Because they’re not clustered in nice fat groups claiming a proud central space in the garden, they’re not complimented by neighbors of other carefully-groomed organic matter. They’re insubstantial, really.

These wild communities may be lone, thriving on a long-thought-dead channel with small membership numbers. It may be easy to discount the discovery of a wild community as unintentional, lacking organization (and brand stamp) and therefore, insignificant. Something that stubbornly survived the winter unprotected. But to discount the accidental community is to presume it has little merit. Unimportant. Incapable of rising tall and casting a long shadow.

That would be a mistake. If the long tail is a worthwhile SEO investment, would it not bear the same fruit for a brand community? Some companies think so, helping others walk the fringe of their community gardens to discover untapped possibilities. Information can flower into knowledge, and knowledge is power.

I get it. Budgets are tight, revenue is down and resources are scarce. Outliers, while duly noted, are the least of your worries.

That is, unless there are holes in your operations and you’re deaf to customer feedback about broken old processes. Unless your service delivery people aren’t inspired to own each customer’s happiness, one call or tweet at a time. Unless you prefer 1x customers over those with strong LTV potential for your brand. In these instances, you better believe even the outliers matter because small can multiply.

Are you looking outside your carefully tilled, fertilized, and weeded patch of Facebook (or Twitter, or G+) ground for your brand’s accidental communities? What do you do when you find them?

Image courtesy of  Horia Varlan.

I’m reading a book titled “Edge” by fiction author Jeffrey Deaver. The story line centers on a personal security expert whose job it is to protect innocents and whistle-blowers (along with the occasional bad-guy-turned-informant) until they can safely deliver their damning testimony to the appropriate state or federal officials. Once the beans are spilled on record, the threat to bad guys cemented, the innocents are presumed to no longer be at risk.

The good guy, the protector, is referred to as a shepherd. The term seems a bit random (especially since the bad guys are either “lifters” or “hitters” and I suggest you avoid both) and low-tech, especially in context with all of the wizardry in the characters’ pockets, pens, and personal protection devices. But as some things will, the “shepherd” concept stuck in my mind. He minds a flock, right? A flock is, in some ways, like a community (well, without the self-selection and ability to walk upright).

Hmmm. Community shepherd. There’s something there….Then I went to bed.

But the shepherd idea nugget is still there, rattling around in my brain. So I fleshed out the community shepherd analogy a bit.

A community shepherd:

• Always monitoring the landscape for potential threats.
• Scans the landscape for strategic opportunities; mindful of places and activities offering distinct advantage (like a high bluff) or potential risk (like a narrow, rocky ravine).
• Is mindful that one or more of the members may wonder, and have a plan for regrouping the lot.
• Works incrementally toward an objective (another pasture rich with resources, a corral with a barn, etc.). Ensures daily sustenance and protection leading to longer-term goals.
• Has a quick mind, capable of assembling and disassembling bits of information quickly to choose routes, gauge temperament and attitudes, and respond appropriately on an individual or group basis.
• Is a gentle leader who ensures the flock gets what it needs.

No, community members are not sheep. I’m definitely not suggesting that. They’re not black sheep or white sheep, nor do (good) community shepherds look at them simply assets to be weighed and measured.

I think almost anyone in a role that directly impacts or indirectly touches the customer, from sales to service to marketing to distribution to billing, bears the responsibility of acting as a community shepherd.

It matters not the size of the flock, but the level of commitment to serve it.

Image courtesy of Jo@net on Flickr.

Make Your Community Character Count

Make good choices.  Set the standard.

Coaching community members to abide by codes of conduct may be a bit more challenging than censoring your own behavior as a manager. After all, it’s your job to moderate what goes on.  You’re the eye in the sky.  Set a tone and religiously maintain it.  Most participants will understand where the boundaries lay and abide by them.

Offer Your Letterman’s Jacket

People want to belong.  It’s part of our makeup to mingle with others who share like interests or idea nuggets.  We’re each unique birds but enjoy some commonalities – that’s why the community offers appeal.  It’s a place where we can relate, be understood, speak a shared language.

