Community Strategy Insights

The latest insights on community strategy, technology, and value by FeverBee’s founder, Richard Millington

What Would A Passionate Community Manager Do?

Richard Millington
Richard Millington

Founder of FeverBee

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.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe for regular insights

Subscribe for regular insights