KateDickman.com: CommuniKATE

What is a Community Manager?

It’s a common question I’m seeing all over the place as an increasing number of businesses both large and small are building their own online communities and looking for someone to fill the role of Community Manager.

Speaking from experience, I can honestly say that it can be one of the most vital roles a company can have.  As Community Manager of Panasonic’s LivinginHD.com, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to be not only an active participant of a growing online community, but a voice and a face for an entire brand.

Ten years ago social media was virtually non-existent. Now more than ever, people are able to have a personal relationship with a brand. They are able to interact directly with companies and give their input — both good and bad.  Companies are doing the only thing they should be doing right now – listening. With a recession on our hands, even the wealthiest people have been cutting down on spending, thus making businesses eager to rein in sales. With that, the consumer runs the show and businesses know that while the power is less in their own hands, the ability of their buyers to speak more directly with them is a blessing.  Not only can they improve products from feedback, but can also make customers happy. A happy customer is a customer that will buy.  By monitoring the conversation both on and off the community, one can fully comprehend what is currently being said about the brand.

As a proven and trusted influencer within the community, a CM is responsible for getting the word out about new products, events and overall development.  It is their responsibility to keep the consumers updated and to serve as a brand evangelist.  As a community manager, being a counselor of sorts is vital- someone who will listen to member’s concerns and be kind even when receiving strange or unpleasant messages.  These relationships are developed over time, as this role also serves as a cheerleader and encourages its members to be dedicated participants.  The relationships are also fostered by happily answering all product-based and community-centered inquiries. With trust, consumers naturally become loyal to the brand.   While so many companies are still trying to get personal with their clientele, those with dedicated go-to folks, such as Comcast’s Frank Eliason, stand out among the crowd.

Not everyone can be a Community Manager.  Oftentimes, companies put one of their employees unversed in social media and customer service into the role.  As a result, it  hurts the brand.  The CM should be familiar with all web communication tools, from forums, to podcasts, to Twitter, to blogs and then understand the language and jargon that is used in the community.  One must keep their cool when being challenged and have a fantastic support team around them to get the job done.  Being a voice for the brand’s community can be harder than imagined, as situations you wouldn’t expect arise. Conferring continuously is a must.

For years both websites and online communities have had  webmasters to run to in the face of problems/issues. With a community as large as Panasonic’s, however, members in the past have been hard-pressed to find a rapid response and oftentimes found themselves speaking to an automated email message or both.

Community management is a more instantaneous customer service… with a personal touch.  It truly is a fantastic, interactive position  where not only are members benefiting, but also the person facilitating the process.   A community manager must draw heavily from four skill sets: emotional intelligence, diplomacy, advocacy, and above all, passion for the brand to breed success.

While I actively promote social media as a means of social interaction, marketing and more, I also understand that you need one thing to be truly active in this space: time. As they say, time is money and keeping up with all the sites you’ve signed up for can be tedious and demanding. Not only do I have several sites to keep up with, but even this blog is hard for me to update as often as I’d like. Oftentimes I figure that since blog posts will be out there for the world to see, must like newspapers in print – we must make them worthy of being read, so bare with me here. I’m not sure this is “blog worthy” but it’s something I’m noticing as of late. Despite my being in this industry, I’m having a hard time doing what I pretty much preach about to others. Hmm, not good.

There are hundreds of social sites out there and while I’m signed up for many, I will admit that the one issue I have is the time to spend keeping up with all of them. While I actively use Facebook on a daily basis, where do I find the time to stay in tune with Twitter, Friend Feed, Seesmic, LinkedIn, CafeMom, Brightkite, Plurk, Digg, StumbleUpon, Flickr, Ping.fm, and more? Each site has their own unique capabilities and can be extremely beneficial but it’s mind boggling to be a part of so many of them! To have a profile that is barely active is (to me) worse than having no profile at all. Why be on a site if you cannot put some time into it? I hate to think that there is a number of profiles I’ve started up laying around abandoned on the web due to my lack of time but after seeing several topics on this subject, none have really led to a solution for me.

