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  1. Homer Simpson’s Community Blog: The Wireframe Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Sachin Ranchod October 29, 2010 1 comment
    We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing community management on the Heavy Chef blog and we decided that it was time to put some of the theory into practice.  To do this, we’ve developed a home-page wireframe for Homer Simpson’s community blog.
    Wireframes are often described as the stickmen of web design – they are simple mock-ups of a web page that allow us to quickly determine which elements need to appear on a page and their relative priority.  The wireframing process is usually the first step after you have taken the time to understand the website requirements from both the business and user perspectives.
    The idea for the Homer Simpson community blog was to create a place for Homer and his friends to write about topic which interested them (i.e. beer, donuts and TV).   Based on these topics, Homer then wants to build a community of like-minded people (starting in Springfield) with the goal of getting them to discuss the pressing issues around beer, donuts and TV.
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    We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing community management on the Heavy Chef blog and we decided that it was time to put some of the theory into practice.  To do this, we’ve developed a home-page wireframe for Homer Simpson’s community blog. Read Further

  2. How blogging helped build my Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Jason Bagley October 26, 2010 5 comments

    Blogging is dead. Long live blogging. You’ll hear these sentiments being thrown around often by bloggers and ex-bloggers all the time. I’m in the long live blogging camp because without my blog, I would not have gotten to where I am today in terms of my company, business partnerships and even friends! Read Further

  3. Gillette and their Community Management – the best a customer can get Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Concocted by Lauren Potgieter October 22, 2010 2 comments
    When we think of good examples of community management, our minds automatically wander to
    brands such as Coca Cola and Apple, of which the public cannot help but sing their praises. There are
    however, quite a few companies that have stood on the sideline and slowly created a community
    that is engaging and responsive, whilst not being overly zealous with their brand approach.
    One brand that is getting their community speaking is Gillette. Unlike other brands that are all
    about the show, Gillette has the perfect combination of engagement – not too scarce and not too
    over-active. They have taken an activity that men dread doing on a daily basis and have created
    conversation around this chore.
    We know that community management cannot simply focus on one area and Gillette spread
    their community activities across all their resources. On their Facebook page, they have created
    conversations around the “art” of shaving and recently got Daryl “Moose” Johnston to answer
    questions from Gillette Facebook fans. On the Facebook fanpage, they ask questions, post quirky
    did-you-know facts and generally interact with whoever is willing to talk. Their Twitter page sings the
    same tune as they encourage their followers to be creative and send in videos and pictures of their
    experiences. This approach gives a light hearted and creative feel to the fanpage and encourages
    the public to submit content and converse about content submitted – perfect for encouraging
    community.
    Their website lets you choose the type of beard you have and then shows you the best way to shave
    with their razors. They have also created the Gillette Success Lab, where you create a profile that will
    give you additional advice on how to obtain a smooth shave and what products to use.
    Even though Gillette’s Facebook might not compare to the number of likes of other big brands, with
    only 312,042 in comparison to Coca Cola’s 10 million and nearly 6 000 followers on Twitter, they are
    definitely doing something right and getting their target market (which are males aged 14 and up) to
    share their experiences and open the channels of communication between brand and customer.

    When we think of good examples of community management, our minds automatically wander off to brands such as Coca Cola and Lady Gaga, of which the public cannot help but sing their praises. There are however, quite a few companies that have stood on the sideline and slowly created a community that is engaging and responsive, whilst not being overly zealous with their brand approach. Read Further

  4. Effective online community management – 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Fred Roed October 21, 2010 9 comments

    At World Wide Creative we get a fair amount of requests for things like ‘viral campaigns’, ‘building communities’, and, of course, ‘a site sorta like Facebook crossed with YouTube’. Read Further

  5. Top 5 things to avoid when engaging with your Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg October 20, 2010 6 comments

    We have now discussed how to engage with your community and we looked at a few examples of successful communities. In order to build a successful community, there are a few things you should try to avoid. Here’s a list of the top 5 things to avoid when engaging with your online community: Read Further

  6. Can you use Facebook ads to help build your Online Community? Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Concocted by Ettienne Mostert October 19, 2010

    The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, ‘In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’ – John F. Kennedy Read Further

  7. Twitter strategy as part of Community Management – Some examples Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Mike Perk October 14, 2010 7 comments

