Online Communities Handbook: Building Your Business and Brand on the Web

The Chapter in a Nutshell

Care and Feeding of Your Members

What a Community Manager Does

• Respond to member questions and feedback, normally by email

• Interface between members and the community

• Facilitate community activity

• Censor abusive content

• Police the website

What a Community Manager Needs

1. Clear objectives

2. Authority to make decisions

3. Necessary tools:

   • Admin panel to access the member and content database in order to diagnose and solve problems

   • Tools for communicating with members (preferably email or another method that does not require answers in real time)

4. A network in the organization

Efficient Community Management

• When possible, prevent problems instead of solving them

• Provide automated or self-help solutions wherever possible

• Create a layered ...