Creating a community around your brand is a great way to generate sustained, organic interest in your business.
Community Management is the management of the practical elements of that community, such as the platforms it uses. These often include social media such as Facebook, or website-hosted forums.
Here are some tips from the Axel & Associates Branding experts to help your Community Management be as effective as possible!
Community Management Pro Tips & Best Practices
Tip 1: Set guidelines.
As with any program that involves direct community input, it is a good idea to set some guidelines. This helps set appropriate expectations and avoid discussions derailing chaotically. When setting rules and let guidelines, we suggest keeping them to 10 or less and being as clear as possible. You can also explain each rule in a friendly to further clarify them and improve buy-in from participants so that they understand the importance of these rules. Good rules to consider are staying on topic and maintaining a civil tone to avoid conflict.
Tip #2: Always maintain your brand tone.
Remember that the unifying purpose of this community is your brand. As with all branding, it is important to have a clear sense of what your brand is and what it is not. Consider the tone that is most in alignment with your brand, your marketing, logo, slogan, and so on.
Whenever you interact with members of your brand community, you are also representing you brand. It is important to be conscious and consistent in the way you represent your brand and use your “brand voice.” Loosing sight of that risks disengaging people!
Tip #3: Listen to your community.
One of the most important incentives for joining a community is feeling heard. That’s why it is essential to the success of your community management style that participants are responded to quickly. That includes encouragement and gratitude when they are supportive, and thoughtful responses when they raise issues. It is also helpful to have their honest, recurring feedback to new marketing campaigns and rollouts for products and services to spot issues before they become major problems.
Following these three best practices will help you get into the rhythm of setting the right tone for successful community management — and a thriving community. Stay tuned for Part 2!
For personalized branding and marketing strategies suited to your business, reach us at (866-328-4329) or dave@davidaxel.com to schedule a free consultation and map out the best plan for you and your brand!
