Last week’s community manager tip about how members notice everything is part of why community managers need to pay close attention to how we behave in our online communities. Members notice everything, and they watch the community manager and other leaders in the community to determine what types of behaviors are appropriate and expected in the community. Every community operates with slightly different norms and expectations, and we need to be careful to role model those behaviors that we want to see in our members.
Here are a few things to think about. Are you encouraging behaviors you want to see from others?
- Do you try to be as helpful when people are asking questions as you expect from other community members?
- Are you careful to remain calm and not fly off the handle when things get intense?
- Do you use language that is consistent with what you expect others to use?
- What techniques do you use to help redirect people to keep the discussions on topic?
- How do you deal with difficult community members?
Additional Reading
Part of a series of community manager tips blog posts.
Photo by Amber Case used with permission.
Hey Dawn: This is excellent advice. While seemingly very basic, it is easy for community managers who don’t understand the magnitude of their roles to post inappropriate comments and model behavior that isn’t very becoming or worth emulating. I’ve been in many situations where comments or content made me very emotional, but I walked away and came back with a great response filled with tact and essentially “killed them with kindness.” I also found that MANY people copied me. When they saw me welcoming newcomers, they followed suit. If I posted a movie review, we’d get several more that week or even that day. Your job is to plant the seeds. If you want the community to act a certain way, show them.
Angela Connor
@communitygirl