Why Numbers Are Your Most Powerful Tool as a Community Manager

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Gut instinct is important. If a community manager can't go with his or her gut, they just might be in the wrong business. In many companies the community manager jumps into the front line with the objective to go, raise awareness, engage and grow the community. Many times responsibilities do not include providing detailed analytics for activities - and in many cases I agree that there is a time period where it's trial and error, back-to-back events, and an intense period of awareness. But what happens next?

One of our values at Twilio is "Start with Why" - Starting by understanding why customers care. Challenge assumptions with data. This drives our culture and how we approach everything we do from product to marketing to support. I've been thinking about numbers a lot lately, and as I'm upgrading our community manager metrics at Twilio I wanted to share my process. This is part one of a two part piece about community manager metrics but before we dive into those metrics I've defined for community management, let's start with why you should care. More specifically, why these numbers are your most powerful tool as a community manager.

You have to. OK we're starting off a bit blunt but here's what I'm getting at: your company is moving from early startup awareness phase to demand and lead generation phase thus, you are asked to begin contributing to the funnel. Trust me, this is a really good thing because it forces you to stretch and form your analytical side, and we all know most community managers don't do this enough.

You want that promotion. You've put in hard work on the front lines and now you'd like to expand your team as you see how much value community work is doing. Maybeyou want to build out your team and gradually move upwards into a more strategic position. Hard numbers are going to show the team your value add to the bottom line. The team knows you're important, but with numbers you prove just how much impact you have to the marketing funnel. Side note, in general it's best to support any argument or team ask with data - it will drive your points home.

It is so important for Content. Most likely you manage your company's content strategy, at least the blog, handful of customer stories and maybe you've kicked off a new webinar series - am I close yet? You need to understand and implement SEO strategy for your content - then you need to measure the heck out of it. Knowing the effectiveness of your content, how your audience reacts to it and where it's getting the most traction is more than just good community management tactics. It is informed strategic planning and will help guide you to make better and more effective content.

It is better for your community. Psst, this one is most important - Real data will help you be a better community manager. How can you make informed decisions about your community if you don't know what they are doing and why they are doing it? How can you grow your community base if you don't know how they are interacting with you online, in your content and within your product? You can't, you have to dig deep and figure out what your users are doing in order to give them a better experience and then give that better experience to your new users.

To be able to ask the right questions. The more data diving you do, the more questions you will come up with. Try to always start with why from the perspective of your user and think about what data will drive action or a change of action in what you do. Listen to the questions that your colleagues ask - in fact, why don't you walk over to your sales or product or support team and ask them what they would want to know about your community - the answers might surprise and inspire you.

Now that we're all fired up and ready to get analytical, go read up on the resources above. I'll follow up next week with the specific numbers and data that I look at in my day-to-day as a community manager and some awesome things my Twilio colleagues implement too.  For now, here's a few resources to kickstart your new journey into analytics:

The Kiss Metrics Marketing Blog

Search Engine Land

SEOMoz Blog

Check your local workshops - Groups like Girl Develop It, Parisoma in San Francisco, or SkillShare for online classes

Know your tools - Sprout Social, Bit.ly, Awesome Wordpress plugins like Jetpack and more. Check the analytics page on any social tool you're using, it's probably chalk full of goodies.

Google Analytics - learn it, love it, use it

We're actually hosting an upcoming SF Community Manager Meetup covering SEO best practices and optimization tactics - join us!

Cut to the Chase, Give Me Real Advice - My Takeaways from Lean In

After reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, I had two initial thoughts: 1) There are a lot of really good tips in here for women who want to rise to the top and at the same time 2) There are a lot of pain points ignored, and sugar-coated philosophies that could prove to do women a huge dis-service. First and foremost, I am all about women empowerment in every way - I marched in the 2004 Women's March for Lives on the national mall in DC with over one million protesters. I visualize myself as an executive level leader one day. I very much support women being vocal in the workplace and combining forces to make a difference. But also feel there is a very fine line between a support circle to help women succeed and an all out media campaign seemingly focused on drawing attention to talking points that are not looking at the real problems in the workplace.