Reward those who want to stay close to your community. They’re you’re forward infantry.

Offer participants a widget they can place on their blog.  Send new members a coupon in the mail.  Drop handwritten postcards to randomly selected members each week just to touch base (or develop a retention strategy and use the postcards to reconnect with laggards). Send a T-shirt with a smart ass slogan to a select group of members during their birth month.

Hell, hold a monthly quiz then send a koozie to those who have the correct answer.  Later in the year challenge all koozie owners to a photo contest and award a big prize.  The point is to say “Hey, thanks for hanging out with us” and motivate them to continue demonstrating their community love.

Whatever you do, make sure it fits in line with the overarching objectives for the community.  Then do those things consistently.

Build Experiences Worth Sharing

It’s a community, not a podium.  Community implies acting selflessly and giving generously – resources, perspectives, information, ideas.  Myopia will not win you any friends, and it certainly won’t grow your base of influencers.

Instead, think about the spectrum of topics that might interest members.  Better yet, create a mind map to help push your thinking innew ways.  Develop a survey to discover precisely which subjects members would like covered.  Tap into the thoughts of the most active users with a deeper dive online focus group.  Stay true to the objectives, just remember there’s a wide margin around your brand the community can – and probably should – incorporate.

Open Your Playbook

These are your basic operating procedures, how your community rolls.  Get it out there so people can read it and live it.

Internally that may mean to formalize processes like editorial guidelines, style guides or a social media policy for brand contributors. It could be your crisis response plan.  Externally, that may mean making sure members know what to expect.  How do they get in touch with ______ about ______? What happens when______?  This becomes infinitely more complex when structured rewards programs are in place.

Remember that those who guide your community must be accessible if they’re to be responsive and supportive.  Institutionalize contact numbers, email addresses and social networks throughout your web site.  BizSugar has a pretty good example on their FAQ page.

These two posts have covered several pieces of the community-centric pie.  What pieces would you add?

Compared to some like iFroggy, the communities I manage are tiny.  But my work and the communities in which I participate compel me to list some real opportunity areas for the community-centric organization:

Provide a clear RTB

• Why does your community exist?
• What are the primary objectives for the program or site?   (what does success look like?)
• What do you offer participants or visitors?

Whether you choose to list this information in clear-cut Q&A format on a FAQ page or weave it throughout in descriptive text, these signals may provide new visitors with affirmation they’ve found what they’ve been looking for.  Internally, use responses to these questions to ensure program activity and codes of conduct support these defining pillars.

Identify a contact person or two

Invariably, someone visiting your site or with knowledge of your community will have a question which hadn’t been anticipatedwhen the site or program was originally planned.  That’s a good thing.  But do you want that person to spend their time trying to A) figure out precisely whom to contact  and B) digging all over the interwebs for Susie’s contact information?  Could be a frustrating experience.  The professionalism or legitimacy of the community could even be questioned (yes, we’re skeptical of a poorly planned and executed web presence.  We wonder if anyone’s actually paying attention).

Naturally, you may receive some spam or solicitations if you post this information in a prominent place online.  Yet it’s more community-centric to filter out 63 pieces of spam and hear from 4 interested constituants than be completely unreachable because you couldn’t be bothered with the hassle, or mistakenly thought “everyone knows who we are and how to reach us.”  Because some people really don’t, and others want the passive permission to reach out that well-placed contact info offers. What happened to basic premises of customer service?

If your face changes, tell people

Anyone who knew of Richard@dell knew when he left to join Visa because the information, once public, flowed readily in multiple channels and outposts.  When the face – however recognizable – of your community departs, be sure to push out messages that explain what participants can expect by way of changes, if any.  What does the change mean to them?  Offer assurances.

A sub-point on this one, if you have authors who contribute to the community blog, be sure they’re advised of any administrative changes like, say, how to submit future posts (a new email address and name would be nice).  Keep the community train moving.  Otherwise you have passengers milling about at the station aimlessly.  Doesn’t take much for them to catch another train.

