Communication is Key - Say it, and Then Say it Again

Every time someone opens a door to talk about online communities, I walk right through it, set up my proverbial podium, mentally take out my carefully prepared notes, and go. And I’m not one bit sorry about it. Here’s why.If you have support for your online community, there’s a good chance that you should be continuing to show the value of that community to the rest of the organization (or at the very least to those who are enabling your resources). And I can almost guarantee that there are people in your organization that don’t know what community is, how it works, what it’s supposed to do, or why you have a dedicated budget and resources. If you are not making that known, it’s a fair assumption that the question of why the community even exists may come up. Worse yet, your executive team may start to wonder why they made the investment if they don’t have a clear understanding of community value.To be clear, I’m not saying you need to walk up to people in the hallway or in the kitchen and whip out all of the findings you have regarding community value. However, I think it’s important to be ready to inform and guide conversations when people give you puzzling looks in meetings or ask you “isn’t that where we put all the content?”I once conducted an information session regarding online community to a few people within our organization. I posed the following question “When I mention our online community, what comes to mind?” The answers I got were articles, webinars, blogs, and templates. All things that are components of our site, but none of which are what makes our community. Which got me thinking – why is that the first thing that people think of when they think of our community? Are we not communicating value properly? No one knew what to make of the community other than the fact that content lived there. But what about the conversations? The connections that people were making? The feedback about our products and services that was surfacing in the discussion forums? All of that was incredibly valuable to connecting people to one another and to the organization. And yet we somehow missed an opportunity to make that connection. This totally changed the way I have conversations around the value of community, to both those in the organization and our members who still pose the question “who are you guys, again?” during our presence at live events.So just how do you change the conversation?Start with whyIt’s not just the title of Simon Sinek’s best-selling book. It’s foundational to ensuring that people understand the words that you are saying to them. Community is important because not only does it act as a connector of people, but it allows members to easily connect to the organization. Community is important because it enables knowledge sharing and gives insight into what’s important to those in the profession we serve. Community is important because it provides a warm handshake to the very cold transactional nature of giving your organization money in exchange for member benefits or a certification. This is what you should be expressing when people just aren’t sure what to make of why your community exists. Then back it up with dataHelp solve problemsThis does not mean heading into IT and asking your developers what they need help with (although it could if that’s the purpose your community serves within your association). Listen to your peers. Hear the pain points they express to you and then talk about how community helps to solve those problems. It could be something as simple as offering to host an orientation webinar once a quarter for those who are new members to the association to improve member retention or holding preview Q&As for an upcoming live event to boost registration. Identify where the gaps are and communicate how community helps fill those gaps.Measure the impactAs I mentioned in my first point, your “why” should be backed up with data. It doesn’t need to be a lot. It doesn’t have to be big. But it does have to be relevant, impactful, and speak to the right audience. The impact of community that you show to your VP in terms of overall health and growth will not be the same impact that you demonstrate to your Customer Care department. However, it should all be connected. Impact to the overall success of the organization should have natural linkages to impact on business units where appropriate, as well. Otherwise it can come across as a bunch of information with no meaning.Keep talkingThis can’t be a one and done situation. You must keep having conversations and adjusting accordingly. The way you talk about value may or may not shift as business operations evolve. Your community should be flexible enough to do the same without disrupting your community culture. But keep talking. Keep engaging your internal stakeholders. Keep a pulse on how your members feel about the community. Keep measuring impact, adjusting accordingly, and reporting out. This will always be a journey. You should never reach a point where you sit back and think “there’s no more to say.” If you’re not evolving with your organization, then your community may be perceived as obsolete.As the community manager, you will always be the biggest champion of your community. If you’re communicating value effectively, you shouldn’t be in a constant state of defense. People may not be entirely on board, but you should get much closer to creating a culture of understanding and adoption if you make it a regular part of what you do. Because managing community goes far beyond moderation and metrics – you have to socialize value to keep moving forward.Tell us in the comments down below how you have been able to effectively communicate value within your organization. What hurdles do you have yet to clear? What advice can you offer to other community managers?