Community, Consistency, and Curiosity
Community
What is community? Weird question huh? I am asked that a lot. I am frequently asked “As a community manager how do you define community?” “How do you build community Online?” I mean no offense to the many that have asked this question, but it’s a weird question. I don’t like answering questions with a question, but what does community mean to you? How would community building online be any different than offline? Do you belong to a club? Maybe you are a member of an association. It’s really no different. It seems to be human nature to over analyze and complicate things. Ask your Grandparents and Great Grandparents about community.
The last question I will ask you is this. Are you a billiards player hanging out at the local teen skating rink with you cue stick waiting for a game?
Consistency
Marketers have said for years that in order to gain traction on the adoption of an idea that consistency is necessary. Professional athletes will often say that to be consistent is the name of the game. I would go so far as to say that consistency in the face of adversity is remarkable. PT Barnum is possibly the greatest showman and marketer of all time. PT failed more than he succeeded early in his career and could easily have called it quits. Instead he was consistent in his intentions and became a famed historical figure. Michael Jordan was cut from his High School Basketball team. Most kids would give up and try something else. Instead Jordan went on to be arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
Curiosity
As children we ask a lot of questions. How long till we get there? How old are you? Why do I have to do that? Then we grow older, wiser, and more experienced. We lose a great deal of our innate childhood curiosity. Our ego grabs hold and we perceive fact based on our daily experiences. We begin to follow patterns and forget to ask why we do what we do. Is it possible you go through your day-to-day life without ever asking why? Has your life training taught you to keep you head down your mouth closed and your opinion to yourself? If Gallileo would have suppressed his curiosity we would still believe that sailing to the edge of the earth would result in our falling into an abyss filled with Dragons and Monsters!
Combine your answers for community, dab in a bit of consistency and don’t forget to challenge that status quo. Let me know what happens.
Keith Burtis is a social media and digital marketing professional. If you or your company are looking to REV THE ENGINE on your digital efforts contact Keith today! Specialties include: Blog design/Integration, Custom Facebook Pages, Social, Digital and Interactive Content strategies.
The three C’s! Very “Creative.”