The 10 rules of Community Management

In this new article, MeltingSpot shares its advice through the 10 commandments of community management. But before we deliver them, a reminder is in order: did you know that community animation and management go far beyond social networks? 👇

Before knowing the best practices in Community Management, it is important to know how to differentiate this approach from Social Media Management. Indeed, Community Management and Social Media Management are two important strategies in business, but they are often confused.

💡 Community Management gathers all the strategies of creation, animation, and management of corporate communities. The goal of Community Management is to build a close-knit community and keep it alive over time. The actors of this strategy are generally the Community Managers. For a few years, they can be accompanied by a Community Builder or Head of Community, to effectively deploy a community marketing strategy.

💡 Social Media Management relies on social networks to develop the brand image. The objectives are more focused on acquiring and building an audience, ready to consume the content created on social platforms. On a day-to-day basis, Social Media Managers do not manage company communities and are more focused on the brand's e-reputation.

Today, Social Media Management and Community Management strategies are extremely complementary. MeltingSpot is particularly interested in creating, animating, and engaging communities over time. To achieve this, here are our 10 commandments to follow.

The 10 rules of community management

1️⃣ A connection with your community, you will create

A good Community Management strategy places this point at the heart of the priorities: create a solid and durable link with the community.

To achieve this, it is necessary to listen to the members and to build trusting relationships. From the onboarding and integration of new members, through the various events set up, always prioritize proximity.

You can also deploy a "strategy of small gestures": a personalized note on birthdays, a gift sent by mail for the most loyal Ambassadors of the community... Every little gesture counts, to create lasting links.

2️⃣ Horizontal communication, thou shalt establish

On social networks, communication is mostly top-down. The company shares content, users can react to, but the proximity exchanges are limited. Within a community, it is essential to favor horizontal and ascending communication, allowing each member to express himself. This type of communication encourages mutual aid and sharing. Moreover, an online community is the ideal place to develop a "one-to-many", "many-to-many" but also "one-to-one" communication, to favor networking and private exchanges.

3️⃣ Relevant and regular events, you will organize

To successfully animate your community throughout the year, it is essential to rely on events. Today, virtual events are particularly useful for gathering and federating at a distance, without geographical constraints. To satisfy the community and engage members, MeltingSpot recommends varying the event formats: webinars 2.0, team building, online conferences, interviews, live FAQs... The possibilities are endless. The most important thing is to make "events" rhyme with "valuable content" to enrich your Community Management strategy.

Sharing relevant and interesting content should not only take place during virtual events. To keep your community engaged and boost the sense of belonging, consider regularly posting content with high-added value.

For example, through a community-platform like MeltingSpot, your company can share daily content with the entire community.

On a news feed, community members can interact around posts, create and participate in debates, download documents such as guides or white papers, register for webinars
The more the community encourages interaction and the sharing of relevant content, the more members will feel engaged!

5️⃣ Personalized answers, you will bring

Through Community Management, a company can connect with an entire group of individuals who share common characteristics. However, beyond the collective dynamics of a community, it is essential to maintain personalized relationships with members.

For example, if your company decides to create a customer community, it is likely that some members will ask you questions about their personal experiences. Since the community is a privileged place of exchange, consider giving maximum interest to this type of solicitation.

Members must feel listened to, understood, and recognized: the personalization of answers and exchanges is essential!

6️⃣ Community-Led Growth strategy, you will deploy

Community Management goes hand in hand with Community-Led Growth. This strategy enables companies to accelerate their growth and performance... through the power of community.

With Community-Led Growth, growth is guided and driven by the members of a community. This new approach goes against the concept of "Product-Led Growth", which consists in relying on a product or a service to support the growth of the company. Today, this approach is widely revisited, notably thanks to the commitment of the members of a community. This engagement is a lever for acquisition, growth, and loyalty. When deploying a Community Management strategy it is therefore essential to think "Community First".

7️⃣ Co-construction and collective intelligence, you will promote

Thanks to Community Management, companies can benefit from a lot of feedback from different members. The community is also the ideal place to "beta-test" certain offers, products, or services.
Moreover, a BtoB or BtoC community is a place for co-construction and collective intelligence. Members regularly have new ideas, suggestions, or advice to share with the company, and all this feedback is precious and deserves to be listened to and studied.

Thanks to them, it is possible to co-create new solutions, implement new innovative ideas or organize events with the help of some members.

8️⃣ A good daily atmosphere, you will develop

Whether it is a community of customers, partners, employees, investors... It is essential to set a common rule: do everything to maintain a good atmosphere.

To achieve this, several options are available: share a charter of good conduct when onboarding new members, regularly share a reminder of the "golden rules" and values of the community... It is also essential that the company (through its Community Manager or Community Builder), is the engine of this good daily atmosphere.
At the end of the day, each member should be able to say to himself or herself: "this community is a place where I feel comfortable, I can participate in the exchanges freely and the values conveyed are in line with my own".

9️⃣Regular adjustments you will make

Deploying a community management strategy is a great way to demonstrate continuous improvement. Within the community, but also with regard to events organized or products launched on the market...
Each experience and each feedback helps to set up regular adjustments. Moreover, a community marketing strategy is an excellent way to collect data. By analyzing this data correctly and efficiently, adjustments will be all the more relevant!

🔟The right tools, you will use

In order to create, animate and engage a close-knit community... It is essential to have the right tools at your disposal!

To facilitate the implementation of your community strategy, MeltingSpot offers an all-in-one community platform. This platform helps you gather, federate and animate your different communities in one place.

With our community-platform, you can organize virtual events, share content on a regular basis, exchange with all community members... All in a simple and intuitive way.

Ready to follow our 10 rules of Community Management?

You've got it: to succeed in your Community Management strategy, MeltingSpot recommends you follow these 10 commandments. By applying them, you will succeed in:

✅ Create a community made up of loyal and committed members
✅ Boost your Community-Led Growth strategy
✅ Offer relevant content and events
✅ Encourage sharing, mutual aid, and co-construction
And much more!

Discover now our MeltingSpot tool, serving the development of your community :

Community Management vs. Social Media Management: the differences