Community Leaders

Community Leaders

We’re here on a sleepy Saturday morning for our Keynote Panel of Community Leaders at the 2014 Type-A Parent Conference. We’re waking up with Deb Ng, Adrianna Domingos-Lupher, Tauni Everett, and Anne Parris.

Listening online is one of the best things you can do before deciding to create a community. Watch what people are talking about, see what people are interested in, and decide how you can bring something new to the community and the conversation.

If there isn’t a place for you in the existing blogging community, you can create one. Anne tells us that is how and why she helped develop the midlife community, because the parent blogger atmosphere a few years back was all about new moms, not parents with children who are grown.

There’s a lot that goes on with business, finance, taxes, and contracts when you create a community. Start with the idea that you are going to have a team, a staff, writers, community managers, whatever. If your community gets that big and you don’t already have a plan in place for that, it’s going to be a real challenge.

It’s hard to be the bad guy. If you’re not the person to say “no,” everyone else is going to lead you down a path that does not grow your community.

You do have to listen to what your community is telling you, and you have to be able to determine what is a YES and what is a NO. Don’t be afraid to be the leader.

How do you handle your community’s “Negative Nancy?” You have to deal with it even if you don’t want to hear it. You have to make that person feel heard. Use that feedback to see if there may be something you’re not doing right, that maybe there is something you could do better.

People are going to say negative things, and you’re going to take it personally. But when people make those negative comments, you can go cry in the corner for five minutes, and then go back to read it again more objectively, because there may be some good information you can act on, even if it was stated in a way that was upsetting.

How do you get people to engage on Facebook and Twitter? You have to make it about them. Give them something that benefits them. Create superfans. Invest in the people who belong and will help you with the Negative Nancies. They will start conversations on Facebook. Everybody likes to be an expert on something, so put a question to your community and let your community members help solve the problem. Respond to comments.

Is Twitter still relevant? What do you use it for? Posting links to things community members have written. Some communities have gone off of Twitter because that’s not where their people are. If your people are there, put out questions and see who responds and engages.

How do you know where your people are? Ask them. See where you get the most response. If you’re actually a part of your community, you’ll know where they are because you’re following the conversation.

Is it a mistake or is it necessary to post the same content on different social networks, like Twitter and Facebook? Everyone has limited time and resources, so you need to see what gets you the most ROI. Watch your stats to see where your referrers are. Spend the most of your energy on your biggest traffic sources. Try to create content specifically for each platform, the ones where your community is.

Let’s talk about Facebook and how we all put our eggs in that basket. “I’ve got one word for you: Myspace. What happens when your platform disappears?” Our leaders are very uncomfortable with putting down their stakes on someone else’s land. Build your email list in case your social media channels go away, because otherwise you’ll have no way to reach your community members. Find a way to connect via email. “That’s our house on our land.”

Facebook changes the rules every day. How are you coping? Tauni never boosts any posts. She can get 25,000 PVs from them on Monday. She posts on Facebook 8 times/day. She always asks a question, always posts a link to her site, and always shouts out to a different member each day. If she had a smaller fanbase, she would do more “pay to play,” not boosting posts, but with targeted campaigns. Adrianna does boost posts – with a budget of $25 a month. You can use targeted campaigns to build your email list and get members involved off Facebook.

What makes something shareable? “I dunno.” It’s a crapshoot. Pop culture + current event + your niche = win. Sometimes. Give a voice to frustration in a humorous way to help people laugh about challenging things that resonate with everyone.

What do you think is the future of online communities? *crickets* There may be a return to forums. Put your communities back on your own real estate. Find ways to bring people to your house. Whatever the next new thing is, it’s probably going to be mobile. If someone really smart develops an app that makes forums friendly for mobile, that would probably be a really big deal. Micro-conferences within your niche are good too, connecting with people IRL.

Closing blog comments? No. Never. Even negative feedback is good. (Side note: your mileage may vary on your blog.)

“Be the change you want to be in the social world.”

Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.


By Christina Gleason

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.

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