Building a strong community takes time. If you want to succeed with community building, it’s up to you to be aware of the misconceptions that exist surrounding communities and to do everything in your power to avoid making these mistakes.
“Most community members don’t participate so it must be a failure.”
It takes a lot of effort for every community team to engage as many people as possible. It is a never-ending journey, because with every single new person in your community, the community needs change a little bit. Keep your eyes and ears open, and try to find a way to be in touch with your community and how to react promptly to their needs.
“We don’t need a community strategy.”
Every community needs a strategy, which helps you stick to your community purpose. There are several reasons why. The most important one is that without a strategy, you can’t set meaningful goals. And without goals there is nothing to measure. So, how do you find out what impact your community has on your business goals?
“A community manager is a social media manager.”
Community management and social media management are not the same things at all. First of all, not every community exists merely online. A social media manager is somebody who represents a brand in the best possible way, as the voice of the brand. Community managers will communicate as themselves, not the brand, and work on developing the community by listening to the audience. The community manager often works on new ways to engage the community and is often seen as an advocate for the brand. Do you need more information about these differences? Read this article on Medium.
“If you build it, they will come.”
What every community manager should bear in mind, is how to raise engagement within the community, because it doesn’t just happen itself. It is very important to communicate the value of your community on a regular basis.
“It won’t take long to build a community.”
Building a strong community doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to learn what your audience needs, likes, dislikes and what tools work for your community. This exciting discovery process never ends – your community can always work more efficiently and become more valuable for members and the business itself.