Taking it with a Grain of Salt

Sheryl Sandberg does a pretty good job at outlining a few specific tips for women in the workplace in the first half of her book and below I highlight the ones that resonate with me the most.

That being said, Sheryl Sandberg doesn't represent the woman I want to be, nor does she feel relatable to me as a 20-something career gal. Sheryl ignores large problems in the workplace, undermines her recommended tactics with ill-fitting experiences, and glazes over a major factor in what it takes to rise to the top.

Sheryl doesn't claim to be an expert but it's a shame to lead a movement that doesn't address real problems like sexism, cultures non-conducive to family life, or particularly here in Silicon Valley, the 24/7 expected work hours. We should be rallying to tackle these issues by directly encouraging change in the workplace. As noted by my friend Kate Losse "...as a manual for navigating the workplace, it teaches women more about how to serve their companies than it teaches companies about how to be fairer places for women to work." For an in-depth (partially devil's advocate) review from this point of view, give Kate's Lean In review a read.

Sheryl encourages readers with specific tactics and attempts to support with her personal experience, though many times this fell short for me. She inspires us to set boundaries with your work and says she did just that when she leaves work at 5:30pm for dinner. But she also tells us that she works once her children are asleep and then wakes at 5am to answer email. This is not setting a boundary, this is telling us we can set a boundary but we'll have to work tirelessly around that boundary just to keep up.

Rising to the executive level takes a lot of hard work and while Sheryl alludes to this throughout the entire book, she never explicitly states the level of commitment it requires. If you're going to encourage women to move forward with executive level aspirations, you should be clear that it is going to take a lot of time, work and dedication. Also, see the 24/7 work hours point above.

Now the Good Stuff

All of this said, Lean In does provide an collection of researched and actionable items we can use in our lives. Whether you're aiming for a promotion or rising to a senior level position, these tips are valuable to keep top of mind. Here are my re-interpreted highlights from Sheryl's book.

1) Everyone is faking it: Sheryl calls this the 'Impostor Syndrome' where women fear one day everyone will find out that it's all been a sham. We're not qualified! Well we are qualified. Also, everyone else is faking it until they make it anyways so carry on.

2) Take credit: We're guilty, women are too humble and we need to proudly take credit for the hard work we do. Such as when someone provides a compliment to your outfit you must say "Thank you" instead of "Oh this old thing?" - transfer same logic to your job. You bought the dress and wore it well = you did the work and did it well.

3) Stop caring if everyone likes you: Or as Sheryl says "It's ok to be bossy". If you try to please everyone, you won't get anything done - or be able to voice your real opinions. Though in the book research states that likability of women lessen as they gain power in comparison to men, but a recent Harvard Business Review study disagrees. So keep being assertive ladies.

4) Don't leave before you leave: It truly saddens me how many times I watched someone make a decision based on a man who wasn't even in her life yet, or pass an opportunity because they felt they should situate their life for domesticity that wasn't even in progress yet. I agree with Sheryl here that you should not pre-plan your life and bat away opportunities for a family life that hasn't even started. You can always update your life choices later.

5) Have confidence: lean in, sit at the table, speak up, go get what you want by explicitly asking for it. Success isn't going to come to you, you have to go get it. All easier said than done, but if you take anything from this book it's that you should attempt to practice this in life.

6) Choose partners wisely: Not everyone is in a situation where they have a happy and supportive partner, I understand that. But if you're making the choice, by god choose a partner that is happy, supportive and helps around the house. If you decide you're rising to the top, it's important you're on the same page because it's a journey you'll both be a part of. Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox suggest grabbing a parter 20 years older - interesting advice but her reasons why are relevant.

Where I Lean

For me, Lean In is better as a general guide to navigating the current workplace more than a manifesto for a movement to follow. But I'm still going to recommend the book to women in my life who need to hear this reinforcement. I think it's incredibly important to build out a support circle of women who want to take control of their careers. Just keep in mind ladies, talking the talk is a lot different than walking the walk, and I believe women should be taking more real action and drawing less attention to the fact that they are women. We can change the workplace by committing our time to companies who are building the work culture we deserve - set real boundaries, find organizations with women in executive positions, work with HR to make your company friendly to family schedules, look into your company's plan for your professional development or ask that they provide it - these are all things you can do right now.

