Yes, really! And the question is, who started that? My answer, Jeremiah Owyang did. (with a straight face). And I believe that we should have a day! It’s not a Hallmark recognized day yet, but organizations should appreciate these committed people who tirelessly work to make things better externally and internally. It’s not easy job!

So, I pondered what could I do for everyone? Last week I was in a meeting listening to Susan Beebe brief us on the Google+ Hangout that Dell streamed from CES. That got the wheels turning and I asked Susan to help me with the logistics.

So I put together some panels of amazing people to provide an educational, fun, networking event with no regard to geography.

Here’s the details & see you there!

Community Management 3.0 #CMAD

Monday, January 23 12 pm cst (10 am pst)

Do you have plans for Community Manager Appreciation Day?

     Come join our conversation on a Google+ Hangout and spend an hour

     with some of the most amazing Community thought leaders!

• Chief Company Pinata & Cat Herder

Beyond a Day in the Life of a Community Manager

     Panelists:

            Amy Muller Chief Community Officer & Co-Founder, Get Satisfaction

            Mark Harrison Community Manager Google Earth & SketchUp

            Patrick O’Keefe Author of Managing Online Forums, iFroggy Networks

• No Matter B2B or B2C; It’s P2P!

Whether Business to Business or to Customer; it’s always People to People

     Panelists

            Jim Storer Principal/Founder at The Community Roundtable

            Vanessa DiMauro CEO Leader Networks

            Lionel Menchaca Chief Blogger, Dell

• Evolving a Social Business

The Future of the Community Manager Role

      Panelists:

            Jeremiah Owyang Industry Analyst & Partner, Altimeter Group

            Bill Johnston Director of Global Online Community

     Circle Leader: Connie Bensen, Sr Mgr Community Strategy, Dell

Want to join us?

Put this in your calendar:

1. Community 3.0 Google+ Hangout ~ Jan 23, 12 pm cst
2. Send questions for the panelists to @cbensen on Twitter or Google+
3. New to Hangouts? Check out Getting started with Hangouts
4. For the event, go to Dell’s Google+ page +Dell
5. Chat will be available in the sidebar. #CMAD12 on Twitter

Can’t make it? The Hangout will be recorded and available for playback later.

**A huge thanks to Susan Beebe, Dell’s Google+ Guru!

Here’s the event info on Facebook (Join the Community Manager Facebook group)

What questions do you have for the panels?

People have been avidly interested in pursuing this type of role and want to know how they can gain the necessary skills. Back in June of 2008 I offered 2 training programs to meet that need. It went great until I got sucked into the tech startup world and social media monitoring. Since then I have continued to mentor and scale the reach here through my blog.

Periodically people would request my courses when they came across the old posts referencing training. I always felt bad when I had to explain that my day job was busier than busy. So, I’m really pleased to see that WOMMA and the The Community Roundtable are offering training courses that are specific to Community Management (in contrast to Social Media in general) and they are created by credible people in the industry. Earlier this week Jeremiah Owyang covered the pro’s and con’s of the certification aspect of the Community Manager Training courses.

These courses will:

• fast track your knowledge base on the expectations of community management
• open your eyes to aspects that you didn’t realize existed and cause you to have even more questions
• be excellent for those of you that have been assigned or are spending a portion of your time in this new role

They probably won’t:

• make it easier to get a job (employers are getting 100’s of app’s per position) or more pay
• ramp a company’s adoption of social media (ie: embrace the value of community & related culture shift)
• replace the value of volunteering and showing leadership in an online community and the related experience.

If you’re interested in exploring community management and strategy these courses are a good place to gain the skills and an overview.

I would highly recommend connecting with like-minded people in one of the following communities:

• Facebook group Community Manager, Advocate, and Evangelist

An active group that has new people joining everyday. There is a doc with social media jobs there.

• Community BackChannel

Membership is free, but there is a process for requesting it.

• CommunityAdmins.com

These active forums are a part of Patrick O’Keefe’s iFroggy network. Patrick is the author of Managing Online Forums.

• Community RoundTable

Jim Storer & Rachel Happe are the founders of this peer network. They have built a very active community that is based on resources, research and regular activities.

Seeking a job? Check out this Facebook group of Social Media Jobs

If you’re a practicing Community Manager, what resources have you found the most helpful?

I thoroughly enjoyed creating a niche community at DigiScrapInfo.com for digital scrapbookers to assist them in organizing their supplies & photos. For three years I translated digital marketing techniques for this very passionate group of entrepreneurs that are also busy moms and grandmas.

Jess from BlogHer had requested a class on intermediate SEO and technology. In the spirit of crafting I realized that optimizing a blog is like adding bling to it. What is bling? My definition is anything that makes it sparkle and attracts attention. And who doesn’t want the attention of Search Engines?

