Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /usr/www/users/heavyg/wp-content/plugins/yet-another-related-posts-plugin/yarpp.php on line 34 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/www/users/heavyg/wp-content/plugins/yet-another-related-posts-plugin/yarpp.php:34) in /usr/www/users/heavyg/wp-content/plugins/theme-my-login/includes/login-actions.php on line 7 Community Management | The Heavy Chef Project
Skip to content

You're at: Home / Blog / Heavy Chef News

Heavy Chef News

  1. Online Community Building in 2012 with Dave Duarte Posted in Community Management, Heavy Chef News, Social Media, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk January 17, 2012 4 comments

    Dave Duarte, a veteran of Heavy Chef Sessions with four sessions under his belt, spoke to us about community building in the last event we held last year. Dave gave us an overview of where we’re at in marketing at the moment, and followed it up with some ‘ninja’ tips for you to use. Don’t miss this – a well worthwhile video. Read Further

  2. Exclus1ves.co.za Community Building Campaign – A Case Study Posted in Community Management, Digital Strategy, Heavy Chef News, Social Media, Twitter, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk February 7, 2011 7 comments

    We’ve had a lot of Heavy Chefers asking us to share what World Wide Creative did for the Exclus1ves FlashMob Firesale campaign. So we’ve put together a video case study highlighting the objectives, the thought process, the execution and most importantly the results! Read Further

  3. What brands are embracing mobile technology to build their community? Posted in Branding Online, Community Management, Mobile Marketing, Concocted by Jason Bagley January 18, 2011

    Here are 3 brands using mobile to help grow their community and further connect with their customers:

    Guinness VIP

    Guinness have rolled out a mobile social network powered by Motribe for the numerous Guinness drinkers. It’s a platform for consumers to belong to  community where they get information relating to football, make friends, chat and connect. It also offers competitions which users on their VIP network will quality for.

    Read Further

  4. Should you get your CEO on Twitter? Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Sachin Ranchod December 10, 2010

    In recent years there has been a distinct shift in how many companies use Twitter to build their brand.  The focus is no longer on just creating a faceless corporate account that tweets about what’s happening in the business and industry.  Instead, it is becoming popular for companies to build their brand by focusing on promoting some of the different people (like a flamboyant CEO) within the organisation.   Read Further

  5. US Embassy Uses Twitter to Create Online Community Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Agnes Sokol December 8, 2010

    As Spokesperson for the United States Diplomatic Mission to South Africa, Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau has the job of managing one of the most robust new media platforms worldwide. From the US Department of State headquarters in Pretoria, Elizabeth engages American visitors, students and professionals alike, and has become a trusted news source for expatriates living abroad. Read Further

  6. The new tools of interacting and building an online community Posted in Community Management, Digital Strategy, Social Media, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk December 7, 2010

    Digital marketing maven, Walter Pike talks at the November Heavy chef event about how interaction is changing. Walter highlights how traditional brand building theory is changing and how new technology and the dawn of the attention economy means we need to interact in new ways.

    Read Further

  7. Writing for Engagement and Interaction Online Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Twitter, Videos, Website Usability, Concocted by Mike Perk December 1, 2010 1 comment

    “Research shows us that, on your web, you have 15 seconds to give your reader the info they are looking for. That’s about 30 words. And then, they’re off. Gone”.

    Tiffany Markman explains how engagement is totally different to print and what you need to do to write in order to build a community, rather than just an audience.

    Read Further

  8. Your Twitter Community – Be Nice, Think Twice: Twitter Etiquette 101 Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Lauren Potgieter November 29, 2010

    All of us are impressed with good etiquette. Whether we are called by our surname when signing something at the bank or we are thanked for letting someone in whilst driving – we know that being polite pleases others, especially when you’re representing a brand or even yourself as a brand online. On Twitter specifically, it is imperative to be polite to your community, because even though etiquette is seen as somewhat old fashioned, it will encourage your current community to keep coming back for more. Read Further

  9. How to create a trustworthy Twitter profile: What do the experts say? Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Lauren Potgieter November 12, 2010 5 comments

    There are numerous articles surrounding Twitter and how beneficial or useless it might be to individuals, businesses and brands. The Twitter versus Facebook fiery debate will never end – but the truth is that they cannot be compared because they are so incredibly different.