Offer the courtesy of a prompt response

We live in a world of instant gratification.  Like it or not, we all want to have our needs addressed promptly, or at least get some sort of progress indicator.  The blasted hourglass symbol or swirling arrow tell us that something is in the works, and we’re [semi] satisfied with that knowledge because it means our query or command was submitted.

The same needs come into play when we’re trying to participate in a community or interact with a web site.  We need signals that it’s picking up what we’re putting down.

If you have a form on a page, make sure completion of the form triggers a thank-you message of some sort.  If you have a generic email box, consider an auto-reply message that clearly indicates the process and approximate schedule for human replies.

Community members may not pay monetary dues, but they’re giving your site or program something of value – their time and interest.  Reward their attention with simple courtesy and you may reinforce the community-centric reputation you’re trying so valiantly to build.

Give them every opportunity, and then one more

You can list a toll-free number and email address on every page.  You can feature sharing buttons for Yelp! and Get Satisfaction.  These are good steps, but more can be done to really impress upon visitors that your community is there to serve, how can you help?

I believe Freshbooks is community-centric.  In addition to providing a well-designed product and good experience for a reasonable fee, the company practically begs users for raw, naked feedback.  Freshbooks seems to want to know your pain and your joy.

After logging in, there’s an unobtrusive invitation on the top of the site to complete a 30 second survey.  I love that they recognize my time is valuable and that taking surveys suck, so they define right up front what it’ll cost me.  Since I give Freshbooks twenty bucks each month to organize my business finances, I want to be able to give them feedback freely and am glad they’re interested in serving me better.  What I really like is the closing message that populates the page after I log out.  They push out a form, just ripe for typing.  ”Here I am,” the form whispers, “let ‘er rip.”  The form includes a phone number (with hours of availability!) if I’m a talker.  Freshbooks really, really wants to know what they can do to make my accounting crap easier.

These are 5 of 10 immutable laws for the community-centric organization. Stay tuned for my next installment which covers 5 more truisms as I see it.  What would you add?

Freshbooks log-out screen

Build a joyful brand

But maybe this is where some brands have the unique opportunity to capitalize on the realities of life and work.  Where relevance and differentiation deliver some emotional fulfillment.  This could be where simple, clever time-savers could help frazzled over-achievers get a little bump.

Case in point:  Just last week I ready someone’s tweet (sorry! giant hat tip to someone!) about Appsumo.  Wow, was I interested by their bundled deal of MailChimp, FreshBooks, Moo, BatchBook and Formstack.  For $55, new subscribers get a year of good stuff from these guys.  Plus, 50% of all proceeds go to the National Wildlife Federation which plans to direct the funds to the clean-up efforts in the Gulf (my home turf). I am so there.

AppSumo has pulled together services I need plus introduced me to a couple I’d like to check out, all for one low price.  And I get the added win of helping a cause near to my heart.  Grabbing the deal is uncomplicated, and I’m tickled to have stumbled over the opportunity to do some of the back-end things I need to do for the business without a lot of financial commitment.  While not exactly a free, all-expenses-paid  trip to Greece, overall I’d call this a win.

AppSumo gets that people need help.  That they need help with their small business and with their blog.  The tech geeks like poking around in new stuff and everybody likes keeping some jing in their pocket.  Appsumo gets that easy=good.

Okay, at $55 that’s not exactly a gift.  I’m oversimplifying a bit to serve my point.  But this is a greatly-reduced, bundled-up deal that made me pretty happy.  You can bet I’m signing up for their newsletter and following them around the webs.  AppSumo is a brand that’s doing something different, giving me stuff that’s useful and making me feel good about it at the same time.

What brand has recently given you the gift of glee?

This project is a really fun way to peek into the heads of some people at the forefront of marketing communications and social media integration. This year, the central focus incorporates business scenarios and the challenges that are inherent to evolving traditional marketing to new lines of thinking.

In keeping with the prior two releases, proceeds from the sale of the book are being donated to a charity.  This year the organization is the Make A Wish Foundation.  I’m pretty sure this deal can’t get any sweeter.

