How I got into community management and my #1 tip for an organization wanting to start an online community
I first became an admin of an online community in 2014 at Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and I quickly fell in love with the work. I was hired as part of the Membership Department and had no idea that pretty soon the online community would fall into my lap; no one else knew what to do with over 130 forums, members having conversations amongst themselves, and how to leverage this platform for the organization.
Through my experience managing MGMA’s community and as a member of several online communities, my passion grew, and I decided to learn all I could about communities. And the learning process is still ongoing. Thanks to the nature of online communities and the new tools continuously becoming available, I will never be done learning about communities. That is one thing I appreciate – communities are always evolving.
In 2017, I started Confident Communities Consulting after recognizing a need for specialized online community management services for a variety of organizations who wanted to start a community for the first time, or were unable to hire a full-time community manager, or whose community manager needed help with reviving a struggling community. I started with a focus on professional association communities with the Digital Analytics Association (DAA) as my very first client. I have also worked with the National Geographic Society, Pinnacol Assurance, business coaching firms, and entrepreneur networks. But I still specialize in online communities of practice for association members.
If we’re going to build a community, let’s make sure it benefits those who are in the community!
My #1 tip for a brand or nonprofit wanting to start their own online community (or reinvigorate an existing community) is to first talk one-on-one with as many of your customers/members as possible to understand their needs. What are their current pain points and interests? How can your organization use community in a novel way to solve a problem they have? Online communities should always be built around the customer and evolve with their feedback in mind. Staff should never make assumptions about what your customers care about, what people would do in your community, if your customers even want an online community, etc. If we’re going to build a community, let’s make sure it benefits those who are in the community!
Nothing gives me more satisfaction than seeing a post from a member about how the community has personally benefited them. I plan to continue bringing value to community members in all types of online communities for a long time to come.
