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Mike Whaling › Comments
TurnSocial Helps to Make Apartment Websites More Social Friendly - http://rentbits.com/blog...
"Thanks for the mention, Dan. We believe there’s a lot of value in presenting a more comprehensive, more engaging view of a company’s online presence. Companies that have created a strong presence on social networking sites should be able to showcase that personality on their own site, and we can supplement that effort with additional local content. We’ll keep you posted as we get a better idea of how it affects user behavior. Thanks again for the post!"
- Mike Whaling
Snarkiness, anonymity and backchannel conversations at professional conferences - http://www.thesocialmediahandyman.com/blog...
"I agree, Tom ... put it front and center. I'm actually encouraging more conferences to do this, because I think it can add a lot of value to the conversation (or add a conversation where there was previously just a speaker). It gets everyone involved, even if just as a more engaged, more informed spectators."
- Mike Whaling
UDR Launches Augmented Reality Layer - http://www.naahq.org/blog...
UDR this week went live with its Pedestrian Apartment Navigation Search (PANS) AR layer, powered by Layar. PANS allows prospective apartment residents to view digital, interactive information about apartment communities in their immediate surroundings. The information is overlaid on real-time images prospects view through their Android-powered phones. From the NAA APTly Spoken blog.
- Mike Whaling
Is Internet Access Just an Expectation? - http://www.multifamilytechnology.com/2009...
"Thanks for dropping by, Mark. What do you mean by #2 ... do you think Internet access is still not available at most apartment communities, or it's just not an amenity that's included in the rent? As a renter, it doesn't bother me if I have to pay for cable and Internet access, but it's probably a deal-killer if I'm stuck with a service that's not competitive or doesn't meet my needs. Where do you see Internet/Wi-Fi falling on the list of needs for prospects at your communities?"
- Mike Whaling
RentShout Launches Apartment Community Web Pages to Increase Renter Leads - http://www.pitchengine.com/rentsho...
Apartment community pages feature available units, photos, Google maps and more, making online multifamily rental advertising more effective.
- Mike Whaling
Cool. Social Media Club Greenville meets and Twitter crashes again.
It's not just me then.
- justine walshe
Now we know who did it ... thanks, Trey!
- Mike Whaling
I'm not quite sure I understand #FF yet. Anyone wanna give me a little insight to how they use it?
We use it to aggregate all our social media and then we can use the RSS feed fro this to plug in other places like facebook. Facebook just acquired them though, so we will see what happens to them.
- Purcell Murray
Thank you. I'm just not sure how this is different from posting to the respective sites and linking to those comments/posts if necessary.
- Marcus Feder
Marcus, I like FF for the conversation. You can reply to a tweet, but conversations are much easier to follow here.
- Mike Whaling
@Eric_Urbane @midwestguest I tell you, it's just about impossible to keep these things a secret these days... Thanks, and have a great day!
Happy regular 'ol Monday Mike! :)
- Ellipse Group
Thanks, Ellipse ... happy Monday to you, too!
- Mike Whaling
The McKinley Tribe - http://my.mckinley.com/
"Powered by McKinley Apartments"
- Mike Whaling
As Communications Media Grow, FCC's New Chief Envisions an Updated Agency - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...
From WashingtonPost.com
- Mike Whaling
50 New CSS Techniques For Your Next Web Design - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009...
From Smashing Magazine
- Mike Whaling
7 Perfect WordPress Portfolio Themes - http://www.youthedesigner.com/2009...
From YouTheDesigner.com
- Mike Whaling
#CmtyChat Q2 July 17, 2009: How does a CM deal with the challenges of connecting/cultivating community on different platforms?
Daniel Johnson, Jr. and Lilian Mahoukou liked this
Should the platform really have that much importance?
- Martin Reed
I believe the core ideas of community building aren't limited to platform.
- Star Aasved
When is the "spirit of overcommunication" too much? (same msg across Twitter, FBook, email, website, etc.)? Are multiple touch points necessary?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
I think the platform has an impact, though. Different people like different platforms.
- Teresa Basich
Has the company decided what platforms are of most importance and given them focus? In my case, my community is self-contained and connected to a news site. BUT I know that members are elsewhere and connect with some there. I'm pushing for Facebook Connect. I think it depends on a lot here.
- Angela
Of course, the community is built around the value, content, and conversations within that cmty - but the platform can have a big effect depending on features, etc.
