Turning your audience into a community: Using Content to Connect

Aerin GuyAugust 25, 2010

Agenda•me

•community overview

•community management

•content

•Totally ADD

•hows and tos

•you

community

•today’s social media is about community

•communities of practice

•communities of shared interests

•communities solving problems

The web is about conversations and

connections, not top down delivery

of information or messages.

•“when we change the way we communicate, we change society”

•“new technology enables new kinds of group-forming”

mePublishingMarketing

Web StrategyPR

Community ManagementTotally ADD

BlogTweetEat

Sleep

Community Chops

•Collaborative publishing: Pearson Education

•Edvantage Interactive

•Wellesley Institute: virtual communities of practice

•Ontario Disability Employment Network

•Totally ADD

✴“Let’s make a community and it will be just like Facebook and everyone will have hilarious status updates and make tons of videos and we can run contests and Richard Branson will come over for dinner and George Strombolopoulos will speak at our AGM......”

Types of community

•site based, internally housed (Totally ADD, Cystic Life, Classroom 2.0)

Types of Community

•social media based/external (Twitter, Facebook, MeetUp)

The Community Manager

Role of the Community Manager

•multi-faceted, multi-tasking, multi-responsibility

•plan content

•be the face/voice/ears

•manage technology

•gather insights

•report back

not all fun and games

•vigilance

•ability to connect people

•maintain simultaneous challenge

•ready to fail and try again

•provide technical support

•respect community needs (privacy etc)

Content is King

•content makes you findable

•content is share-able

•content is searchable

•content is worth talking about

Great content moves people. It touches people at their human core and that - - the ability to connect with human beings - -

overcomes any and all budgetary deficits you might encounter in

marketing today.

“

”Tom Martin, HelpMyBrand.com

And now for something spicy

TADD Strategy

•ADHD-ers like short, visual snippets

•cohesive community

•splinters have voice in forum

•open up blogs to community members

•create video and cross post

•merchandise as content (contests etc)

Content

“buckets”

• Blog

• Newsletter

• Forum

• Monthly webinar

• Events

• Video

• Articles

• Interactive content

• Email

External Channels•Facebook

Page

•Twitter

•LinkedIn

•YouTube

•Vimeo

•Events

•Organizations

How?•developed a plan: content and

community

•built an editorial calendar based on targeted activities, initiatives, community needs

•listen to feedback constantly

•respond as often as we can

•knock heads....because we care

•...on a very limited budget

Hot tips•Develop a deep understanding of your

community. Groups who are successful are able to tap into the knowledge of who they are trying to build a relationship with.

•Connect people directly. Bringing people together can be scary. Power in numbers! Your value is in your ability to do this.

• Be open, ego free.....and let go of control. You never had it anyways.

• Emulate, innovate. Fail, experiment. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Text

People want to connect

•shift the lens to community building as a part of communications/marketing

•consider the insights your community can give you

•ask

Resources•New Community Rules: Tamar

Weinberg

•Tribes: Seth Godin

•The Community Roundtable (website and community)

•CommunitySpark.com

•Here Comes Everybody: Clay Shirky

•The Whuffie Factor: Tara Hunt

Community Building Platforms

•WordPress with Buddy Press

•Ning (not free anymore)

•Group(s)

•Spruz

•Yammer

•Flowr

slides and notes available at

www.gospacerace.com

Ping me, eh?

gospacerace.composterous.com/aeringuy

2plus1family.caLinkedIn: Aerin GuyTwitter: @aeringuy

aeringuy@gmail.comaerin@totallyadd.com