CDPR108 - Week 6

I have decided to use my blog as a forum for me to brainstorm my thoughts for the essay in this week's assignment. We have been writing a lot in this course, but not in an essay format. I have also been tweeting a lot for work - so my train of thought is more in blogger/twitter language and not in "essay mode" - aka not in proper writing!

This week's essay topic:  How best can a PR practitioner charged with the community manager role serve both the needs of the online community and the requirements of his or her organization to meet business objectives?

I want to not only write this essay, but really understand this topic because this is what I am charged with in my job! (Gotta love when your work and school come together).

I think it is important to first lay out and understand the business objectives - without this base, the community manager has nothing to go by - no goals. With these objectives, the community manager needs to take a hands-on approach and really get involved with the community. The business objectives should be like the voice in the back of their head.

With business objectives in mind, the community manager needs to take a different approach than the rest of the company. Not completely different in the goals and the purpose of their approach, but in the way that they communicate. Of course this changes depending on the company's audience -but blogging, tweeting and communicating on Facebook should look a lot different than communicating within a business meeting or with the journalists of the world.

It is very important to keep in mind the time that relationship-building can take. The focus cannot be on making a sale or meeting the business objectives in a short time frame. The focus needs to be building a long lasting friendship with the community. This takes many conversations and much time!

If community managers take the time to build the relationships with the community - this will in turn serve the business objectives of the company. Making yourself a friend of each and every member of your audience.


Ok - I think I have brainstormed where I am going to go with this essay! Time to get to writing. (formally).