Online Community Management For Dummies®

Online Community Management For Dummies®

Released November 2011
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781118099179

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Book description

Learn to manage, grow, and communicate with your online community

Online community management is a growing profession and companies are investing in online communities in order to gain consumer insights into products and to test new products. An effective and dedicated community manager is essential to engage and manage a successful online consumer community. This straightforward-but-fun guide shows you how to effectively manage, grow, and communicate with your online community. Clear coverage shares tips for dealing with customers and fans through Twitter, Facebook, forums, and blogs.

A practical approach shows you how to ensure that visitors to your site are satisfied, kept happy, and return. You'll explore the various types of online communities and benefit from learning an assortment of tips and tools that will help you stand out above the competition, attract more visitors and gain the attention of potential advertisers and investors.

  • Aims at providing community managers the information they need to get a handle on their online communities and make them successful

  • Addresses the role of the community manager, the core community management tasks, and how to create an online community

  • Highlights ways to build relationships within your community, evaluate return on investment, and handle and respond to criticism

  • Offers advice for establishing policies and transparency and encouraging community interaction

    • Online Community Management For Dummies is the ideal introductory guide for making sure that visitors to your site have a good experience and return for more.

    Table of contents

    1. Cover Page
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright
    4. About the Author
    5. Dedication
    6. Author's Acknowledgments
    7. Publisher's Acknowledgments
    8. Contents at a Glance
    9. Table of Contents
    10. Introduction
      1. About This Book
      2. Foolish Assumptions
      3. Conventions Used in This Book
      4. What You Don't Have to Read
      5. How This Book Is Organized
      6. Icons Used in This Book
      7. Where to Go from Here
    11. Part I: The Basics of Online Community Management
      1. Chapter 1: Fostering an Online Community
        1. Understanding What an Online Community Is
        2. Exploring the Types of Online Communities
        3. Knowing Why Communities Need Management
        4. A Manager Does More Than Moderate
        5. Evaluating Member Participation and Community Health
        6. Taking Care of Business
        7. Fostering Relationships Beyond the Community
      2. Chapter 2: What You Have to Know about Online Communities
        1. Why People Join Online Communities
        2. Recognizing the Value of Online Communities
        3. Meeting Community Members
    12. Part II: Embracing the Community Manager's Role
      1. Chapter 3: Becoming an Online Community Manager
        1. Wearing the Many Hats of a Community Manager
        2. Promoting Products, Brands, and Services
        3. Understanding a Community Manager's Value
        4. Dealing with Resistance from Your Superiors
      2. Chapter 4: Establishing Community Policies and Guidelines
        1. Creating a Positive Environment for Community Members
        2. Exploring More Established Communities
        3. Establishing Respectful Rules and Regulations
        4. Recognizing the Importance of Being Transparent
    13. Part III: Building a Productive Online Community
      1. Chapter 5: Getting Started with Your Online Community
        1. Finding Your Target Audience Online
        2. Borrowing Ideas the Right Way
        3. Collaborating with Other Online Communities
        4. Holding contests for cross-promotion
      2. Chapter 6: Communicating with Your Community
        1. Making Yourself Accessible
        2. Deciding on a Communication Method
        3. Answering Common Questions
        4. Responding to E-Mail from Community Members
        5. Creating Community Newsletters
        6. Using Blogs to Provide Updates
        7. Introducing Products to Your Community
        8. Offering Deals, Discounts, and Promotions to Your Community
        9. Creating Brand Awareness
        10. Sharing Hobbies and Interests through Online Communities
        11. Communicating Successfully
      3. Chapter 7: Listening to Your Community
        1. Gauging the Wants and Needs of Your Community
        2. Listening to Your Community
        3. Finding Out What Others Are Saying Outside Your Community
        4. Handling Criticism and Negativity about Your Brand
        5. Doing Damage Control
        6. Dealing with Trolls
      4. Chapter 8: Building Kids' Communities
        1. Knowing the Differences Between Grownup and Kidcentric Communities
        2. Making Social Networking Safe
        3. Hosting a Fun, Productive Kids' Community
    14. Part IV: Growing Your Community
      1. Chapter 9: Welcoming New Members
        1. Creating a Welcome Plan for New Members
        2. Writing Your Welcome E-Mail
        3. Asking Members to Opt in to Future E-Mail Campaigns
      2. Chapter 10: Encouraging Community Interaction and Involvement
        1. Creating an Upbeat Environment
        2. Interacting with Members through the Social Networks
        3. Creating Advocates from within the Community
      3. Chapter 11: Attracting More People to Your Website
        1. Gaining Momentum: Why Slow and Steady Wins the Race
        2. Taking Advantage of Search Engine Optimization
        3. Creating Reader-Friendly Content
        4. Inviting Community Participation
    15. Part V: Assessing the Health of Your Community
      1. Chapter 12: Evaluating Community Participation
        1. Looking at the Bottom Line: Return on Investment
        2. Logging Community Growth
        3. Determining Whether the Community Drives Sales
      2. Chapter 13: Paying Attention to the Numbers
        1. Choosing an Analytics Program
        2. Using Stats to Find Out about Your Community
        3. Finding Out Where Traffic Is Coming From
      3. Chapter 14: Making Decisions Based on Your Findings
        1. Generating More Traffic
        2. Stimulating Conversation
        3. Lowering the Bounce Rate
        4. Cutting Your Losses
    16. Part VI: Taking Your Community Offline
      1. Chapter 15: Fostering Community Growth with Offline Activity
        1. Why You Need to Go Offline to Grow Online
        2. Using Offline Outreach to Recruit New Members
        3. Bringing in Followers from Public Speaking Engagements
        4. Attending Conferences and Other Events
        5. Exhibiting at Trade Shows and Conferences
        6. Offering Classes and Courses
        7. Giving Potential Members a Reason to Sign Up
      2. Chapter 16: Hosting Meetups and Tweetups
        1. Fostering Community Offline
        2. Planning Meetups and Tweetups
        3. Setting Meetup and Tweetup Rules
        4. Planning an Out-of-Town Meetup or Tweetup
        5. Encouraging the Community to Host Its Own Events
        6. Ensuring Meetup and Tweetup Safety
    17. Part VII: The Part of Tens
      1. Chapter 17: Ten Essential Community Manager Tasks
        1. Handling Community Correspondence
        2. Planning Events
        3. Creating Content
        4. Troubleshooting
        5. Writing and Editing
        6. Moderating and Mediating
        7. Providing Customer Service
        8. Serving as a Liaison
        9. Social Networking
        10. Marketing
      2. Chapter 18: Ten Must-Have Skills for Community Managers
        1. People Skills
        2. A Way with Words
        3. Networking Skills
        4. Technical Abilities
        5. Communication Skills
        6. Multitasking Ability
        7. Flexibility
        8. Focus
        9. Drive
        10. Business Development Acumen
      3. Chapter 19: Ten Best Practices of a Community Manager
        1. Staying Impartial
        2. Having a Regular Presence in Your Community and Others
        3. Responding to Inquiries in a Timely Manner
        4. Keeping a Positive Tone
        5. Being Supportive of the Brand and the Community
        6. Forging Relationships
        7. Promoting the Community
        8. Being Passionate about the Community
        9. Staying on Top of Trends
        10. Continuing Your Education
    18. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Online Community Management For Dummies®
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: November 2011
    • Publisher(s): For Dummies
    • ISBN: 9781118099179