What Would A Passionate Community Manager Do?

If there is one single trait between communities that succeed and communities that don’t, it’s the passion of the person in charge.

Communities developed by amateurs (unpaid, but passionate, hobbyists) succeed because of the amateur’s passion. The amateur is convincing when reaching out to people. They participate in their spare time.

To put it more simply, when a member contacts you saying they have forgotten their password, do you reply to say:

“Dear Karen,

Please use the  “forgotten your password?” feature as shown in the login page."

Or do you say…

“Hey Karen,

No worries about forgetting your password, it happens to the best of us. I’ve reset it now so just check your e-mail. By the way, I really loved your post about {something}, it ties in very well with an upcoming interview we have with {person}.

It would be great if you could suggest a few questions for her. We’re currently a few short. In addition, if you know anyone else we should contact for some questions, let us know.

Thanks again for getting in touch. Try to be more careful about your password in the future!”

Which do you think will have the better results? Which would you want your community manager to say?

You might say this is a minor difference. I think it is a decisive difference. It’s the difference between a member who feels they have made a stupid mistake and one that feels more engaged and now has a reason to get others involved.

On a related note, if you are an organization developing a community, don’t select someone in marketing to be in charge out of habit. Find whomever is most passionate about the idea and put them in charge.

Comments

[ProWeb]

You hit the nail on the head! When we're looking for community managers our highest priorities are that they have a very level head and are passionate about the community. We don't care if they are niche experts, but we do require that they are able to handle situations with a positive demeanor.

Many aspects of community management can be taught, but passion... you either have it or you don't.

[Kevin Richardson]

Well put Richard. Each encounter either grows or deteriorates the relationship. Your example is spot on. I'd take your thought about organizing a community and say find someone who gets customer service and and has a servant leader mindset. There's your community manager.

[Jay]

That's really interesting, Rich. But wouldn't saying that you like somebody's post if you didn't (or, as most likely, if you were just indifferent to it) really be lying?

[Ayelet]

I completely agree as a community manager. There is a way to be personal and professional at the same time.

@Jay, you would pick something that you liked about what that person has contributed or had in common with them. There are ways to do it without lying.