Dear board members,

We are pleased to be hosting you for a study morning on the subject of ‘Communities Management’, and to provide you with practical tools to manage communities of legal counsels.

We are pleased to present you with the ten commandments for communities managers:

1. Communication: Community managers are responsible for all community members, who regard them as mentors, or “responsible adults”. Correct, respectful and empathic communication by community managers to members (written or verbal) will naturally affect the community member’s commitment.
2. Social media: To ensure long term existence of the community, community managers should be skilled at using various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin, so that the existing and potential community member will encounter content on multiple channels.
3. Marketing: identifying needs, raising awareness and creating preference are marketing terminology. All these, and more, are part of the community manager’s obligations as part of recruiting members. To do all of these, the community manager must formulate a marketing strategy compatible with the community members, and use it to build and promote his brand – the community. The tactic for implementing the strategy can be story-telling for example, and use of a gadget is imperative.
4. Building a community: community members are the consumers. To remain loyal to a brand (community) the members must understand “what they get from it”. Therefore, a community will be built and supported through content, sharing, brain-storming and enriching discussions.
5. Optimization – continuous analysis and improvement: In order to improve and intensify, community managers should conduct regular joining/leaving analyses, response percentages, audience preference surveys, etc. – in order to assess the success of community building efforts and to make improvements where necessary.
6. Leadership: Community managers are Leaders and are the motivating force of the team. At the same time, authority should be delegated and tasks and responsibilities assigned to others, for example through appointing mediators tht will assist in sorting contents and formulating strategy.
7. Wherever – whenever: Technological advanced obliges community managers to implement new platforms for online community management. If there is difficulty – be assisted by a mediator (sixth commandment).
8. Creativity: In order to cause community members to remain loyal and not move over to a competing community, managers have to invent new and innovative ways of catching members attention to the community and to become a source of treasured information
9. Encouraging involvement: Encourage the community members to share their thoughts, ideas and feedback. Create opportunities through surveys, requests for sharing or asking questions and open dialog.
10. User experience: always remember being part of and belonging to a community is a privilege. Community managers should verify that the community members enjoy using the platform and that it suits them, however be strict about proper and respectful rules conduct so that each community member feels protected.

For viewing the examples: Practical Tools to Use – Community Marketing and Management.

I will be happy to assist with any clarification or advice. 

All the best,

Lori Kidron

CMO