The average person is not in social media (as their career) but with the ever growing pressure to be on such networks for social and business purposes, which ones do they choose and how do they find the time between family and work to be active participants? With new ones popping up each day, do we ignore them and give them no love due to “oversaturation” of the social media market despite the possible innovative functionality they may possess? More importantly, for those IN the industry, where do they find the time around client work to keep up their online personalities while not sacrificing the time that should be spent doing other things?

I remember the days when Friendster existed… then Myspace… then Facebook. Now it’s a social media frenzy and if you’re just sitting on the sidelines and not participating, you’re as good as dead it seems. What’s a girl to do? It seems in order to be “in the know” and to be a part of “social media”, you have to be on every big well-known site but is this true? Is it better to enjoy the little things in life off the web and spend less time online thus damaging your credibility as a “social media expert”? Or being online and “connected” every second of nearly every day while losing your credibility as a mom or a normal human being. When venturing out and seeing something interesting but not photo-worthy to most, I will often capture a picture and upload it to Brightkite. Those around me cannot understand why the iPhone has to be connected constantly and why moments have to be interrupted by taking out the few minutes to upload, write a caption and Tweet about a damn subject or what is going on. Sometimes I snap back into reality and realize that this social media bubble many of us are in and are pressured to be more a part of, is both exceedingly time-consuming and unrealistic. Social media = fantastic. Social media = the wave of the future. I understand this, respect this and love the industry but am not as concerned as others to be visible on every single site for the sake of looking bigger, better and more knowledgeable on the subject. However, in ways I cannot help but sometimes wonder how I can find the time to do more on these sites and keep up with as many (like others do).

Where do you find the time to be human or to do activities in the real world? If we’re tweeting every moment of our lives, brightkiting a photo each second and then updating the status on every site, is this real life? What’s more important? Online or offline?

Many say social media enhances offline activities – ie business networking/opportunities, like-minded meetups etc. While I believe it does and use it for those purposes myself, I can’t help but find it a tad difficult to keep up with it all these days. Those who are constantly connected have to remember that time is precious and irreplaceable. I know I have to remind myself that social media is complementary but certainly should not replace the valuable time you should keep offline. You should too. Social media & time, where do you draw the line and where do you find the time?

I wrote an article on Examiner.com about the community. Come and join us!  I’m the community leader and am excited to be a part of Panasonic’s greatest social media effort.  We will be running contests with cool Panasonic product prizes and more.  Feel free to join here - http://livinginhd.com/go/about/home

*This has been going on for years I know… but I was reminded of it all while spending time with my niece*

It’s an epidemic! Kids everywhere are falling victim to vanity! Why? Because they now have a place to display it; a place where it’s encouraged – heavily. Peer pressure has always been existent but never in this way. With the emergence of social media, comes a new way for kids and young teens to express themselves. Since privacy is extremely important these days, the only other people these kids are exposed to on these networks is their peers – thus creating pressure and encouragement to validate themselves through photos and words on their page. Back before the days of the internet and social networks, one only had to worry about the way they acted in school. Now you have to worry about the way you appear around the clock as these sites are readily available at the click of a button. If you do not represent yourself in a “cool way”, you could be the topic of tomorrow’s gossip discussion.

I have a 14 year old niece who is constantly signed onto Myspace and Facebook and after seeing her numerous friends’ profiles, I sit here in awe at how vain these kids are (or at least pretending to be). It’s sad to see these girls try to portray an image that doesn’t have to be them at the tender age of 12. One would argue that they should not be on these sites but let’s face it – if they want to be on them, they will be on them somehow.

They spend hours in front of the mirror taking photo after photo of themselves with sexy/serious looks in order to obtain the “perfect” one. I cannot sit there and say that I haven’t had a moment of vanity myself (as I believe most women have? Maybe? Maybe not?) but the age these kids are starting such behavior is young. My 10 year old niece is also catching on to the trend and I wonder of the pressure to maintain a constant image on these networks in morphing today’s children in a negative way. If I could post the photos of 10 friends of my nieces’ at random, you would understand (and quite possibly be shocked!) but due to the underage issue, I am not allowed to do that. While social media is providing both children and adults numerous opportunity, we face the growing negativities associated with these new mediums as well. What are the long term effects of these networks when it comes to bullying, vanity and more?

