Dalton the Community Manager

Regardless of you role or years of experience, it is always good to gather new ideas and perspective.  For my fellow Community Managers, I believe this will be that new perspective.  Imagine Dalton not as a cooler, but a Community Manager - here are some great words of advice to help you with your community and the important job you do.



"Be Nice"
A Community Manager's job is to build relationships, listen to and help community members, and steer discussions; all while staying positive.  It is fine to set standards and be firm, but be nice.  Make your positivity contagious.

"Nobody ever wins a fight"
It can feel good to get the best of a troll, but there will always be another.  Never get caught up in the anger of someone who only seeks to throw bombs or attack others - delete the post, block the troll, and move on. Community members look to you to set the tone: if you are rude and attack others, they will too.

"I want you to remember that it's a job. It's nothing personal"
Never let a troll get the best of you by getting into your head.  No matter the community, members will have opinions about the way do do a job or solve a problem: as the Community Manager, it is your responsibility to see that conversations stay on track and remain professional.  Stay on topic and NEVER let a discussion become an argument.

"People who really want to have a good time won't come to slaughterhouse"
No matter your community: business / hobby, internal / external - members join to learn from one another, to share best practices, and help each other solve problems.  No one wants to read personal rants or get attacked for their opinions: a bad environment will not only hinder discussion, it WILL destroy your membership.

Be fair, Be firm, Be nice
I welcome your comments.
Cheers,
Toby

@Toby_Metcalf
#CMGR #CMGRCHAT

Work Toward Loyalty

Good morning,
Price may get them in (and may even cause some to shop around), but it is the service and experience a customer receives that makes him loyal to you or your brand. We lead such hectic lives it is wonderful to find a brand you can count on to get it right and put you first.
How comforting is it to walk into your favorite restaurant where you are known, the food is consistent, and, the service right on? The service provider who is always on time, knowledgeable, and friendly? 

Need to see the numbers, check out this infographic from Entrepreneur.com

Customers have choices - work toward loyalty.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Cheers,

Toby

Thanksgiving Wine Tutorial

 

Good afternoon all - 

Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I would like to share two red varietal alternatives. With the cold November weather and hearty sides that accompany old Tom, reds can actually be a better match than white wines.

Red Zinfandel and Pinot Noir have the combination of tasty flavor punch and silky mouth feel to be wonderful complements to your meal.  

Below are some of my favorite wine makers as well as regions - even if you local wine shop does not carry these brands, look for a Zin or Pinot from these regions.

Zins:
Ravenswood - Steele - Plungerhead - Ridge - Four Vines (Wine Makers)
Russian River - Mendocino - Lodi - Paso Robles (Wine Regions)

Pinot Noir:
Belle Glos - Meiomi - 90+ - BearBoat - Argyle (Wine Makers)
Willamette Valley - Russian River - Sonoma (Wine Regions)

Have fun and try something new this Thanksgiving!

Cheers,
Toby

Don't feed the Troll - Respond to the objective third party

No matter if you are a blogger, marketer, or community manager, you have had a run in with a troll.  Rather than using their experience to help others, trolls concern themselves with asking "gotcha" questions or starting arguments with other community members for the purpose of attention.  It is important to have an engagement plan of how to deal with them.

Here are some simple guidelines to get you started:
If the post, tweet, or comment is a legitimate complaint:

• Your response should come within the hour
• Apologize and show empathy
• Answer the question or provide a resolution
• Include a link to your site or YouTube channel
• Thank the customer and confirm satisfaction

If the subject seems to be a troll's rant:

• Your response should come within the hour
• Ask the poster to define his expectatiions
• Offer a private engagement channel like phone or email (NEVER argue with troll in public)
• Fighting with a Toll will only encourage him to continue - sometimes ignoring or deleting the comment is best

Before responding, step back and remember there are objective third parties who see the difference between a legitimate customer complaint and a troll's rant.  If the post is a legitimate complaint: excellent, you have an opportunity on your hands because all brands encounter problems from time to time - the great ones acknowledge and overcome the problems.  It is not always what is said about your brand, but how you respond to it.  People follow you on Twitter or join your community to learn from and engage with like minded folks; they do not want to be bullied or read fights.  It is often best practice to not respond to trolls, but sometimes these folks can be transformed in to brand advocates. 

As always - I welcome you comments.

Best,

Toby

Slow Down to Move Faster

Have you ever clicked "send" and realized there was an error in your memo or an important thought or call to action was left out of your email?  These mistakes can move you further away from your goals rather than closer to them.

"I'm under the gun."  "I want to be first to market."  "I need to beat my competition to the punch."  All of these things show passion and drive, but without planning and attention to detail, your message will be lost.

A quick, but funny example:

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

Programs can identify spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, but they cannot help you with the clarity and flow of your message.   Just like spelling, your objective and message are clear in your head and this may result in missed errors when proofreading; it is imperative you have clearly communicated your thoughts and calls to action to your audience.

You are busy, your team is busy - your boss and potential clients are certainly busy.  Do not waste their valuable time or lose that opportunity because you had such desire to be heard or first to their inbox.

Slow down to move faster.

What happened to the practice of conversation and the art of debate?  Why are certain topics off limits at all times? For some reason we are no longer happy with a simple exchange of information and learning from one another; now someone has to win.
Political correctness, self-importance, ignorance - cast these things away.  Research what you do not know, trust and ask those around you for their thoughts, and accept that you may be wrong.
Conversation is not a competition, but an opportunity to learn.
Who wants to sit down for coffee?

Tough Talks

Manager, boss, parent, coach, friend, or neighbor - difficult conversations are going to happen.  The worst thing to do is to not have them and hope the situation or problem will correct itself; it won't.  

Do not fear the conversation: prepare your facts, figure out how you will deliver the message, set aside time for the conversation, then have it.  Treat the employee, vendor, child, or partner with respect, give them time to respond and give feedback.  Ensure you are both on the same page before the conversation ends.

You may both learn something.