SF Community Managers Talk Event Strategy at #SFCMGR Meetup

Photo credit: Carlo Almendral, @carlobff

This week the SF Community Manager Meetup group gathered for a panel discussion focused on event planning, strategy, and deciphering ROI. I invited Brianna Haag, Marketing Manager @ Eventbrite, Lauren Sherman, Marketing Manager @ Taskrabbit, Emily Castor, Community Manager @ Lyft, and Tony Mataya, Developer Relations @ Twilio to discuss their experience with events and how they navigate this large part of community management.

Though hard to capture all of the incredible insights from this conversation, here are a few highlights thanks to Kate Klepek of Reinventing Events who took amazing notes during the discussion:

• Your budget should drive everything
• TaskRabbit Facebook fan page has been the most important tool the have - took a page from Lyft's community book who also has a very active Facebook Lyft Group
• Invest in a process of how to participate in events as a sponsor and figure out what your criteria is. What is the sponsorship value to you?
  • Some tips include vetting the organizer clout, projected quality of attendees, relevance to your audience, and knowing how this will directly help your brand
  • Make sure you have a relevant presence and targeted message
  • Measuring the impact of events is both qualitative and quantitative
    • Eventbrite has great event reporting tools
    • Survey your attendees
    • Create a process to measure effectiveness that works for you and your team
    • Track where your product or service inbound traffic is coming from
    • Track every piece of publicity around the event to see what is driving traffic
    • Google Analytics has incredible tools, tracking and new dashboard features - all free
    • Free events will receive a lower attendance rate - if you charge a minimal amount people feel obligated to show. Donate these funds to a worthy cause.
    • Using Evenbrite vs. Meetup
      • Eventbrite is very customizable, allows planners to capture leads and take advantage of reporting tools
      • Meetup is a good space to build out a community around reoccurring events

Event tools recommended by our panelists

• Eventbrite for tickets and attendee organization
• TaskRabbit for any last minute help, errands or on-site logistical help
• Use of hashtags and encouraging people to share for a visual representation of the event
• Eventstagram can stream all social items from an event
• Marketo or Pardot to move your event leads through the marketing funnel
• Meetup.com for community building

Community Manager Resources mentioned

• Eventbrite's hosted tweet chats called #meettheexperts
• Community Manager Breakfast at UserVoice
• Be proactive and reach out to mentors
• Many groups in the industry found on Meetup
• Shared learning so reach out to other people who have planned successful events

Thanks again to our panelists who volunteered their time and insight to community management and events. Our next meetup will be planned for May so stay tuned!

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What Community Managers Should Do Every Morning for Success

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I recently caught this post on Fast Company called "What Successful People do the First Hour of Their Work Day" - great advice in there. I felt inspired to write something on how you can make the most of each day as a Community Manager, based on my personal experiences. Some might not exactly be "morning only" tips but they are relevant and important. Here are some ways I kickstart my day for optimal success:

Re-connect with your Community

Well this sounds silly since that's our job right? As fast as our day-to-day moves and with the consistent juggling of priorities, sometimes we forget to slow down and make an effort to connect on a personal level. Plan an in-person coffee date. Reach out to a community member without a prompt or objective. Call someone on the phone. Doing this not only will remind you why you love job but also impact your community in a positive way.

Internet Listening

We most likely start every morning checking an onslaught of tweets from the previous night, attempting to get to inbox sanity, and pouring over our social media tools. We plough through it and respond, but are we really listening? What's the sentiment of the conversation (I'm not talking that percentage in your social platform)? Community Managers are good at their jobs because of instinct and good judgement - we can read one Hacker News comment and infer where the conversation is headed. It  isn't measurable but extremely valuable. Really get your head into the pulse of what's happening by watching the patterns of your community and the industry. Once you know the patterns, you can figure out the correct next steps for both positive engagement and fire drills. Then you can truly be proactive instead of reactive.