We all know the value behind the microblogging site Twitter as many of us use it on a daily basis for networking, sharing valuable business information, joking with friends and for some? Fighting with enemies.

It was interesting to see two Hollywood big-wigs (Ashton Kutcher & Perez Hilton) take their beef to Twitter.

Ashton: when you have kids you will understand the pain you have unnecessarily inflicted on my step kids life. You can bash me all day
Perez: Rumer invited the attention upon herself. She is a huge famewhore – and I totally respect that. I love talentless famewhores!
Ashton: honestly don’t even know you and would love to call a truce just lay off my kids man
Perez: I don’t really talk about the other girls. Just Potato Head, mainly. I’m sure she secretly loves it!
Ashton: come by for dinner some night and I’ll show how much she loves it
Ashton: invented attention upon herself, why does that bother you? hmmmm
Perez: I’m a fat kid at heart and am still a porker. I love to eat! Say when and I’ll be there!
Perez: See, I don’t ALWAYS say mean things about Potato. Kinda. (link)
Perez: And I can guarantee you that if I COMPLETELY stopped talking about Rumerzilla, she’d be sad. Very very sad.

This isn’t from the gossip magazines…this is the real deal. I’ve never seen Twitter get so personal & public for a celebrity. Hilton is notoriously known for making fun of a slew of Hollywood actors but more particularly; their children which is a low blow. Demi Moore’s daughter Rumer has received shallow criticism on Perez’s website and it’s good to see Ashton defending her but even worse to see how much of a shameless coward Perez is. Either way, Twitter has proved to be yet another outlet for those publicly looking to defend their family or in Perez’s case – publicly humiliate another human being. I’d like to think this is the worst way to use Twitter… but a way nonetheless.

We all know that conversation is vital in our lives; both professionally and personally and the conversation for each one of us all began with our first word or with a company’s first move towards social media.

Well recently my daughter Adria has begun her lifetime of conversation. It’s a great reminder of how we must listen first and then communicate. Sometimes I feel like there’s too much talking (both on and off the blogosphere) and not enough listening which provides far less value than what a true conversation can provide. Ask questions..listen for feedback and listen well By doing so, we can truly learn something new each day. With that, here’s a video of my mini-me saying “Mama”. (Oh and please excuse the sound of my gross cold+sinusitis voice.) Let the conversation begin Adria!

No one can deny that today is one helluva day in our Nation’s history.  Whether you were for or against Obama during election time, this is certainly the most monumental election since JFK’s.  Today I feel the sense of unity and hope and even if we don’t resolve things within a year, I’m glad we’re taking a step in the right direction.  Obama has a way of uniting people if anything and with a strong cabinet in place, I have no doubt that him and his folks will take the steps towards helping this country.  Sure, the hype may wear off over time and he will have to get down to the nitty gritty but if we can keep the momentum going with this kind of hope and unity, I believe we can seriously make some changes.  I’m happy to say today that I’m an American and even happier to see such a TRUE change in the White House!

This is not tech related or business related whatsoever but I wanted to extend a congratulations to my friend Scott Herman who is now on the Real World: Brooklyn.  The season premier was on Wednesday at 10pm and it looked pretty juicy!  Although I haven’t watched the show in about 5 or 6 years, I will certainly be watching this season.  What makes Scott so great is that despite his ridiculously good looks, he’s unlike most “jocks” you see on TV (especially Real World).  He’s a guy that has big dreams and will achieve them the right way.  He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and is a great friend!  So kudos to you Scott..may all your dreams come true!

 

Russ Somers of Egghead Marketing  has summoned me out of my dark hole and has enticed me to blog.  He has “tagged” me in this cool internet meme.  Since I’ve been so busy with little time to blog and an absolute writer’s block, this was the perfect reason to blog.  A) I didn’t have to think about the subject.  B) It’s fun!

Mr. Somers tagged me for this meme and here I will begin with 7 things you may not definitely don’t know about me. 