I’m thrilled to be part of such a cool project, and can’t wait to order and read the book myself!  Take a few minutes to get to know some of the authors, and you too will be amazed at the level of talent and vision bound into one resource.  A few of my favorites:  Ian Lurie, Amy Mengel, Mike Sansone and Pete Jones.  The Age of Conversation 3 is a must-buy!

If you notice the brand’s wall, you’ll see a host of comments and announcements by the page’s fans.  All kinds of people are shouting out their love for the apparel maker. But the brand doesn’t seem to use the wall as an opportunity to engage directly with its consumers.  Miss. Nor could I find an instance in recent history where PINK representatives used the review or discussion to initiate or pursue related topics.  Another miss.  I imagine that things like garment care and cleaning, recommendations for certain types of body styles, etc. would be useful to fans.  Have the folks at PINK given any thought to adding more value to this experience, creating a stronger opportunity for sales and – dare I say – affinity?  Maybe that’s not their goal.

Despite silence from the PINK peanut gallery, fans are talking with one another in the discussions tab.  A conversation I checked out was between one female fan and a male fan centered around PINK’s foreign manufacture policy.  The two people exchanged several comments and finally the male lost his decorum.  The female retained her composure and stayed on point.  But the whole issue concerned my colleague, who felt it very risky to “allow” customers to interact online, on a forum hosted and maintained by the brand.  Wouldn’t it be smarter to disable the discussion tab and avoid potential conflict (as well as deny dissenters a platform)?

This situation is a single instance, and enabling/disabling a Facebook page tab is generally a tactical question.  Only six tabs can appear in the nav at one time, anyway.  But both speak to much larger issues of systemic concern for consumer-facing organizations in an increasingly connected, accessible, always-on, and public world:  moderate, or manage?

Consumers have witnessed (and borne) the past three years’ socio-economic events and emerged more curious and conscious about the brands they select.  Diminishing disposable income will do that to a fellow.  Money matters more, and we want more in return for the precious green we hand over.

Brands – perhaps more so makers of non-essentials like PINK – should be making very deliberate decisions about policies which might interest their core audiences, and the transparency with which they present relevant policy information.  Companies might not have historically viewed Facebook (for example) as a platform for reaching significant numbers of their audience about topics more weighty than sale dates or promo codes.  Increasingly, I think brands should consider every consumer touchpoint as an opportunity to share their story.

Chances are, PINK’s fans aren’t on the distro list for the company’s press releases.  The information the fans receive – and share – stem from other sources, and the degrees of separation can weaken or even misinform.

to be continued…

I was hearing all about these lists, running across both tweets (where some issued “thank you!” shout-outs for their impressive numbers) and blogs (some served as “how-to” instructions, others discussing the big-picture journalistic implications of the social segmentation feature).

Some of what I was reading struck me as a little floofy, to be honest, and mild-to-moderately ostentatious, with strong potential toward gratuitous. There have been lots of previous online discussions about influence and authority, and how their power can be determined. Brian Solis, whom I admire as much for his writing skills as much as for his PR and new media knowledge, suggests both a hierarchial and benign value to the tool.  I respectfully disagree with the latter but concede that perhaps if my Twitter crowd numbers mirrored his, I might think differently. I disagree with the former because I’m not sure – truly – what actionable difference those followers, retweets, and list numbers make. I swear I’d love reading Seth Godin if his name were George Costanza (he just may have been harder to discover).

The question is, will Lists would truly add value to the way most people use Twitter, or will they merely muddy waters and perpetuate the trite qualities of social media that sometimes arise?

Much like the trolls who used their tech know-how to offer “GET 10,000 FOLLOWERS NOW!” I discovered there are services to help you become Twitter-listed. If that sounds a little materialistic and shallow, well it just might be for those who place great weight in quantity over quality. I maintain that while the perpetual 7-year old inside me might burst with happiness at the thought of a gazillion followers and inclusion on a few hundred lists, I’m doubtful that it would signify I’m a better, smarter, or more generous person. There will always be subsets – the cool kids, the jocks, the geeks, the bad boys – and most of us float in and around them some; precious few are part of the exclusive elite. I’ve matured enough since school to know numbers don’t make the person, and they don’t make the professional. That takes substance. Quality. Arrogance and self-awareness seldom go hand in hand. Pursuit of this List thing (both numbers and the perceived value of the purely subjective List title) kinda makes me want to puke. And that’s truly not sour grapes talking.

