Community management is an important element of a successful social media strategy. It’s all about generating, nurturing and growing a relationship with customers, fans, advocates and your industry at large. A dedicated community team is the liaison from outside to inside and are there to help, answer questions, participate in conversations, and make a human connection.

We make it a very high priority to be part of the communities we serve and contribute to the larger discussion. When I tell people what I do at Radian6, I say that I lead our efforts to engage with, inform and learn from Radian6’s customers and communities.

I’m very lucky to work with one of the most talented and dedicated teams of communicators I’ve ever met. Whether they are engaging online and creating a human connection with our community, or creating helpful content for them, they embody a key element of what we call our “Radian6-ness.”

Each Friday I’ll be highlighting two community members from our team to help you get to know the faces behind our Twitter handle, Facebook page, blog posts and so much more. Today we feature Miss 20 Q’s and the Microbrew Queen.

Melanie Thompson, Community Analyst

During the day Melanie can often be found answering your tweets and posts through the Radian6 Engagement Console. With a background in public relations, she is passionate about writing and discussing social media and the transforming affect it’s having on how businesses and people communicate. Working with great people and having the opportunity to learn new things each day is what keeps Melanie excited about work and so passionate about Radian6.

She calls herself Miss 20 Q’s — always asking questions and digging deeper looking for the root causes and meanings. She likes to ask questions that make people stop and think, and finding the right question to help solve a problem.

Melanie has lived in five Canadian provinces and loves the way social media has allowed her to stay connected to friends and family across the country. In her spare time, Melanie loves to read and write. One way she incorporates the two is by reading DIY/decor blogs and working on and sharing projects of her own. She and her husband are expecting their first child this coming May and are looking forward to the joys of parenthood. Her favorite moments in life are feeling those tiny baby kicks.

Julie Meredith, Financial Services, Community Engagement Specialist

Julie’s social media strategy experience comes from her public relations and marketing background. She has worked with New Brunswick agency Revolution Strategy, where she moderated a government-affiliated tourism micro-site, creating content, editing and also developing social media strategy around various internal initiatives.

Julie has become the face of Radian6’s finance community, creating useful resources for financial services. She helps banks, brokerage services, insurance companies and many other finance companies get started and excel in social media in this heavily regulated industry.

Born and bred in Halifax, Nova Scotia (near a micro-brewery) and after numerous years of travelling and living in the UK, Julie has a keen interest for micro-brewed beer.

How do you work successfully with a social media community?

Melanie: Have fun! When you are having fun people will do the same right along with you. When it’s a joy to do (and it certainly is) the community recognizes this and is drawn in. I think people want to be a part of a fun community.

Julie: For financial services, jumping into social media can be pretty intimidating in such a heavily regulated industry. Just start by listening. When you start listening to your community, you’re already half way there. Your community is already out there discussing you, your competitors and the overall financial industry. Tap into this incredible resource to understand whether the buzz is about loans, insurance, gains or losses.

When you’re ready to start engaging, a strong social media policy is your base for building an effective (and compliant) social media strategy that will strategically support and promote your customer service, public relations and marketing initiatives.

You can reach our team at community@radian6.com, or click on Melanie or Julie’s name for their Twitter handles.

Tags: Community, enterprise, social media strategy, team