Plan for Productivity

A day in the life of a Community Manager means balancing a load of multiple objectives and tasks. Depending on your role you might be jumping between creating content, managing Twitter, assisting support and more, all in between meetings. It's important to block times to do work, as well as protect your work day in order to be productive. I look at my calendar every morning and plan exactly how I'll be spending that day by putting blocks of work on the calendar for specific projects. This helps keep you on task and focused, in the end increasing your productivity. Here's a snapshot of my calendar - it's a mix of meetings and blocked work times, I even schedule my workouts:

Screen Shot 2013-03-23 at 4.22.04 PM

Push Back

It can feel like every day something pops up that is a 'must act now!' situation driven by someone on your team with a sense of urgency. Maybe you open your inbox each morning to new, and always 'high priority' requests. Companies may also push programs over to Community Management if it doesn't seem to fit on any other team internally. While it's in our nature to want to take it all on, we have to learn to say no and push back on internal demands to do what best serves the community.

Strategize

As mentioned above, it's tough for a community manager to carve out time to plan and strategize while we're balancing our work load. When you are planning your day for productivity it is so very important to block time for strategic thinking. This allows you to take a step back and figure out what's working, what's not working and what you can do to pull the right levers for success. It also helps drive the importance of community management in your company by providing thought leadership instead of just demonstrating tactical skills.

Make Friends on the Inside

Community Managers work across multiple teams inside our companies: engineering, recruiting, design, support, product marketing, etc - it's important to strengthen those relationships for a friendly and smooth workflow. It's also important to have a clear  idea of other teams' objectives and work load so you're knowledgable when asking for resources. Everyone is fighting for resources in a startup, especially from engineering and design. It's as simple as making time to ask a team what they're working on in the upcoming sprints, or walking to a person's desk instead of using IM to communicate. Having respect and understanding for the other teams you work with will open the door for more positive work relationships. It seems like something we should already know, but it can get lost in the every  day hustle.

Be Grateful

I borrowed this from the Fast Company article because it's a great tip for everyone in any field, and in daily life. Take 5 minutes in the morning (or evening) to think about the things you are grateful for - this will also remind you why you are doing the job you do. It can be focused on your career, but extend it to what you're grateful for in every day life. You can also take this a step further and try out a little visualization tactic, envisioning what you want to achieve in the future and engaging your subconscious mind. But that's content for an entirely different blog post....

What do you do to make sure you're being the most successful community manager you  can be?

Community Manager Productivity: Reviving Your Inbox & Evernote Success at Work

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Last Tuesday was the first SF Community Manager Meetup of 2013 and we focused this session on productivity. For community managers, one major challenge is finding that balance between daily tasks and time for strategic planning. One area where I'd like to improve upon is bringing more productivity into my daily tasks, which include email and content production. Luckily, I invited Aye Moah, Head of Product, Baydin and Joshua Zerkel, Evernote Ambassador, to teach the group some tips and tricks on how to do just that.

Moah gave us stellar tips and tricks on finding success in your inbox and Joshua taught us the best way to organize your work life with Evernote.

Here are few highlights from these productivity thought leaders:

Inbox Productivity:

• Archive everything over a month old - you won't get to it anyways
• Make subjects searchable for YOU - be selfish so you can find it later
• To increase response rate, summarize what you need in the first sentence
• When asking for something, try to send when the recipient's blood sugar is high (right after lunch!)
• Use Boomerang by Baydin to keep your inbox actionable, send reminders and find "Inbox Few"

For more inbox tips make sure to follow Moah on Twitter @AyeMoah and download Boomerang for ample productivity. www.reviveyourinbox.com

Using Evernote for Work:

• Evernote is a perfect tool for creating and capturing content
• Create a notebook for your eBooks, whitepapers and PDFs - drag and drop, read later
• Use tags for serious search power - Evernote can even search scanned articles
• Set up a recipe with Zapier to send Twitter mentions to Evernote
• Be clear on how you want to use Evernote and be strategic about your notes

Joshua just released an eBook about using Evernote at work - make sure to check out www.NotesAtWork.com and follow him @JoshuaZerkel

It was extremely educational and I walked away with items I know I'll use in my day-to-day. Make sure to join the SF Community Manager Meetup for news on upcoming events: http://www.meetup.com/San-Francisco-Community-Managers/ 

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