Stop Telling Marketing to Go Away

Community managers tend to be extremely protective of their online communities and its members. And rightfully so. Many online communities, especially in associations, are open to serve the collective. It’s not always about just those who pay their membership dues, but about those who share a common interest and want a space to come together and learn from one another. There’s no doubt that these spaces are sacred. Especially considering the amount of trust and time it took to build that sense of community among your community members. The last thing you want is for other parts of the business to come marching in, hawking their wares to your community members right? Except that you do.How many of you have already stopped reading? Hear me out. Yes, your online community was built for its members. There’s no question around that. They come to your community to find the information and connections they need to get stuff done. And in the process, they are building relationships and see your association as the place that fosters that sense of learning and community for them. You’re their go-to. But think about the number of times a new product has been launched or a new member benefit has rolled out from your association that could really be a value-add to your community members. But you don’t want to feel like you’re selling to them. But they need to know about this information because it’s amazing. But the community is for them. And rinse and repeat.We often get caught in this tailspin of trying to juggle what’s right for the community and supporting the goals of the association and sometimes we lean more toward protecting our community, even if it means we unintentionally block opportunities for them to be exposed to products or resources that will change the game for them. David Spinks had a conversation with Anil Dash, CEO of Glitch, during CMX’s recent virtual conference and the topic of balancing community interest and company goals came up. Anil made a great point when he stated (and I’m paraphrasing here) that it doesn’t have to feel hard or contentious if the community and the organization are aligned. Right!If the organization values community and community is aligned with the strategic direction of the organization, then guess what? You already know how to engage the rest of the business in order to deliver maximum value to your members AND to the organization. It’s not an all or nothing decision, here. There’s no sacrifice and you don’t have to feel like you're betraying someone by making a decision to include an ad in the right side panel of your community homepage or to host a Q&A with the product team for something new that is launching.The key is to do these things strategically and keep in mind that there is a reason your association made the decision to invest in an online community. Here are 5 things to remember when you’re engaging other parts of your association to participate in your community:

1. There’s value to be had all around. Say you belong to a community that brings together people who knit. You learn new patterns, you’re connecting with people who also knit, and you feel a sense of connectivity and belonging. The company that owns the community releases a new type of yarn that takes knitting scarves to a whole new level. Would you want to know about that? I bet you would. It’s the same for your community members. If your community isn’t a product support community, you can still provide product support. Let your community members know what you have so they can use it, collect their feedback, and then pass it on to product teams so that they can improve on what they’ve got. Nobody loses out in this situation!
2. It’s ok to say yes! The trick is to do so strategically. We’ve all had other parts of the business come to us and say “can you just put this in the community so we can reach a larger audience?” My answer to this is always “what’s the outcome?” By asking that question, you open up the conversation to figure out the best way to introduce information that’s not normal community content and determine if the community is the right channel for this information in order to achieve the desired outcome. When it isn’t…
3. It’s ok to say no! Not everything belongs in the online community. But you can’t uncover that if you always turn down any request to market or introduce a product to your community because you don’t want your community members to feel like they’re being sold to. Also, marketing doesn’t always equal selling. It’s a way to get valuable information in front of people. You know, the same way you market your community programming to your community. 
4. When it is a yes, be smart about delivery. One of the great ways I’ve found to get information in front of our community is to present it as knowledge-based content. I always ask colleagues who want to present something to the community to do so in such a way that they feel like they’re consuming content that is going to make their lives easier. Talk about the impact of the information you’re giving them on the profession, why it’s important, and then introduce the “thing” at the end. You can also do Ask Me Anything webinars with product teams so that your community members feel involved. However you choose to do it, help create the opportunity with a lens of customer centricity versus product centricity.
5. Be open to the conversation. In all of this, remember why your community exists and be open to conversations to make sure you’re driving value in all directions. This is what makes you a strategic partner within your association. This is what continues to drive home the value of your online community. And it helps you learn more about the business so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly to continue to add that value.

Engaging other parts of your association in your community isn’t easy. Sometimes, it’s downright tricky. This doesn’t have to feel weird or burdensome. But it can if it’s not something you’re used to doing. I would love to talk with anyone who is struggling to make those connections within your association or those who are doing it really well! Reach out to me and let’s talk or comment below to share tips with others on how to make that collaboration between product teams/marketing feel more natural.