- Sonny Gill
Agreed. You can often reach different people on Facebook than you would on LinkedIn.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Martin, I would say it's best (at least at first) to go to the community on their turf, so I think platform is very important. Make it easy for them to get involved.
- Mike Whaling
Daniel: multiple "relevant' touch points are, adn they come in different flavors.
- Derek Curtis
Teresa - People should be joining a community because of the people there, not the platform it runs on. People don't care about that.
- Martin Reed
@Star, @Martin: Not limited to platform, but what if your community is splintered across different places--different blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
- Bryan Person
Take this chat and compare it with Twitter vs. FriendFeed. There are challenges from both platforms.
- Sonny Gill
Teresa, while that is true to some extent in the initial contact session, I believe that if a community is doing the right thing in terms of engaging users, the platform will lose importance.
- Star Aasved
@Martin Good point! Objective & strategy are more important and thus should come first before technology.
- Patricia Ooi
I find that different followers are on different sites, i.e twitter ,facebook etc. so send one announcement to all works
- Michael Woodrum
@Angela - good point, as it really is subjective on the type of community you're building and what the goals are.
- Sonny Gill
I think us SM types and many in the circle come to expect getting multiple instances of the same msg as a "necessary evil".
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Martin and Star -- So maybe that's where Sonny's question comes in? In what ways do you engage to bypass that initial awkwardness of a platform, or make it less important? I mean, you can take this as an example.
- Teresa Basich
Also look beyond the buzz of Facebook and Twitter - what methods are used now that can possibly lead to greater engagement. How can you fix/modify/edit your existing newsletter or forum, help desk system and "how to" articles.
- Derek Curtis
Ppls familarity & experience to specific platforms also is a variable.
- Jeff Hurt
Community ideally would work across multiple platforms, although it could show up differently eg being adapted for a great mobile experience
- Peter Hoffman
Certain platforms are less fertile. It also depends on the members interests and tools available.
- Lilian Mahoukou
I look at FB etc is just a way to point to my blog, website etc, just to keep me fresh in their minds
- Michael Woodrum
Teresa - Make sure the members and the community is more prominent that the platform (and has more importance). In my opinion, the platform the community runs on should have no importance to its members or the decision new visitors make when considering whether or not to join.
- Martin Reed
Teresa, I think if you're finding something of interest here, you'll tend to stick with it, if you can determine how to participate easily enough -- which it seems many of us have done. Content is a key, if the content is good, if people can find content they want to comment/expand upon, there will be success.
- Star Aasved
So using this chat as an example: We're experimenting with FriendFeed vs Twitter because we felt threaded comments would benefit the conversation. So far, it seems like at least that is true compared to Twitter's platform.
- Sonny Gill
I agree, Sonny. It's easier to manage the threads this way.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Agreed Sonny -- found it a bit awkward at first, but wanting to participate was the driving factor.
- Star Aasved
@Derek: Agreed, the goal should ultimately be to get those users back to a forum on your site, etc. Have a hub that you can drive everyone to, from whatever platform where they originally find you.
- Mike Whaling
Sonny - Right. But people joined because they wanted to be involved with Community Chat. No matter where you moved it to, people would have followed.
- Martin Reed
Great point, Star. The content really makes any awkwardness of a new platform take a backseat. Thanks!
- Teresa Basich
Re: multiple platforms... Many need to see/read/hear a message multiple times before taking action.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
@Sonny Gill, it's working for threaded yet other pros & cons. I'm struggling with it though. And I want to converse with Community Chat.
- Jeff Hurt
Daniel - or, perhaps, to buy into it.
- Star Aasved
@Martin - Fairly true, but there are differences. The people I see here I see on Twitter, but the conversation, due to the format, is definitely different.
- Sonny Gill
Look at Plenty of Fish - (are they a 'community'?). People always complain about the awkwardness of their platform. Hasn't dented their success though.
- Martin Reed
@Jeff - I understand. We know there are going to be likes and dislikes with us trying FriendFeed out. And we want to hear that from everyone here.
- Sonny Gill
One point of potential distraction here is the multiple threads going on and trying to keep up with all of them. Anyone else having trouble with that?
- Bryan Person
@sonny finding it difficult to follow several threads at once when I want to see stream of what ppl are discussing like in Twitter whether this thread or others. So it's narrowing opportunity for me.
