2015 New Year's Resolutions for Community Managers
Unless you’re managing forums for this season’s hot toy line, you’re likely experiencing a lull in community activity during the holidays. So while your community members take a break from their computers to engage in holiday festivities, this is the perfect time to sit back with an eggnog latté, survey your performance during the past year, and resolve to update your community building strategies in 2015.
Resolve to plan ahead. Pull up your community's stats and look over the trends in engagement during the past year. Were there spikes and flat spots? Do you notice seasons or times of the week when activity was particularly strong or weak? Compare member engagement to rhythms in your industry, such as peak holiday shopping trends, tax preparation season or weekends vs. weekdays. Based on what you notice, sketch out a year’s calendar designed to increase engagement during low times with enhanced content, member contests or news-related posts. Make a note of historically high traffic periods and schedule extra help to answer queries or welcome newcomers.
Decide where to spend time. It's an oft-repeated adage that community-building takes time, but not every stratagem is destined for success. The holiday lull is a good time to evaluate the past year’s initiatives. What was successful? What bombed? Where did you get the best ROI, not only of your financial resources, but also of your time? Make a list of those strategies that created a buzz in your community without exhausting you or your staff. If you dislike engaging in social media, for example, but feel it is a must in your industry, make plans to delegate the chore to volunteers or staff who enjoy the interaction. That will free you up to make an even greater impact with your own investment of time in the community-building activities that you do enjoy.
Get out of the office. Whether you’re a freelance virtual assistant, a home-based volunteer for a non-profit, or a high-rise corporate team member, getting out from behind your screen and interacting live can do a world of good for your virtual community building. Build an in-person member networking meet-up into your quarterly calendar or organize an awards event to highlight important community milestones. Plan a fundraising gala or pick one member a week to meet for coffee. And introducing key stake-holders to one another is not only a proven method for growing online communities. Community managers also reap the rewards of increased energy and inspiration from live interaction with their communities.
Not currently experiencing the holiday community blues? Good for you! These resolutions can be implemented any time of the year for increased productivity.
From of all of us here at Forumbee, happy community-building in 2015!