5 Secrets Of Great Communities And Great Community Managers

1. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC 1
Secrets of Great Communities &
Community Managers
Vanessa DiMauro
CEO, Leader Networks
Presented at #KAConnect2014
June 3, 2014
@ vdimauro

2. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
What Is (And Is Not) An Online Community?
IS
• Fueled by a business case
• An ongoing initiative
• Staffed appropriately
• Aligned with business goals
• Supported by an executive
• Driven by business and
customer or partner needs
IS NOT
• A marketing campaign
• A sales channel
• A skunk works project
• A social media tool
• An loose experiment
• Run solely by a millennial
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3. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Hitachi Data Systems Community: Pilot Outcomes
• Targeted to 14,000 customers, 1,200 partners
• Discussion forums and content for all HDS
products and solution
• A Developer Network enables and supports HDS
software product development
• An Innovation Center allows HDS to crowd
source ideas and suggestions from customers
and partners and obtain pre-release feedback
• Gamification recognizes credible experts within
the community and to foster engagement
• Private groups in which HDS collaborates
privately with key customers and partners
• Integration with HDS social marketing channels
• Immediate increase in demand generation
through company blog, which sparked a $20
million per annum opportunity
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4. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Anatomy Of A Community Manager #CMGR
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5. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Secret #1: Great Online Communities Are Strategic
Great communities support a
business process or make something
newly possible through collaboration.
Great Community Managers
• Identify select business goals
• Work with LOB to serve their
needs.
Examples: Increase information flow
between partners, surface new ideas
from customers, reach & engage an
underserved target audience.
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6. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Secret #2: Great Communities Are A Line Of Business,
Not An Application
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The real work begins post-launch!
Have a 90-day plan, every 90 days.
• Getting members, keeping
members, content planning,
UGC, and ROI.
• Communities have a 6 month
doubling factor.
Great Community Managers are
great idea architects. They display
urgent patience.

7. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Secret #3: People Come For Content And Stay For Community
Great content is unique, highly
curated & primarily member
generated.
Great Community Managers are
Chief Sense-Makers. They bring
together structured and
unstructured insights to create
coveted content.
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Source: Evan Bench

8. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Secret #4: When Members Take Control, Good
Communities Become Great
Signs of engaged members
• Share positive experiences
• Answer other members’ questions
• Suggest new products and services
• Lead discussion, volunteer, be
references, speak at conferences
• Advance the community and
evangelize the organization.
Great Community Managers know how
to share control & empower others.
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9. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
The Net/Net
• Great communities and the people that run them create a balance of
value for both the business and the member,
• They are maniacally focused on serving member needs and creating
outcomes that are bigger and better than the individual,
• They are a strategic investment that offer unlimited potential and uplift to
any organization that does it right.
• And a critical success factor is giving the keys to the kingdom to the right,
skilled community managers. They are the first line of defense with your
customers, partners and key stakeholders.
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10. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
About Leader Networks
Leader Networks is a research and strategy consulting group focused on helping organizations
build deeper B2B relationships with key stakeholders, thus creating significant competitive
advantage and outstanding business results.
Since 2007, we have been guiding firms in the strategic use and deployment of online social tools
and techniques, including developing innovative ways to listen to, learn about, interact with and
build trust across a wide range of constituencies including prospective and current customers,
suppliers, partners, and employees via B2B online communities and social business initiatives.

11. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Why We Are Special
We know social
Our expertise, developed over 25 years (yes, really!)
of experience creating, running and analyzing online
communities, gives us an unparalleled understanding
of the unique characteristics and distinctive patterns
of online social engagement and interaction.
We help you create social programs that balance the
competing needs of open interaction and member
confidentiality, and avoid the pitfalls of getting it
wrong and having to start over. We develop
engagement programs that bring new people to your
online space, delighting them and creating
comfortable, sustained interactions with your firm.
As our clients can attest, we know how to guide your
firm’s team through the maze of decision points that
lead to social business success.
We know online
Leader Networks is not an ad agency, a social media
start-up or a hardware or software reseller. We are
social business pioneers, tightly focused on mapping
and guiding business customers’ online initiatives.
We leverage our extensive research capabilities,
domain expertise and B2B experience to provide a
unique solution for each client’s needs. This
encompasses strategic guidance, business model
analysis, best practice recommendations, platform
selection, operational insights, content development,
stakeholder and audience engagement programs and
internal coaching. Taken together, these services
help companies innovate faster, serve customers
better, build stronger market positions for brands
and deliver outstanding business results.
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12. L E A D E R NETWORKS
Copyright © 2014 Leader Networks, LLC
Learn More
Vanessa DiMauro
CEO
Leader Networks
vdimauro@leadernetworks.com
617-484-0778
http://www.leadernetworks.com
@vdimauro