Category Archives: community building

It’s a Trap! How Not to Blast Away Your Fans

Posted on September 28, 2010 by

One of the challenges in marketing on the internet is treading the fine line between useful alerts and annoying spam. Rapid fire emails, tweets and status updates can fill the news stream, causing folks to scroll right past your blocks of promotion so they can get on to other friends and followers. Even great content delivered too fast or in screen hogging chunks may cause fans to unsubscribe simply because you are demanding too much real estate from their screen. So beware the three pitfalls below and take care to promote without blasting your fans away. Continue reading →

Posted in community building, facebook, internet presence management, small business, social media, twitter | 3 Comments

Roots to Branches: Tips for Growing a Festival Community

Posted on September 22, 2010 by

How can you create such loyalty to an annual event that folks will trek many miles through melting sun and pouring rain just to be there? What makes them want to schedule it in their vacation plans, returning every year and bringing more friends? For music festivals, great entertainment is the focus, but it’s the festival community that generates such a powerful draw of participants. As I prepare to head out to one of my favorites – Watermelon Park Festival in Berryville, VA – I’m thinking about some of the things that turn a music festival into a community. Continue reading →

Posted in community building, music | 8 Comments

The Shame Game: Saving Face in Group Collaboration

Posted on September 20, 2010 by

As a follow-up to my Lincoln Letters post, I’m going to extend that thought by adding that when you decide what really needs to be said, what’s the best way to say it? When working with a group of people, … Continue reading →

Posted in communication, community building, email, social media | Leave a comment

The Human Touch

Posted on September 13, 2010 by

If you want to generate goodwill within a community, try to supply a human touch wherever possible. Small gestures that show that there is a real person at the other end of the connection give confidence to your cause. We hear bad customer service complaints all the time, but here are three recent examples I have encountered where different technologies were used to supply the human touch to a digital transaction. Continue reading →

Posted in community building, small business, social media | Leave a comment

Remember When? The Power of the Shared Experience

Posted on September 5, 2010 by

Ever notice how movies that were hilarious on the big screen are just not as funny when you watch them alone? Ever been stuck in a line for so long that you start up a conversation with the person standing next to you? Ever not wanted to go to an event but you go anyway, meet lots of great people and think what a fool you would have been to miss it? In all of these cases, it is the experience that we share with others that can make the difference between an ordinary day and a time to remember. Continue reading →

Posted in community building, small business | Tagged | 2 Comments

My Community

Posted on August 29, 2010 by

As an exercise in community management, I did this analysis my own circle of family, friends and acquaintances, breaking it down into some categories, noting if and how that group is growing and seeing what connections I can make between them. Continue reading →

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