A personal frustration that I have had with many of the SEO sessions I’ve attended is that they talk in general terms, and I came away only with concepts rather than actionable items. So I have put in specific steps for using the various tools mentioned.

Here are some additions that were a result of the questions during and after the session:

1. If you are blogging for fun, family & friends then using a platform such as Typepad, Blogger, Wordpress.com, etc is fine. Some of the tools may be helpful if you’re looking for things to write about. (They aren’t the best for building top rank in SEO. If you want that then it’s best to get a URL and host your own blog. Wordpress is a recommended choice.)
2. I had assumed that everyone knew about Feedburner and so didn’t include it. (My apologies as I consider Feedburner as a basic part of blogging.) http://feedburner.google.com
3. Learn more about using Feedburner here

We had so many questions that I didn’t have time to give the most important piece of advice and that is that blogging should be fun. It’s about sharing ideas. Yes, keywords are important, but if you’re consistent in sharing your passion for a topic then you’ll build that coveted organic SEO over time. These tools can help spur new ideas for content and help you focus on a niche that isn’t as competitive.

A huge thanks to BlogHer for inviting me to join the event yesterday! Crafting is a perfect cottage industry for the internet and I’m glad that we could have a day to focus on digital marketing.

On Monday, August 29th, I will start the next chapter in my career. I will be joining forces with Bill Johnston and the global community team at Dell in a new role as Sr. Manager, Community Strategy and Execution. Needless to say, I am very excited to be joining a team and company that is committed to becoming a social business.

In looking back, this appears to be a natural next step. Long ago (around 2008) I had a conversation with Sean McDonald and we pondered how to evolve the benefits of the community manager role in terms of a social business. Essentially, how does an organization scale it. Since then I kept tabs on their progress. I also participated in their Customer Advisory Panel (#DellCAP) for the past two years and attended the launch of Dell’s Social Media Command Center last December. It’s incredible that Dell’s internal University has trained over 5000 people and certified over 2000 and they have established an unprecedented listening center that plugs the company into the social sphere. I have watched their progress and look forward to joining the innovative efforts at Dell!

My journey to this point has been guided by amazing people and great experiences. I have thoroughly enjoyed working in the social media monitoring world with Techrigy and post-acquisition with Alterian. As a result I am blessed with friends around the world. I have loved working with such dedicated people.

This evolution of my career includes a huge change and everyone is asking … Are you moving to Austin? Many know that I moved south to the Minneapolis area last year (to be near an international airport). I will be joining my car on Monday when I start at Dell’s corporate headquarters.

Stay tuned as the journey continues!

Here are the tactics and how I see them being applied to social media marketing in general across all channels:

1. Need to start with concrete goals & tactics

Before you decide on metrics, it’s imperative that you decide on the objective. In creating the strategy, then it will be necessary to outline the goals and tactics required to achieve them. The goals will be tied to business objectives and that will dictate what to measure. Simply put, it’s the percentage increase or decrease towards realizing the business objective.

2. Set benchmarks to compare channels

Everything needs to be benchmarked. If this isn’t done then it’s impossible to track the change over time. There are a number of items to benchmark per channel. Here are some to get you started: – volume of conversations – sentiment – amount of participation – number of leads (percentage that convert)

3. Connect data from the social channels to website stat’s and CRM

Having all traffic directed to your main website will make it very difficult to track the sources. If you have significant amount of traffic coming from social channels such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn then create landing pages for each. If there isn’t enough traffic to justify that then survey those coming to your site by adding a field asking, "Where did you hear about us?".

4. Understand how many engagements convert

Social media is difficult in this aspect because engagements in social channels are about building relationships. But attribution is very important. If your social media marketing is building brand visibility and creating interest that is resulting in conversions, then you’ll want to track that. Use custom landing pages, specific coupon codes, hash tags, a distinct telephone number, etc to allow for attribution. Another tip is to make sure that your CRM denotes leads coming in from social channels.

5. Analytics data for social channels

Each channel has its own unique set of metrics. Set up metrics that make sense based on your objectives. In addition to the metrics in Facebook,YouTube, Slideshare pro account, Twitter apps also offer many.

6. Connect to business KPI’s

Tip 1 referenced the importance of a strategy. That needs to be based on a firm understanding of the business needs. Brand awareness and sentiment are important and are measureable.

7. Use metrics to improve your marketing efforts

Social media marketing is a continual process of defining and refining. Always keep in mind that the most valuable insights are the ones that you didn’t know about. When those are discovered then flexibility will be a huge asset when changes need to be made to your strategy to accommodate them.

Do you feel like you’re effectively measuring your social marketing efforts?

What are your biggest challenges?

We kicked off the session by talking about the philosophy behind an online community. The most important aspect is the definition of “community”. A community is much more than just a hosted platform. I outlined my definition of community in my post on the ‘Community Strategist Role’.