- Jeff Hurt
@BryanPerson threading great for organized archive, but hard to follow as it's happening.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
There doesn't seem to be a way to limit the number of threads going on at once. I'm the admin, but that option isn't available.
- Bryan Person
I think you need to go where the conversations are happening, and adapt to whatever tools people are using. Today's event is a perfect example.
- Lou Ordorica
@Daniel: Agreed.
- Bryan Person
Bryan, I can follow the two threads that are currently on-screen, but scrolling makes it tough to follow more than that.
- Star Aasved
@Bryan Yep, I am. Seems great for a static conversation that people can reply to any time. Not sure about live convo yet.
- Jeff Hurt
Good points Bryan and Jeff. That is somewhat of a challenge, to keep up with all the threads.
- Sonny Gill
Also agree with Daniel, this will be great for later ... but tough to follow in the moment.
- Mike Whaling
Good point, Lou. Adaptability is key.
- Teresa Basich
What do you think of one Twitter DM sent to members of a group? DM often thought of as 1 to 1, but in this case it's 1 to many. Some in my cmty didn't like that.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
@Lou Agreed. We should start to take advantage of our listening work at first, and then go where the conversations take place.
- Lilian Mahoukou
Re: platform, in my experience non-tech-savvy community members gain comfort in one place & will drop out rather than switch if platform changes. CM can't assume members are *only* about the people and connections.
- Marcia Conner
Lilian -- I think listening is a discovery process that can be exhilarating! I'm amazed at how little I actual really know the more I study the conversations and connect with groups and individuals.
- Lou Ordorica
I think there's more to listening than just saying you're listening to folks. I think it takes an acknowledgement of the ppl you're listening to. I also think ppl in social media have "listening fatigue" because it's so overused as term right now.
- Jeff Hurt
Are you suggesting "listening" has become a cliche? :)
- Bryan Person
Jeff, I think listening is the starting point - you need to be able to hear in order to act. Yes, acknowledgment is important as well, but until you understand the various currents that are floating, you can't engage with any authenticity.
- Star Aasved
You need to prove you're listening by engaging in real conversations. People will then know whether you are *really* listening or not.
- Martin Reed
@staraasved - it's just like any other relationship, personal or professional. You're right.
- Derek Curtis
Back to the question... having a way to monitor changes in conversation across multiple platforms is essential, whether through RSS or email notifications. Otherwise you'll be spending your entire day checking for new comments across the multiple channels.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
I mean, if you're getting paid to do that, it's one thing. I feel, though, we're striving for more efficiency here.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
@Daniel: Some communities really are confined to one platform. But increasingly these days, it seems, things are spreading out across multiple platforms
- Bryan Person
Daniel - I've built "listening dashboards" that aggregated conversations from blogs, social networks, etc and used these to report on brand mentions, what competitors are saying, trends and "bullets". Very effective tool, I need to put together a slideshare on how to do this.
- Lou Ordorica
@Martin - Should the platform have that much importance? It does if it creates barriers to people being able to freely chat. IMO, this vehicle created new barriers to me and I found I could not respond in adequate time.
- Jeff Hurt
Jeff: Agreed that there were times that keeping up with all the messages was a bit of a challenge. I think (and hope) this will get easier in subsequent weeks. The difficulties could also have been because you were new to the platform?
- Bryan Person
#CmtyChat Q3 July 17, 2009: via Daniel Johnson - What skills are absolutely essential for effective CMs?
Lilian Mahoukou, Mike Whaling and Daniel Johnson, Jr. liked this
I think listening is one of the top skills required.
- Star Aasved
understanding of all communications, not just social media. listening is vital. personable is another.
- Chuck Hemann
Multi-tasking, patience, dedication, commitment, tolerance, personable.
- Martin Reed
An understanding of how communications/biz dev/marketing are tied into the CM role.
- Sonny Gill
Authenticity and the humility to apologize - my personal experience. Learner's heart.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Being able to plot out what engagement/community can or will do for the organization's bottom line.
- Teresa Basich
Ability to pull resources from any department within the organization - provide access by bringing the subject matter expert to the table.
- Mike Whaling
really like the authenticity point from Daniel. It's easy to spot someone who is being "fake"
- Chuck Hemann
The community manager must speak fluent Social Media as well as fluent traditional business. CM must be a good translator as well as creative.
- Keith Burtis
Has to be able to represent management to the community and the community to management.
