For most organizations today implementing a community is like buying a prom dress.
They look for the fanciest, more embellished one they can find. The one that will make them look better than anyone else, that will make everyone talk about them. The dress must have a brand name, and sequins, and be cut to fit perfectly. The dress that will be worn once for six hours and never be worn again.
Communities are built with all the bells and whistles, monitoring tools, fancy management tools – and once they are deployed are ignored and let to languish after a short time. We did what we were supposed to do, we deployed a community to rave reviews – it is not our fault if people don’t use it.
Deploying a killer community is only 10% of the battle (I wrote about how to do it before). The other 90% is the long-term caring and maintenance of it that ensures long-term viability. It takes two specific people:
A Content Administrator will
- ensure that the necessary content is placed in the community — identify experts to contribute, remove wrong or bad entries, edit hard to read entries to ensure clarity
- empower experts, whether internal or external, to grow the community
- administer content and incorporate it into a knowledge-base – tag, index, categorize, edit and improve if needed
A Culture Manager will
- transform the community into a powerful business tool and prod adoption by internal and external people
- look beyond experts and content to see how to create a self-supporting community based on reputation
- introduce additional features that will make the community more sticky and gain mindshare
What does your prom dress look like? Will you wear it in six months again?
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I would love to be the second one but I am learning and trying to adapt. This is my first experience starting something from the ground up. http://detroit.fwix.com
I am consulting a job and I don’t think they understand because they did what you said the first time. They build it then it dies.
I agree with you Esteban… and that a site needs Super Users- the 1% of the people that post great stuff… no content, no customers!
[...] Measurement Mondays – How to Avoid Failure in Your Measurement Programs Loyalty Tuesdays – The Truth Behind Loyalty Relationship Wednesdays – Is Your Customer Experience Initiative Hurting Your Relationships? Communities Thursdays -The Two Most Important People for Your Communities [...]
Jamie,
The key to making them understand is to rub their faces in their prior failures. I am serious. They can choose to do things right, or have the same results. Constantly remind them of the results if they do it wrong, they know what they are so it is easier. You are to become the coach more than the expert, always pointing out the small things that lead to the big failures. Always trying to get them to do it right. Taking the high-level view of things.
I like what you are doing with FWIX. Very interesting, can see lots of potential.
Thanks for reading
Esteban
Thanks Doc! (man, I have been saving that one for a while
)
Thanks for reading, hope you are enjoying the gig at Forrester. Before now, the time at Gartner was by far the best times I had in my professional life.
Thanks
Esteban