Tips for Community Managers

We have had a freemium Yammer network running since October 2010 and I have been actively community managing it since not long after I joined the business in March 2011. For me it was a natural extension of my role in looking after the intranet. I really enjoy community management and love Get Satisfaction’s infographic Inside the mind of a Community Manager especially how it describes the community manager as a ‘Gardener’. I don’t have  green-thumb but I think the analogy of nurturing the garden and tending the weeds is apt.

Last week the crew at Yammer ran a competition calling for tweeps to post their best tips for Community Managers via the #yamcmgr hashtag. The prize? Tickets to Swarm Conference, the online community management conference, which is on in Melbourne next week. I was keen to attend the conference, and unable to buy a ticket this year so I pulled out my best gardening tips and tweeted my heart out.

Here is a selection of my tips and great ones from other tweeps:

If you were wondering who won the coveted  tickets, Chantelle Baxter and I will be joining the Yammer crew at Swarm Conference next week! I am really excited to be going. It will be a great opportunity to network with other community managers and there is a fantastic line-up of speakers. Thanks to Yammer for the opportunity and I will certainly be sharing what I think on Twitter and on my blog.

Update: 04 September 2012 8:20pm: Check out the Swarm Conference blog feature, Yammer #cmgr giveaway – tips for community managers, featuring… me! See you at Swarm Conf!

Update: 05 September 2012 1:50pm: Have a look at the feature on Yammer’s Blog, Top #Yamcmgr Tips From Community Managers.

Do you have some tips for great community management? Please share in the comments below.