I’ve always been on the fringe. Sometimes cool, sometimes not. So Lists (this inclusion, that exclusion) is really the story of my life (and the lives of many others, I believe). Only now the caste system isn’t based on the label on my jeans, style of my Trapper Keeper or model of my dad’s borrowed ride. It’s now based on some list numbers (and followers, and commenters, etc.).

At a glance, visitors to my Twitter home page won’t even know the manner in which I’ve been listed. Numbers could be tied to flattering titles, like “Smarties I like” or for less glamorous reasons like “Iowans.” Whew, now there’s a reason to make a list if I ever heard one.

In fairness, the Lists are truly just a new feature of a developing tool.  There will be others to follow.  Twitter has inargueably enabled me to connect with really interesting, talented people and discover countless bits of information from which to learn and grow. I’ve literally made real friends I value a lot. My life has been enriched. But I’m concerned we’re only just beginning to really understand how Twitter (LinkedIn and Facebook and other social platforms, for that matter) have the power to divide and disassociate people while at the same time distinguishing them.

“People tend to think that these relationships are trivial and not very deep, but this is what we’re moving towards, having a lot of our communications play out over the Internet,” Purdue University social psychologist Kip Williams said. “That’s the way it’s becoming; this is how we interpret our worth. People care how many [online] friends they have.” (followers, list numbers, etc.)

The polarity has been in play as long as the tools have – to friend or not, to follow or not, to retweet or not. Use of the tools is optional, and these aren’t your *real* friends anyway/it’s just online so it doesn’t really matter. Right? Wrong.

These tools undoubtedly bridge geographical gaps, enabling curious, generous people to strike friendships and professional relationships. And clearly, the List function has powerful implications for the distribution of time-sensitive news, information, and event details. I fully acknowledge these and other positive outcomes, like how brands can segment customer activity from trade member interest, and other ideas listed here.

However, I believe that sensitivity and caution needs to be employed, and List users should be prepared for potential fallout. Whether categorizing someone under “social media smarty” instead of “social media expert” or not listing someone you tweet with at all, people could get hurt. They could take umbrage. Others could let their big numbers get to their big heads (if I see one more tweet from this one chick about how freaking honored she is, I might lose it. Her tweets might be genuine were it not for her second most frequent tweet, the one about exclusive invitations to her nearly sold out seminar, and all those darn exclamation points).

You may say that Lists are as they appear, a categorization and segmentation tool to help with social time management. Those that don’t like your choices can get glad in the same pants they got mad in. That’s all well and good until someone gets their eye poked out (and you get that dreaded DM asking why.….).

[It's been a couple of weeks since I created my starter lists, and in truth, I haven't used them for anything. But hey, that's just me. I didn't 'get' Twitter at first, either. ]

I heard this inspiring quote for the first time in February, mentioned by my friend and counselor Sam Meers at a gathering I wish could have happened at some far, distant time in the future.  As it is, we were saying good-bye to a friend, a man who was bigger than life. Even as I heard Sam speak those words, they crept into my head and quietly spoke to me for months.  I’m finally writing about them because I think it’s important for others to consider reflecting upon the paths they’ve taken in business and in life, and the persons they’ve shared their journeys with.

Good Judgment Comes From Experience

I’ve had a few things happen in my life these past 8 months or so. Many good; I am a blessed and fortunate woman. Other things, however, I would have (at the time) preferred to avoid. As with many not-so-welcome events and experiences, most turned out for the best in the end – even though it may have been uncomfortable and the purpose just plain unclear for awhile. The important thing to me is to have survived the upset and walk away having learned everything of value possible.

Experience Comes From Poor Judgment

Herein lies the stickier part of the equation. Not only is it our responsibility to soak up opportunities to learn, and apply that knowledge when the situation calls for it. Well, we also have to stumble and make some missteps in order to know the difference between the right way and the wrong way, the best choice and the choice that’s simplest. Only by (occasionally) exercising poor judgment, making bad decisions, or tossing circumspection into the wind will we feel that white edge of pain which provides boundary between real leadership and the guy in charge. Between strength of character and situational control. Between being wise and being condescending.

