3 simple things to do when you become a new community manager.

You have just set up a new online community and this is the first time that you have managed and run an online community. This should be easy, right?

Today is the first day to put in the work to help your online community thrive.

Before you start uploading all the content that you have, stop and think about how you will engage your members. Who are your members? What’s the purpose of the group? How much time do you have to spend on supporting the group? (Have a read of our blog post "How to make sure your online group gets off to a flying start?")

These are all important questions that you need to think about. So, let’s get started with three tips to help you get you underway.

1. Read everything

Just because you have the technology in place, it does not mean everyone will get it and automatically take part. There’s a lot more required to make it work.

So, get reading and start joining other communities to see what they do well. On Knowledge Hub, we have provided a ‘getting started’ resource for all group facilitators to help them with the foundation of starting an online group. There are also a number of groups that you might wish to join to see what ideas you can pick up from them.

2. Introduce yourself

You have just started your online community, and much like when you walk into a room for the first time, you need to introduce yourself. Don’t forget to share something about yourself or perhaps what you’re currently working on. Don't overshare though - make it brief and friendly. Maybe outline the purpose behind the online community and what the plan is going forward. It’s also a great chance to ask others to introduce themselves, ask what they would like to share with the group and what they would like help with.

3. Start building resources

The biggest mistake we have seen when building an online community is that the group facilitator or community manager uploads lots of content on day one and then does nothing more. If there’s no more content to add and no ideas shared on what to discuss, the community can fade away after a few weeks.

To avoid losing momentum, gather together some key content for the community by looking at your emails and the types of questions you regularly get asked on the subject. What content do your key members have that could be shared? What expertise do your core members have that they are willing to share? All of this will help you to create an action plan for the community that will constantly evolve over time.