February 11, 2010
10 Ways to Show Your Community Love
By: David Alston
**In the spirit of community, David Alston and Teresa Basich collaborated on this post. Enjoy!
In many ways, a healthy relationship between your brand and its community parallels that of a healthy relationship between two people. Both relationships rest on simple tenets like respect, and both should be celebrated whenever possible. When thinking about the connection you’ve built with your community and its members, remember these 10 truths of a healthy relationship to keep your community feeling loved and appreciated.
- Remember to say ‘Thank you’ – People generally enjoy saying or doing nice things for others and tend to do it without expecting to be thanked for it. However, we all know how great it makes us feel when we are recognized for our efforts. When your community says something nice about you, it’s always a wonderful idea to say ‘thank you’.
- Celebrate their successes – This is the age-old principle of thinking of others before yourself. If you do so, then you will probably notice the great things members of your community are accomplishing. Congratulate them and share their successes with others whenever you can.
- Be a good listener – This is probably some advice we all received at least once from a parent in our lives. Like Stephen R. Covey points out in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Great relationships are also built on the idea of give and then, perhaps, get. Invest in your community by listening and understanding their needs.
- Ask for their opinion – There probably isn’t a person alive who doesn’t like being asked for their opinion. Collaboration on a project almost always produces a better end result. Social media has given brands an amazingly simple and effective way to engage with those who have thoughts and ideas about them and their products and services. Remember to ask your community for its opinion.
- Don’t forget about the little things – Sometimes it is the smallest of gestures that can mean the most to someone. Focusing on the little things that matter can show a person that they are indeed worth your time. When approaching relationships from a long-term frame of mind, it is very possible to make the time along the way for those important details without getting overwhelmed by the idea. Look out for the little touches to help each community member.
- Be patient – In any relationship, making things work means working through the occasional misunderstanding or frustration with one another. Life is not supposed to be simple; if it were, it wouldn’t be all that exciting. It’s important that you take a step back and look at every challenge from the other’s point of view. Your patience and willingness to try to understand will be appreciated. Be known for your abundant patience and caring approach with your community.
- Admit your mistakes – Nobody is perfect, and holding onto your pride will never do you any favors. When you invest in building relationships within your community, members get to know your brand’s human side. You will make errors but, while members may be disappointed, your community generally has the ability and willingness to forgive. Be quick to admit your mistakes and be genuine in asking for forgiveness.
- Share a common passion – Brands and people are more than capable of setting up daily routines to get things accomplished based on things that need to be done. And while working side by side on something does create a bond, it’s usually not a bond that is sustainable over a very long period of time. Finding a common passion, something you both enjoy doing and talking about, creates the strongest bonds. If you are passionate about what you do, then no doubt there are others out there that feel the same way you do. Find them, invite them to your community, and enjoy learning and sharing together.
- Show respect and gain trust – The strongest relationships are built on mutual respect and trust. But getting to that point should ideally start with you. Be willing to respect the views of your community even though you may not entirely agree with them. Community members have reasons for their views and it is up to you to understand, or at least accept, them. And, when making commitments to your community, make sure you meet or exceed their expectations. Being willing to compromise, or give and take, will help your brand demonstrate respect and earn a community’s trust.
- Celebrate Valentine’s Day everyday – Giving your community a Valentine once a year is definitely a nice gesture, but finding ways to show them how much you love them on a regular basis should be what you strive for. Apply your creative energy to think of new ways to accomplish goals 1-9. Most companies are still just awakening to this idea of focusing on their community, so anything you do to show appreciation for your community now can help your brand stand out in the crowd. And, heck, who doesn’t enjoy making someone smile with an unexpected gift?
Although it’s not Valentine’s Day yet, we wanted to get you thinking about the holiday and how love and appreciation can be translated into your community work. How do you celebrate the relationship your brand has with its community?
And, because you’re part of our community, we wish you a very happy, if early, Valentine’s Day!
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by rifergus: RT @radian6 10 Ways to Show Your Community Love http://is.gd/8aE1H...
Nice post!
This is not only a guide for how to behave in a community, but how folks should conduct themselves in general. In some ways, it is a sad commentary on the current culture.
Another great example of a company that does a great job with this is Omniture via @OmnitureCare (Ben Gaines) There was recently a great write up about Ben here: http://emptymind.org/learning-from-a-twitter-expe…
-Rudi
Nice post!
This is not only a guide for how to behave in a community, but how folks should conduct themselves in general. In some ways, it is a sad commentary on the current culture.
Another great example of a company that does a great job with this is Omniture via @OmnitureCare (Ben Gaines) There was recently a great write up about Ben here: http://emptymind.org/learning-from-a-twitter-expe…
-Rudi
Rudi,
You make a valuable point about these concepts being applicable to human interaction and relationships on a broader scale. Seems like we get away from what makes relationships thrive more than we'd like. And thank you for the great link to Ben's interview!
[...] Follow this link: 10 Ways to Show Your Community Love « Social Media Monitoring and … [...]
Nice Valentine's Day post! The one that I think perhaps has surprised me the most over the years – and this is perhaps because it takes time for reflection – is that people forget to take the time to thank others. For businesses, taking time means it needs to be planned in but regardless – building in time to project schedules to thank people – particularly if they have done something without getting any direct benefit from doing something – it really important.
The second one that I see as growing in importance is patience – not just for each others' idiosyncrasies but for processes as a whole, particularly in the community management space. Encouraging members and making things easier for them is the best way to nudge them toward desired behaviors but the results are off-set. You encourage and encourage – and one day when you least expect it, they surprise you in unexpected and great ways. But having the patience to let people do things in their own time is really hard, particularly in the business environment.