The deck below outlines five steps. I included a section on digital marketing and SEO because inbound marketing is imperative to growing a healthy community. Efforts in this manner will also make great strides in building organic SEO.

1. Listen: Get to know your People
2. Planning: Create a Strategy & Metrics
3. Digital Marketing: Content is King & SEO is Queen
4. Engagement: Create a Party
5. Reporting: Measuring Success

What are your essential steps to building an online community?

If you’d like to receive future blog posts, take a minute to sign up (top right)

This profession is evolving and becoming mainstream which means that there are a number of professional communities emerging. Here is an overview of groups that you can join:

• Facebook group Community Manager, Advocate, and Evangelist 

Jeremiah Owyang & I kicked this off back in 2007. It is a vibrant group and there are many new people joining. There is a doc that you can add your contact info to. And there is also an informal job board.

• Community BackChannel

This is a new group that Claire Flanagan, Ted Hopton, Jamie Pappas and Megan Murray recently launched. Membership is free, but there is a process for requesting it.

• CommunityAdmins.com

These active forums are a part of Patrick O’Keefe’s iFroggy network. Patrick is the author of Managing Online Forums.

• Community RoundTable

Jim Storer & Rachel Happe are the founders of this peer network. They have built a very active community that is based on resources, research and regular activities.

• Social Business Council

I received a formal press release that the Dachis Group had launched this community. I have applied for membership & will update this post when I find out more.

Where do you hang out? and why?

Online Marketing Summit does a great job of covering all these topics in one place. Last fall I sat on a panel at the event and it was the most comprehensive marketing event that I’ve attended.  It offers a broad array of expertise on digital marketing, content marketing, demand gen, SEO or web analytics The best part was that it featured local speakers which allowed for networking that extends beyond the event. I wrote an overview on a web analytics session from last year’s summit.

I’m really looking forward to the great speaker lineup at Online Marketing Summit in Minneapolis on June 7th! I always learn something new about SEO from Lee Odden. Last year, Kim Albee’s presentation on lead gen was excellent. And I look forward to Steve Woods, CTO of Eloqua, lunch keynote. I recently reread his book, Digital Body Language, and noted the many insights on database & email marketing.

If you’re just getting started in digital marketing, there are also two bootcamps available:

• Online Marketing Boot Camp June 6th
• Social Media Workshops June 8th

And what if you don’t live in the Minneapolis area? Online Marketing Summit is holding similar events around the world! Find a date and location near you.

Update: Here’s a 15% off code for my readers: MINN15

See you on June 7th!

Over time I heard myself repeating key concepts. Combine this with my habit of providing mentorship sessions and I happened upon the solution to more effective presentation of ideas. It requires the creation of charts and diagrams to structure the presentation of your material. Executives and managers want to see the ideas presented in a simple straightforward manner. This affords the highest probability that your proposal will be understood, well-received and adopted.

I came to this realization during the sessions when I provide mentorship. I sit with paper and pen and talk through my methodologies and philosophy. It allows an interactive approach as well as pushes me to structure the conversation. The result is a much more compelling story for the listener and has greatly improved my presentations.

The following show two concepts that I have expressed in charts to show how marketing has changed:

My role is the convergence of Corporate, Field marketing (lead gen) and product marketing. I work to span these three areas and interconnect them.

This chart shows a concept that has been expressed in a number of ways:

old (push marketing, outbound marketing) and new (pull marketing, inbound marketing)

But what does that mean? How has it changed and how does it affect the marketing organization overall?

Here are some tips on how you can do this:

1. Make an outline of the concept

2. Talk through the steps and jot them down using scratch paper

3. Explain them to someone else and start with the first point and work through to the last (this is where it falls into place in a more graphic manner)

4. Over time the refinement will become apparent

5. Remember that less is more!

Over the past few weeks we have been in the process of hiring community managers. Here are some tips for those seeking this type of role.

Resume

• Your experience needs to be relevant to the position (it needs to be obvious)
• Include metrics for the impact that you had in previous positions

For example:

• Increased sales by X %
• Increased the community by X %
• Increased participation in the community by X %

Tip: Do not represent consulting as if you were an employee

Your Social Presence

• Google your name: What online presence do you have?
• LinkedIn – Some key aspects:

Do you have a complete profile that is public?

Do you have a number of references from previous employers?

Have you written references for others?

• Twitter presence – quality of tweets and a balance of followers to following

Preparation for the Interview

Research the company that you’re interviewing with. What talking points can you take with to your interview?

Research the person that you will be interviewing with. Do they have a personal blog or are on Twitter? That insight provides great conversation starters.

If your LinkedIn profile set to show  your activity, then the interviewer will see that you’ve viewed their profile.

All of the above interactions happen before the interview ever happens. They are all items that can be used to qualify candidates. If you’re applying for a social media role, take some time to ensure that your application stands out from the crowd.

If you’ve recently hired for a social media position, what additional tips would you give?