1) I was born with one kidney.  No joke!  I had no idea up until I was about 19 and went in for what I thought may have been appendicitis!  The doctor said “Good news Kate!  You don’t have appendicitis but did you know you only have one kidney?”  He went on further to include that this lone kidney was “larger than the average one” since it had to compensate for the lack of a second one.  It was equally weird as it was interesting.  I looked it up on the internet to find that 1 in 750 people are born with one kidney and it is more common in males.  I also came to find out that the left one is more commonly absent.  Welllll waddyaknow?  I’m a girl (obviously) and my right one is actually missing.  Neato gang!

2) I was confused in college (who isn’t?).  I was first an advertising major and once I realized I wasn’t that great at ad copywriting (my professors all worked at big NYC ad agencies and were quite blunt about my lack of talent), I decided advertising wasn’t for me.  I then ventured into television and film while supporting myself financially by doing internet marketing!  When I had to move back to Boston, there really wasn’t/isn’t much of a TV & Film industry here (although it is growing a bit), I decided to go for web marketing as it was more of a prominent and stable industry than the commonly freelanced position of a TV production employee.  

3) One of the most inspiring people I have ever met was a 12 year old girl from a village called Putibiw in west Africa (Ghana to be exact).  This girl had more of a spark than 90% of children you meet in the US and had work ethic that was (to be honest) greater than mine.  She worked hard for her family and was probably one of the most curious people I have ever met.  I helped run a summer camp in Ghana for kids and out of all of them that I met, she impressed me the most.  We still keep in touch today!

4)  My first year of college was in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Much to my dismay, it wasn’t what I expected.  Being car less in Honolulu isn’t really ideal and much of the city is pretty dirty and filled with drugs and crime.  If I ventured off about an hour away, I did find paradise but it was a rare occurrence.  Honolulu, Hawaii – > place to vacation not quite to live.  I then transferred to a university in Manhattan. 

5) I’m a twin.  No, I don’t have some equally stunning (HA!) female clone of me running around.  Instead I have a brother who looks nothing like a female (sorry guys) but currently serves in the US Army.  He is roughly 1 hour and 16 minutes older than I am.  (Poor mother!)  When I was born, I came out like this -> one foot, bum and then my other foot.  Doctors would NEVER allow this kind of erratic and strange (and dangerous!) entrance into this world these days but back then they apparently allowed it and this abnormal entrance was a bit phophetic in that  the rest of my life has been the same way — > unpredictable, strange , awkward but pretty cool too. 

6) I started an email newsletter when I was 12 years old.  It had about 1,000 recipients and I targeted these recipients through AOL 3.0.  I was a massive Buffy the Vampire Slayer (not the movie) fan.  Yes yes..I collected everything “Buffy”.  I was so excited about the show that I began a pretty impressive weekly newsletter that was shot out to eager fans.  Back in the day, the word “SPAM” was non-existent so yes, I did send it unsolicited to those who had “Buffy” listed in their favorite TV shows but I told them to simply email me if they wanted out and only rarely did someone say so.  My email newsletter was filled with colorful fonts, photos and information about the show, it’s characters and more.  :)  I had this newsletter for about a year until I got too busy with extracurricular sports.  People begged me to continue it but Kate started to grow up… (Not sure that process is still done?!)

7) The pressure is on for this last one huh?  Which factoid shall I choose?  Ok, got it.  This one -> I’m currently unemployed.  Ok, that’s not true.  I am, but for myself.  I work at home for myself but am looking for a full time job.  This is totally cheating I know… but I’m looking for a position in Massachusetts but am actually open to possibly relocating somewhere else.  I’d like something in social media and/or web marketing as a whole.  If you want to hook a sista up – comment below or check out my LinkedIn profile. 

Here are 7 interesting people whose blogs are 10x more exciting to read:

Two I know personally…

1. Leslie Poston of  UptownUncorked.com is a social media consultant here in the Boston area and is not only a cool chick but knows her stuff.  She’s a great person to connect with and learn from.  

2. Alejandro Reyes aka the SuccessFool is the man!  He runs a great show on UStream and boasts quite a few viewers per show.  This guy is definitely inspirational.  

Five I just admire from afar…(most are within social media but they ALL rock and are ridiculously knowledgeable!)

3. Shimon Sandler

4. Michelle MacPhearson

5. Michael Brito – Kinda, sorta know him!

6. Scott Monty

7. Joseph Jaffe

 

Tag, you’re it!