One Can Move Mountains

Each of us has tremendous power. I think most days we forget it, though, as we scurry to meetings, respond to crisis, scramble to beat the clock. We see the forest for all it’s impressive bulk, density, and size. But we overlook the trees, some of which are tender and straining for sunlight. Sometimes our efforts to penetrate the forest may hardly even get noticed–by our boss, by the market. But our purposeful hand at even one tree can be seen and felt for a long time. That tree could be a single customer. Or a lone co-worker.

Ways You Can Be Powerful

1. Take each hour just a little more slowly.  Yes, the 9am deadline is fast approaching and you hear the copier make an alarming grinding sound from down the hall–but you have a supplier on the line and it’s not his problem. Give him the courtesy he’s due. Remember, you have the power to change the entire tone of his morning.
2. Really listen.  “How are you?” may be a perfunctory question in some social exchanges, from the early AM Starbucks line to the receptionist whose name you often forget–that doesn’t make the question meaningless. Listen to the reply you receive, and pay attention to what they say. Give a care.
3. Give it a second thought. Conclusion-jumping is the easiest of all Office Olympics events, but I’m ready to hand off my medal; are you? It’s so simple to get swept away with the tide of personal issues that an office environment affords. Remember that you can be a contributor a neutral party–only one gives you the power to remain removed and somewhat insulated.
4. Be vulnerable. “I’m sorry.” can be two have the hardest words to say, especially if strong words have been exchanged or there’s been an event. But when you need to say you were wrong, do so by giving the other person the respect and deference they deserve. Being vulnerable can help break down barriers; remaining open-minded and non-judgmental will remove the rubble and prep the ground for new work.
5. Share what you know. You’re smart, you’re experienced, and you have a lot of gifts to lend. Pay it forward by opening your schedule and your heart to helping others, so that they might grow.

To recap–tomorrow, remember that you’re one person, but have been made so by all that have come into your life. Whether a book you read, a speaker you heard, a friend who aided you, or a parent who guided you. You’re one person who can change your world as you know it–through a phone call, your casual words,  admirable choices, and freely given gifts of time and energy. You’re one person with the power to change many.

I had the opportunity to partner with Successful Blog author Liz Strauss, and let me say I’m darned lucky. Not only is Liz the fairy godmother of relationships and conversations, but she can identify kernels of ideas and say big things about them.  Things that get her readers thinking.  And you can be sure, they’re always listening to Liz.

The post I co-authored was published today and is titled “It’s so easy to get stuck repeating what we already know.” And you guessed it, it’s about making assumptions, not being in tune with your audience, the misapprehension of academic intelligence and practical intelligence, and a few other things too.

(More) Magic Happened

As you can see from the screen shot below, Liz announced the post this morning on Twitter. Some loyal followers checked out the post, then visited my blog and Twitter page. Voila! Cool stuff happened (Heather pumps fist in the air, yells “Score!”).  This morning, I gained about 27 new followers who likely wouldn’t have otherwise discovered me.

Celebrate! New peeps!

A Bigger, Better Following

Having people’s interest is really great, and on some level validating. But I’m not overly concerned with the number of folks in my Twitter sphere.  What I AM jazzed about is the new opportunities that were given to me today, as a result of the increase in followers.

Blessed with a larger network of friends, I can now bounce ideas off more people, my chances of discovering new links and tools has improved, I’ve  gained insight into new fields and strengthened insight into fields held in common.  There are more people for me to discuss things with, more people to be inspired by and learn from. Not to mention challenged, and even humbled, by. Like my own advisory council.  How cool is that?

Partnering With Peeps

Yeah, this “new followers” gig is a sweet one (for me). The trick is to honor their new interest by sharing the best I have to offer.  I sure will try.  Together, we’re as good as greater than the sum of our parts. Isn’t that the essence of social media?

Thank you, new followers.  Separately, we’re good.  Together, we’re great!