- Jenna Woodul
@Keith - Good point. The traditional side of the business and how community management ties into the rest of your business' goals is important.
- Sonny Gill
Diplomacy but not to the point of avoiding conflict at any cost.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
@Keith - is that the ROI point? how do the CM's effots contribute to the bottom line?
- Chuck Hemann
Great point, Jenna. Conduit between two sides.
- Teresa Basich
Understanding company's goals, being able to translate those into implementation.
- Star Aasved
@Jenna: Great take. Connie Bensen likes to say that a community manager is the voice of the company externally and the voice of the community internally.
- Bryan Person
Everything ties back to ROI whether we like it or not...if you go to a senior exec and say..Ive had 15 conversations added 100 twitter followers and have 500 fans on friendfeed..they'll say..."Who cares?"
- Keith Burtis
Thick skin. Tact. Empathy. The ability to communicate very effectively about positives and negatives. The written word is crucial.
- Angela
How about effectively managing differing sets of expectations?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
@Bryan - so they are a defacto company spokesperson then? How does that role diverge from a traditional media spokesperson? or do they work in harmony?
- Chuck Hemann
BUT - if you can show the ACTIONS people are taking as a result of the community invlvemnt then you have a win win - Community = X (X=Y)
- Keith Burtis
Fluidity. Ability to roll with changes, know when change is necessary and when change may not be the best course of action.
- Star Aasved
But if you can illustrate to a senior Exec how you retained customers, changed a persons view, kept them around when they were leaving for good. Sent an email that turned them around completely, that works. You need the stories.
- Angela
And here I thought the face of the company was the receptionist. ;)
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Empathetic listening; ability to persuade with words; acting quickly and surely but never too hastily.
- Kat Brennan
Great points Keith on ROI. Companies are looking for DIRECT returns, not fluff from social media numbers.
- Sonny Gill
It would seem that measuring ROI in social media is the brass ring.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
I agree with Keith that direct ROI metrics sell community, but I think they also exclude much of the value of community. We should educate c-level execs about the less direct and less tangible - but still very real - value in social transactions.
- Jon Lebkowsky
Jon, yes - metrics only tell part of the story.
- Star Aasved
Should we expect our CM to understand business metrics? Seems like a different skill set to me
- Mark Sylvester
Daniel -- I remember going to a conference where a speaker emphasized using Return on Information as opposed to ROI. Took this advice, one of the bigger mistakes I've made. Lesson is always stick to the vocabulary and rules everyone else plays to. There is room for creativity, but not when it comes to hard-line numbers.
- Lou Ordorica
Essential to understand business as well
- Keith Burtis
CM doesn't need to be a business person, but definitely needs to understand the business goals of the community and how the community goals support them. Otherwise, the community is going to be short-lived.
- Jenna Woodul
Two threads I'm picking up. One, CM is a hybrid position that requires a diverse skills portfolio. Very untraditional. Two, it all ties back to ROI.
- Bill Free
@Mark I think CMs should understand business metrics, if it's not the case they might face more hurdles to do their work the best way.
- Lilian Mahoukou
CM's MUST create meaningful metrics that align with the business, we can't be rogue warriors, having a business understanding and being accepted internally as a key player are very important.
- Keith Burtis
After you have the meaningfull metrics set up benchmarks for yourself. This helps you proove your effectiveness. Once the internal reporting, meaningful metrics and benchmarks are set up you can go out into the wild and be creative. That pipeline of metrics ALWAYS stays the same. How you go about your community activities is fluid and moves with the industry
- Keith Burtis
Business reporting and community building need to be inherently seperate....You NEVER want to look at your community, network or individuals in your community as numbers to convert. My biggest rule is: never approach a network or individual in a network with a one sided greedy objective
- Keith Burtis
@Keith: Do you ever find it difficult to separate community building from business goals?
- Bryan Person
@Bryan - the business goals remain static, once you set the pipeline up you tend to forget about it. So not really. I love the creative, passionate, and communal part of social media. I find that if my heart is in the right place and the business pipeline is set up then everything falls into place
- Keith Burtis
@Bryan - the biggest fear I have when teaching people about ROI and traditiona;l business is that they will treat social media like traditional advertising and broadcasting. Thats why I say you need to be able to speak fluent business as well as have a massive understanding of the socil culture
- Keith Burtis
Keith -- really like your thinking on the role of community building and CM in a business, shows how the role is evolving.