    Currently, an online community manager, would struggle to avoid using Twitter as part of a community management strategy. It ticks many of the boxes associated with community: Read Further

  8. Does a good user experience help to attract more people to become part of your community? Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Website Design, Website Usability, Concocted by Sachin Ranchod October 13, 2010 7 comments
    • User Experience (UX) describes the subjective feelings a person has when using a system (in this case, a website).
    • UX Design aims to influence the user’s emotions, perceptions and behaviour by designing a system where the user interface (including images, wording and components), workflow, information architecture, help, performance, marketing, accessibility and the general ease-of-use are all designed with the user in mind. Read Further
  9. Heavy Chef October: Is Blogging Dead? Posted in Heavy Chef News, Concocted by Fred Roed October 8, 2010 6 comments

    Update: Sorry, this event is fully booked! To get invited to future events, sign up as a Heavy Chef member here.

    For this month’s Heavy Chef Session, held in Cape Town, we ask the question: “Is Blogging Dead?”

    It’s amazing to think that blogging has only been around for 10 years and people are already whispering about a ‘dying art’. In the past month, we’ve seen blogging stalwarts like Windows Live Spaces and TypePad closing doors or selling up. Apparently, the rise of micro-blogging has all but vanquished the carefully scripted masterpieces that begat a whole new generation of wannabe-Hemingways .
    So, is blogging really dead, or is it evolving?
    We’ve asked this question of two legends of digital, Seth Rotherham and Rich Mulholland.
    Just last week, the esteemed Mr Rotherham announced with great fanfare that his multiple-award winning blog 2Oceansvibe.com is no longer a blog. Seth’s familiar online presence, strengthened by years of daily blog posts, now extends to radio, accommodation and entertainment news. 2OV is now a burgeoning media empire.
    On the other hand, the esteemed Mr Mulholland has redirected his focus back to blogging. Over the past 12 years Rich has focused his attention on growing his presentation, conference and innovation companies, and has been blogging since 2001 on multiple outlets such as Jo’Blog, Capitalist Punks and, more recently, his own personal blog.
    Seth and Rich will be presenting their answers to the Heavy Chef community later this month – you DON’T want to miss this.

    It’s amazing to think that blogging has only been around for 10 years and people are already whispering about a ‘dying art’. In the past month, we’ve seen blogging stalwarts like Windows Live Spaces and TypePad closing doors or selling up. Apparently, the rise of micro-blogging has all but vanquished the carefully scripted masterpieces that begat a whole new generation of wannabe-Hemingways . Read Further

  10. Using mobile to help build loyalty within the online community management grid Posted in Community Management, Mobile Marketing, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk October 7, 2010 2 comments

    The community management grid has a large emphasis on building loyalty and understanding your community as much as possible.

    We set the Channel Mobile team a challenge: How would they utilise mobile in helping build loyalty, as part of an online community management strategy? They used an example of how a coffee shop could offer incentives to their online community, surveying them in the process, to then help segment their database further and target its customers more effectively. And all done on mobile. Read Further

  11. Heavy Chef September: It’s about Community! Posted in Heavy Chef News, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg October 7, 2010 1 comment
    Heavy Chef September: It’s about Community!
    We had a rocking session in Joburg last week with Mike Stopforth and Alwyn Venter. Mike and Alwyn came to chat to us about community and managing a community online.
    With the explosion we’ve seen with micro-blogging, social networking and more, we’ve noticed a change in how brands interact and engage with their consumers. This on its own brought up a new set of rules for building and engaging with your community. Everyone is talking about how consumer behaviour has changed and how it’s still changing and evolving. Brands should know by now that they need to pay attention to these changes!
    Now, with the attention economy we are living in, people tend to ask “How do you stand out from the crowd online?” Our speakers, Mike and Alwyn elaborated on this and provided useful tips and guidelines for engaging with your community online.
    We’ll be posting their presentations soon so keep an eye out for them!
    Thanks to everyone who joined us in Joburg last week and special thanks to our sponsors as well!
    Cape Town folk, our next session is taking place end of this month and we’re asking ‘Is Blogging Dead?’ – NOT to be missed!

    We had a rocking session in Joburg last week with Mike Stopforth and Alwyn Venter. Mike and Alwyn came to chat to us about community and managing a community online. Read Further