Rachel,
Thanks for the great comment! I think the power of 'thank you' can be seen in how thrilled people are when they get thanked. It's become a rarity, and it needs to be so much more prevalent than it is. For a business to thank its customers and larger community, though, for the things they do — that means the world.
You make a really fantastic point about how hard it can be to wait for people to make their way into the right process paths. This is especially true in communities, where you can't push too hard or you'll alienate members. There's a grace to that kind of nudging, and it takes tons of patience. I so respect the work you community managers do!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Nice Valentine's Day post! The one that I think perhaps has surprised me the most over the years – and this is perhaps because it takes time for reflection – is that people forget to take the time to thank others. For businesses, taking time means it needs to be planned in but regardless – building in time to project schedules to thank people – particularly if they have done something without getting any direct benefit from doing something – it really important.
The second one that I see as growing in importance is patience – not just for each others' idiosyncrasies but for processes as a whole, particularly in the community management space. Encouraging members and making things easier for them is the best way to nudge them toward desired behaviors but the results are off-set. You encourage and encourage – and one day when you least expect it, they surprise you in unexpected and great ways. But having the patience to let people do things in their own time is really hard, particularly in the business environment.
Rachel,
Thanks for the great comment! I think the power of 'thank you' can be seen in how thrilled people are when they get thanked. It's become a rarity, and it needs to be so much more prevalent than it is. For a business to thank its customers and larger community, though, for the things they do — that means the world.
You make a really fantastic point about how hard it can be to wait for people to make their way into the right process paths. This is especially true in communities, where you can't push too hard or you'll alienate members. There's a grace to that kind of nudging, and it takes tons of patience. I so respect the work you community managers do!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Nice Valentine's Day post! The one that I think perhaps has surprised me the most over the years – and this is perhaps because it takes time for reflection – is that people forget to take the time to thank others. For businesses, taking time means it needs to be planned in but regardless – building in time to project schedules to thank people – particularly if they have done something without getting any direct benefit from doing something – it really important.
The second one that I see as growing in importance is patience – not just for each others' idiosyncrasies but for processes as a whole, particularly in the community management space. Encouraging members and making things easier for them is the best way to nudge them toward desired behaviors but the results are off-set. You encourage and encourage – and one day when you least expect it, they surprise you in unexpected and great ways. But having the patience to let people do things in their own time is really hard, particularly in the business environment.
Rachel,
Thanks for the great comment! I think the power of 'thank you' can be seen in how thrilled people are when they get thanked. It's become a rarity, and it needs to be so much more prevalent than it is. For a business to thank its customers and larger community, though, for the things they do — that means the world.
You make a really fantastic point about how hard it can be to wait for people to make their way into the right process paths. This is especially true in communities, where you can't push too hard or you'll alienate members. There's a grace to that kind of nudging, and it takes tons of patience. I so respect the work you community managers do!
Happy Valentine's Day!
[...] 10 Ways to Show Your Community Love (David Alston & Teresa Basich) It’s not often you see two people collaborating on a post such as this, but David and Teresa pull it off nicely. My favorite tip of theirs: Admit your mistakes. [...]
All well and good if you're Alfa Romeo, but the relationship analogy is a bit thin if you're looking at toilet cleaners. The point is I mostly don't want to have a relationship with brands, their PR agencies, or necessarily other purchasers. I have family for that
Sorry, not trying to be mean but this relationship talk goes too far sometimes
All well and good if you're Alfa Romeo, but the relationship analogy is a bit thin if you're looking at toilet cleaners. The point is I mostly don't want to have a relationship with brands, their PR agencies, or necessarily other purchasers. I have family for that
Sorry, not trying to be mean but this relationship talk goes too far sometimes
Adil,
While I agree that not everyone cares to have a relationship with brands, there are those who *do*. Those people are the ones who join brand communities and get involved. And for those advocates of the brand, for those people who want to contribute and make a point to show their appreciation and get involved with a particular company or product, its on the heads of the brands to reciprocate.
This isn't necessarily for everyone, but for the brands who reach out and find there's a community waiting for them to jump in, it's important those brands show their community that they care.
Thanks for the comment!
[...] 10 Ways to Show Your Community Love [...]
[...] where your community is hanging out, to identifying some tactics for showing your community members appreciation. Heck, we’ve even written a (e)book on the [...]
Hi,
This is excellent tips to love our community. I agree that not everyone cares to have a relationship with brands. where your community is hanging out, to identifying some tactics for showing your community members appreciation. Thanks for sharing such a nice post.
[...] 9. 10 Ways to Show Your Community Love [...]
Hi everybody. I needed to share with you just about all my own encounter with a current breakup and ultimately our own getting back together. Soon after we broke up I went thru lonely weeks where I was profoundly feeling hopeless. When i realized that I wanted him back again yet would not desire to together again for the inappropriate reasons. I quizzed myself some tough questions like have I changed, has he changed even the least bit, why should I wish to get with him definitely? Whenever I came up with solutions to all of these questions I knew I wanted him back once again. We have been more content than ever and this has become the most effective choice of my entire life.
Thanks, But its really very hardly to deal with this.
[...] 10 Ways to Show Your Community Love [...]
Rudi,
You make a valuable point about these concepts being applicable to human interaction and relationships on a broader scale. Seems like we get away from what makes relationships thrive more than we'd like. And thank you for the great link to Ben's interview!
Adil,
While I agree that not everyone cares to have a relationship with brands, there are those who *do*. Those people are the ones who join brand communities and get involved. And for those advocates of the brand, for those people who want to contribute and make a point to show their appreciation and get involved with a particular company or product, its on the heads of the brands to reciprocate.
This isn't necessarily for everyone, but for the brands who reach out and find there's a community waiting for them to jump in, it's important those brands show their community that they care.
Thanks for the comment!