- Lou Ordorica
Thanks Lou
- Keith Burtis
RANDOM: Feel free to chat amongst yourselves and what not in this open thread. Our main questions will be posted in our Q threads.
Daniel Johnson, Jr. liked this
How many of us here have paid positions as community managers versus doing this on a volunteer basis?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
I am fortunate to get paid for what I do, which is always nice. :)
- Lou Ordorica
I am self employed - so earn money based on my own effectiveness as a CM!
- Martin Reed
Neither at the moment -- I'm still in learning mode, hoping to integrate what I learn here into next position.
- Teresa Basich
I am a paid community manager at WRAL.com
- Angela
Part of my paid position for nonprofit, along with planning F2F events & education
- Jeff Hurt
Daniel, my official title with LiveWorld (paid) isn't as a community manager per se, although there are similar components.
- Bryan Person
I volunteer my time pro bono atm for New Media Cincinnati, which is much like a part-time job.
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
I am paid by Best Buy Remix to consult and run heir new media activities
- Keith Burtis
A little of both. In my paid capacity I am investigating building internal and external communities, but it is a side project. That essentially means I'm doing it on my own time ;)
- Bill Free
David, I'm in a paid community management position.
- Star Aasved
Are these questions decided on beforehand, or can anyone throw one out to the group?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Beforehand but also on the fly. If you have a question you want up. Post it here and I'll post a main question thread for everyone to comment on. FF is obviously open so just trying to have the chat organized somewhat for everyone here.
- Sonny Gill
@Sonny_Gill Here's my Q:What skills are absolutely essential for effective CMs?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Thanks Daniel, posted!
- Sonny Gill
If anyone has any questions - feel free to post them in this thread and I'll get them up!
- Sonny Gill
I can see these chats are going to result in a new FF feature: Liking comments.
- Mike Whaling
FF question: how can I star or mark someone's comments as a favorite or otherwise noteworthy?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
You can 'LIKE' a thread, but not individual comments.
- Sonny Gill
Any other questions guys n gals?
- Sonny Gill
If you have a new question you'd like Sonny to toss out to the group, just shout it out here!
- Bryan Person
@Sonny - we talk about this a lot, but how do you convince a company/your boss that a community manager is needed?
- Chuck Hemann
Got it, Chuck.
- Sonny Gill
Possible related question... When should a community be shut down or handed over to someone else?
- Daniel Johnson, Jr.
YouLove.us - http://youlove.us/
Creative, digital & website design agency based in Chichester, Sussex
- Mike Whaling
Eden Project presents the Eden Sessions - http://www.edenproject.com/session...
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Bold design, great use of CSS. This site was nominated as a finalist for a web award at SXSW Interactive '09.
- Mike Whaling
Killam Properties - http://www.killamproperties.com/
Apartment company in Halifax.
- Mike Whaling
Intel publishes social media guidelines for its employees - http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL...
From Between the Lines, ZDNet.com
- Mike Whaling
10 Essential Plugins Every Modern Wordpress Site Should Have - http://freelancefolder.com/essenti...
From FreelanceFolder
- Mike Whaling
Using Paid Search for Organic Optimization - http://www.clickz.com/3634060
From ClickZ
- Mike Whaling
Fenton Community Expo 2009 - http://www.fentonsays.com/article...
From FentonSays.com
- Mike Whaling
Do Something 101 School Supply Drive - http://www.facebook.com/dosomet...
Staples Facebook page.
- Mike Whaling
19 Presence Management Chores You COULD Do Every Day - http://www.chrisbrogan.com/19-pres...
From ChrisBrogan.com
- Mike Whaling
Finding and Engaging Customers via Twitter - http://www.prnewsonline.com/feature...
From PR News Online
- Mike Whaling
Enthusem - http://www.enthusem.com/
Personalized Printed Greeting Cards
- Mike Whaling
Tweetaways.com - http://tweetaways.com/
An easy way to pick a random twitterer who tweets a specific phrase.
- Mike Whaling
Iconfinder - http://www.iconfinder.net/
Icon search made easy
- Mike Whaling
How one company uses Web 2.0 tools to run and promote their business - http://www.socialmedia.biz/2009...
From SocialMedia.biz
- Mike Whaling
ZIPskinny - http://www.zipskinny.com/
"Get the Skinny on that ZIP (demographics by ZIP Code)"
- Mike Whaling
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