Truthiness – Call it like you see it
7 Apr
Sometimes you need a does of truthiness. I’ve read a few blog posts over the past day that made me pleased to see the gospel of truthiness being spread.
The first post was from Blaise Grimes-Viort on the topic of “Why Community Management is Still Misunderstood” and is a must read for anyone thinking of hiring for this position or those who are considering this as part of their career path. It’s funny because later that evening, I read a post titled “Your First Marketing Hire” which comes from a startup-oriented CFO which I weighed in a bit on and then was met this morning again with Blaise’s post on “Your Community Manager is not a glorified marketeer: Value trust” which further demonstrates:
A) Businesses don’t really understand the role of the Community Manager
B) Some businesses want a Community Manager/Marketing hybrid
C) Some Community Managers can or want to do both
D) Some Community Managers can’t or don’t want to do both
All in all, I think that there’s some level of truthiness that has to occur. Businesses have to be honest with themselves and determine if they are looking for a marketer, social media expert or community manager and those who practice these disciplines need to be honest as to what kind of results they can deliver.
I’ve been brutally honest before with one previous position where I had said point blank, “You don’t need a Community Manager” when their needs were obviously more towards advertising sales and management. I’d prefer to be let go from a job than to try to deliver an expectation that is little more than a pipe dream.
The second bit of truthiness comes from a blog post by Rachel Happe on The Community Roundtable’s blog titled “Avoiding the Community Clique” and takes me into Glee territory (yes I watch it, don’t be a hater).
Rachel speaks of the problem of exclusion that can come about in a community when it’s members have their own shared stories and experiences, leading to newbies feeling like outsiders. Much the same feeling as a slushie facial in a high school hallway, as depicted to the left.
The post speaks to many techniques that can be used to help communities ‘keep it real’ and many of these I would encourage my fellow members of the Montreal Girl Geek Dinners to adopt in extending the pleasures of our group to those who have recently joined in. With the more manageable events, I do my best to welcome everyone to the events and to speak to each person who makes it out. As I drone on about all the time, I was a teenage outcast so I know all too well how it feels to be left out and the MTL GGD group is my way to make sure that everyone feels like they have a place at the table.
A very wise dude tweeted this about a week ago and I made sure to save this advice. Very applicable to community participation. Try it.
Thank you for the mention on both posts Tanya! I wasn’t aware of your blog before, and now it’s in my “to read” list, so I appreciate the discovery!
I think in times like these where a discipline that has existed in the shadows a bit but is now gaining wider visibility, it is vital that honesty is promoted to counteract the fly-by-night social media consultants’ Pollyanna gospel.
I’m absolutely 100% behind the socialisation of business and welcoming the customer into the brand and its processes, but each situation will be different. Telling a company that regardless of its aims Social Media is the answer is foolish and I’m sure purely done out of ignorance or greed.
There is a very wide variety of Community Building opportunities, some internal, some grouped around a branded and highly controlled space, and some within Social Media communities. The trick is to recognise which of these opportunities fit the goals of the company, and take into account other factors such as reputation and industry.
Thankfully there are plenty of highly knowledgeable practicioners, consultants and agencies – hopefully the bad apples will drop out over time.
Anyway, I’m rambling – great post!
Thanks so much for the great posts Blaise. They really kicked off a nice burst of inspiration for my blog.
You’re completely correct in that social media, marketing and community management can all co-exist and there are some great folks out there that know how each of these strategies can be used effectively. I think the ‘bad apples’ will drop out eventually once the realization that the charade can only be held up for so long.
Hey Tanya, thanks for sharing my post even though I am a closet CM basher.
Seriously though you are right that there is some confusion and perhaps a perception gap between company and community manager in terms of this role. Given the background and role of CMs you should be uniquely positioned to close that expectation and communication gap.
You’re not in the closet anymore mouhahahahahah!
I really appreciated your post as many CM’s want to be social media rockstars losing sight that it’s not about them, it’s about the communities they represent and the organizations they work for.
Hi Tanya -
Thank you for the nice words about my recent post – it is one of the hardest things to overcome once a community is successful – but really critical that the community manager not get too sucked in to the hype/lovefest that may be going on so that they can see the community somewhat objectively and from an outsider’s perspective.
I’m 100% with you on the fact that companies and individuals need to be more self-aware of their needs and not mix too many business goals together. Clarity of need is one of the most important things in business and the more clarity you have and can communicate, the easier you will get what you want. Unfortunately… there is a lot of mixing of skills, business outcomes, experience, etc. in the social space right now but I am starting to see more distinctions emerge, which I think is a good thing. Hmmm…. not sure I was being very clear there! #irony
Great post!