Appreciation Day, 2011

Stats how the day unfolded online from Alterian, see blog.


Spiceworks, an online community for the IT community literally rolls out the red carpet for Nic, their CM, more details, and read Nic’s perspective (be sure to read the various comments from all threads).

Want to hear what the job is really like? CA’s Community Managers show how they reach thousands of customers each day,
more info here.

Community Manager Insights – 2011

Community Manager Insights from Get Satisfaction

Edelman Digital Celebrates Community Manager Appreciation Day

View more presentations from Edelman Digital.

Edelman Celebrates Community Managers with Quotes from the Industry


Boston was the first group to announce the first physical meetup and had over 120 registrants, see pics above, more here from SMC.

The Online Community Manager
From Dion Hinchliffe, at ZDNet about the Community Manager’s many roles

Get in my head! Community Managers from Get Satisfaction
Get Satisfaction has an interesting infographic on this role. Yes, glitter farts.

Happy CMAD from Cisco
Cisco salutes CMs with this graphic, lasso time.


Africa’s first Community Manager’s Day is document on this site, videos embedded above

Posted in CMAD, Social Media | View Comments

View Comments

Second Annual Community Manager Appreciation Day: Jan 24th, 2011 (#CMAD)

Categories: CMAD, Social MediaPosted on December 20th, 2010

Last year was the first time we’ve recognized the folks on the front lines connecting with customers in a human way using online tools. It’s that time again this year, that on the fourth Monday of every January we recognize community managers. You can read about the first time we did this in 2010, thanking all those who are trying to make customer experiences online more human.

Interestingly, one CEO of a social media vendor teased me for starting this off last year, gently ribbing me “wow I have so many community managers, do I have to all give them raises?”, I replied, “It’s about appreciation, as we know they internally have to harbor a lot of emotional customers, endless work schedule, and are contacted from all types of accounts to help customers”.

It’s simple to do: On Community Manager Appreciation Day (Jan 24th, 2011), just send a genuine thank you to those (at your company, or someone who has helped you as a customer) that are working to make a difference in how companies build relationships with their customers.

Update: Citi’s Frank Eliason is behind this idea, Dell’s Bill Johnston, Heather Strout at the Farland Group, Alison a Community lead at Cisco, as well as Telligent, with interesting commentary actual community managers in this  Social Media Club interview.

Physical Events Around the World:

North America

Europe

Middle East

Africa

Asia

  • ?

Note: this started off with Boston kicking it off, where there are many community related companies, which quickly spread around the tech hot spots in NY, Austin, SF and then beyond.

Posted in CMAD, Social Media | View Comments

View Comments

Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD (Every 4th Monday of Jan)

Categories: CMAD, Community Manager, Community Marketing, Social MediaPosted on January 25th, 2010

Every fourth Monday of January, let’s take the time to pause, recognize, and celebrate the efforts community managers around the world to improve customer experiences.

Passionate About Customers
The title matters not, whether it’s online customer advocate, online customer support, company evangelist, disgruntled customer handler. Instead, focus on what they do: A customer advocate willing to help regardless of where they are online. Learn more by reading the Four Tenants of Community Managers.

Yet, Community Managers Don’t Have it Easy
Yet despite their admirable intentions, we know they face several uphill challenges:

  • Many challenges are internal: Most companies want to hide customer issues, and shuffle them into existing support systems. Additionally, measuring ROI in new media when a company wants to keep the kimono shut, increasingly becomes a challenge.
  • Seemingly never ending job: Customers never stop having problems, and with the global internet, the questions, complains, and inquires never stop.
  • Emotional drain impacts lifestyle: The sheer emotional strain of dealing with a hundreds of yelling customers and the occasional trouble maker will take a strain on anyone.
  • Privacy risks in the world of transparency: In an effort to build trust with customers, they expose their real name exposing their personal –and family– privacy forever on.

Now, Recognize A Community Manager, Every 4th Monday of January
While we agree with common manners to always thank someone after they’ve helped you, just take a moment to pause.. and think. Why would someone willingly go through the above mentioned challenges? Because of their passion to improve the company, and help customers have a better relationship. In many cases, a genuine ‘thank you’ can mean more than a yearly customer satisfaction survey. Take the time to recognize and thank the community manager that may have helped you while you during your time of need.

  • If you’re a customer, and your problem was solved by a community manager be sure to thank them in the medium that helped you in. Use the hashtag #CMAD.
  • If you’re a colleague with community manager, take the time to understand their passion to improve the customer –and company experience. Copy their boss.
  • If you’re a community manager, stop and breathe for a second, and know that you’re appreciated. Hug your family.

This isn’t just about a single role, but a bigger trend of making product and services more efficient, and thereby our world a little bit more efficient and sustainable. The comments are wide open if you wanted to share your experience working with community manager, or as one, feel free to thank them below.

Supported by Bill Johnston, Connie Benson, Rachel Happe, Jake McKee, Sean O’Driscoll, Lane Becker, Dawn Foster, Thor Muller, Amy Muller and Jeremiah Owyang, as we recognize and salate community managers!

Related Links

  • HRZone recognizes Becky Midgley
  • Jake McKee says this is (just about) the loneliest job
  • Bill Johnston, recognizes community managers
  • Amy Muller, Get Satisfaction contemplates where community management is and where it’s heading.
  • Amy also asks the community to showcase her community management heros.
  • Dawn Foster asks if you’ve thanked your community manager today.
  • Dawn shouts out to community managers.
  • Sam reasons why the community manager role is essential.
  • Connie Benson, a great friend, shouts out to community managers.
  • Rachel Happe gives reasons why we should pause and thank community managers
  • Connie Bensen of Alterian sent me this screenshot of mentions

    • Posted in CMAD, Community Manager, Community Marketing, Social Media | View Comments

    site design by studionashvegas proudly powered by WordPress