Community Manager Appreciation Day 2020 Contest

[JamilaR]

Community Manager Appreciation Day (CMAD) is right around the corner on January 27th. This month, we'll be publishing content in Atlas to celebrate CMAD and educate others on the vital role Community Managers play in the customer's journey. We're thrilled to start things off with an exciting contest!

The CMAD 2020 Contest is in honor of Community Manager Appreciation Day and is open to Atlas members. The two winners of the CMAD 2020 Contest will each receive one ticket to Khoros Engage 2020, held in Austin, TX on October 12 - 14, 2020. 

Contestants must reply to this blog and answer the question, “What advice would you give to a new Community Manager?” in 500 words or less or a 1-2 minute video. This contest is open to Atlas members of all roles and backgrounds, not just Community Managers. 

We encourage you to be creative and original in your submission. Feel free to use props, tell jokes, or share tell a heartfelt story of a lesson you would like to pass on to Community Managers. 

Best of luck to everyone and happy Community Manager Appreciation Day! 

Eligibility:

• Open to residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) and the United States (excluding Rhode Island and Arizona) who are members of the Atlas community irrespective of role (you don’t have to be a community manager!); entrants must be 21 years of age and older as of January 21, 2020.

How to submit to the contest:

• Reply to this blog and answer the question, “What advice would you give to a new Community Manager?” 
• Submissions can be in the form of a 1-2 minute video or a written submission of 500 words or less. 
• The submission deadline is on January 31, 2020, at 5:00 pm PT.
• Contestants are allowed to edit their submission as much as needed up until the submission deadline.
• If you have any issues please contact communityhelp@khoros.com.

How the winners are determined: 

• The 2 winners will be chosen by a panel of Khoros industry experts. 
• Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality, and quality of advice. 
• The 2 winners will be announced on Atlas by February 17, 2020. 

Terms and Conditions:

• See the attached PDF for the official rules. 
• Only English language submissions will be accepted.
• The contest is only open to registered Atlas members. 
• Submissions must be posted in Atlas by replying to this blog.
• Contestants can only post one submission for the contest. If a contestant posts multiple submissions, only the first submission will be considered for the contest. 
• The contest will run from Monday, January 21, 2020, at 6:00 am PT to Friday, January 31, 2020, at 5:00 pm PT.
• The winners will be announced on Atlas in the Atlas Insights Blog by February 17, 2020.
• Winners will be contacted via the email used in their Atlas profile. 
• Submitting to this contest gives Khoros the permission and approval to leverage your username, avatar, and submission, for Marketing and Public Relations purposes in presentations, on social media and the Khoros website. 
• Khoros reserves the right to change the rules and terms at any time. Khoros makes no representations or warranties regarding the contest or its rules and disclaims all implied warranties. Khoros undertakes no obligations of its performance or processing of submissions other than as specifically stated herein and contestants must comply with all the stated conditions.
• Your participation in this 2020 CMAD Contest shall be deemed as consent to use your username, avatar, and submission as described above, notwithstanding any related terms in any agreements that you have with Khoros.

[SarahSc]

Love that feedback @Sandy_Moreland!!  The AARP Community is amazing!

[AmyH]

It's been great working with you as AARP's CSM, @Sandy_Moreland! I'm so happy to see you sharing here, because I KNOW you have so much invaluable knowledge and expertise to share with other Community thought leaders!

[MarkK]

My favorite to-date Khoros moment was sitting in the big conference room at AARP and hearing the Community Team share their favorite community stories. It was amazing to hear what a major part of the AARP customer journey, the AARP Community plays. And it is because of great Community Management. 

Thank you @Sandy_Moreland 

Can't wait to see you all again soon. 

[Wendy_S]

I created this photobook which I send to experts along with a small bottle of champagne to celebrate the memories we created together.

I just wanted to share this to give CM's a feel for the culture, emotions and relationships they can help create. Community is where true friendship is built as well.

I am not participating in the contest but I just wanted to share some advice which I did earlier. I just wanted to edit my post to share the above but I wasn't able to edit that post

[BobF]

Tips for new Community Managers:

• Be authentic - Be who you are. You have a unique perspective and character. Your community members will appreciate that;
• Be approachable - When someone in the community reaches out to you for assistance, be there for them and make a friend;
• Defend/Advocate for your members (external) - They will become your advocates. 
• Balance - The needs of your community members and the objectives of the business (they can be aligned) (Brian said this eloquently.)
• Pace - Yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint. To build something truly special takes time, much planning, and effort;
• Experiment - Do not be afraid to try something new; Fail fast and learn from your experiments;

Lastly enjoy your view, as community managers have a uniquely broad view that spans across a business. 

[katiepbussey]

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A09cEYRVQ0&t=

[VarunGrazitti]

In addition to what every great post by awesome community managers have mentioned here, always remember this equation:

B2H > B2B + B2C 

Always be Business to Human irrespective of the essence of your community and everything will start to fall in place.

Happy CMAD.

[CarolineS]

I really love all of the comments so far!! My advice:

• Most people at your company probably won't understand what the community is and why you are running it. Tell them success stories to help them understand. Then tell them again. Metrics help too, but a good anecdote is worth a lot.
• When you find someone at your company who DOES understand or is excited about what you're doing - befriend them! Give them swag! Having internal advocates is critical.
• People (both your colleagues and your customers) love contests. And swag.
• HAVE FUN!

[OrganicValley]

My advice to Community Managers is to over communicate. Being completely submerged in our communities gives us the ability to track trends, issues, and community member activity. However, it could be easy to forget that not all of our coworkers and team members have the same level of understanding of our communities and consumers. Use that as an opportunity to speak on behalf of our community members, and never assume that others in your organization know what you know. I have found that times when I have felt like I am over-communicating are the times that the communication was most in need. If nothing else, it helps involve others who are not directly working with your community and provides opportunities for shared understanding and meaning that will help your organization or business grow exponentially. The information we manage on a daily basis is a living and breathing connection to those you are striving to make a difference with. Own that, and help others in your organization own that as well. Lastly, take time for yourself. When you are healthy and thriving, so does your community. Cheers to Community Managers everywhere! 

[lana_lee]

Most community managers are on a team of one (as I am) so my advice focuses around that - especially when Community is new to one's organization:

1. Don't overwhelm yourself with tasks. Select up to 3 initiatives to focus on for that particular quarter or fiscal year. Is it growth? engagement? Your calendar and any task manager software are your friends!
2. Become familiar with your new organization and how it fits with your community. Go to your intranet, make a list of all of the departments and create bullet points on how they could contribute and benefit your community - tactically and strategically.  This list will help you promote community internally and find allies that will help make your job easier.
3. Have an open-door policy to talk about Community. Find active community members (internal and external) and call them up to learn how they use community and what could be better.  This information provides incredible insight into user behavior
4. Welcome new internal team members, introduce yourself and the Community's value to their department.  Newly hired folks need a buddy...so why not have it be you?  Not only will you be their lifeline within the company, you can show them the value of Community.  Similarly, newly hired folks want to be recognized and seen by their managers.  Share how the Community would benefit their careers within you org (i.e. Give them something they can share on LinkedIn!)
5. Always think strategically.  Connect with internal team members who are influential in making decisions and would encourage their department to participate more in the community. Take them to coffee or lunch to understand their current work struggles and leverage that information to demonstrate how your community will help make their jobs easier.
6. (Last but not least) Take that vacation...and enjoy it! Don't feel guilty if you need to take a day off or a vacation.  Come up with a process where you can casually check emails (or train a back-up) while you're on vacation.  You will be more influential and valuable when you're refreshed and well-rested.