    Read Further

  10. ORM And Building Your Community Online – It’s All About Hanging With The Cool Kids Posted in Community Management, Online Reputation Management, Concocted by Lauren Potgieter November 8, 2010 2 comments
    Recently, our Heavy Chef girl Yolandi, wrote an article on the fiery Gossip Girl series and how to create and maintain a community in an environment that is cut-throat and competitive. This made me think about my days back in high school and how reputation was a key ingredient to teenage politics. Just as every girl or guy had their own reputation to manage in high school in order to have more friends, so do brands have their online reputation to manage in order to have more followers/likes/interest. One of the ways in which you can build your community and more importantly, maintain the trust of your community is by using online reputation management and keeping an intently close eye on what others are saying about your brand. Let’s take a trip back to our high school days and see what the popular kid had to do in order to be so adored.
    The popular kid isn’t always the bad seed.
    Do you remember that one guy or girl that represented the epiphany of rebellion in your high school years? Sure, he or she was great for a few weeks, but when they got into trouble, there was no one around to help. It is true that brands get more attention when they are being criticised, but the term “all publicity is good publicity” is not necessarily true when it comes to online reputation management.
    The popular kid always knows what is going on in his or her school
    Bad or good news, the queen or king of the school knows exactly what is going on in their territory. In order understand and follow your ORM, you must be omnipresent and make sure you have tabs on everything that everyone is saying about you. There are various ORM tools that will make this job easier and when you know what others are saying about you, you are able to take in this praise or criticism and transform it into something that can work for you, just like the popular kid in school makes sure that all news concerning them is turned into good news.
    The popular kid encourages “gossip”
    In terms of high school politics, gossip has many negative connotations, but in terms of building your community online, gossip can merely be conversation. Just like the kids in the school yard listened to a piece of information intently and passed it on to others, so does an ORM strategy let you listen to what others are saying and pass that information on. An online community is built by sharing of information and engagement – just like the popular girl or guy grows their followers by providing them with juicy tales and encouraging them to pass on the message.
    The theme that revolves around building a community and maintaining an online reputation boils down to terms such as relentless engagement and fierce interaction. Strive to be the popular kid – maintain your reputation, keep people talking and keep your followers happy.

    Recently, our Heavy Chef girl Yolandi, wrote an article on the fiery Gossip Girl series and how to create and maintain a community in an environment that is cut-throat and competitive. This made me think about my days back in high school and how reputation was a key ingredient to teenage politics. Read Further

  11. The secret to building a sustainable Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Fred Roed November 5, 2010 9 comments
    The secret to building a sustainable online community
    There are so many online community campaigns popping up across the globe right now. It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Facebook pages, Twitter promotions, everyone seems to be doing it.
    Take a closer look though and you’ll be able to spot the ones that will work over time. The secret? Sustainable online community campaigns have a cause.
    At World Wide Creative we’re working on a wide variety of campaigns right now – from Virgin Mobile to Honda, Exclusive Books to The Just Cause. The first thing we try to do with each client is to figure out what is the ‘emotional driver’ of the target audience. Without knowing this, it’s very hard to create a sustainable community campaign. The fact is, you can create as many tactical maneuvers as you can muster, but they will fizzle out unless you can tap into the real heart of your customer.
    The cause is not always obvious. This is what I mean:
    ·If you’re marketing cars, your cause is not mechanical (it’s the feeling that car evokes)
    ·If you’re marketing alcohol, your cause is not the booze (it’s the lifestyle that the booze conjures up)
    ·If you’re marketing phones, your cause is not technical (it’s the freedom of communication that you’re given)
    ·If you’re marketing cologne or perfume, your cause is not smell (it’s the confidence or empowerment that the cologne induces.)
    As a brand, if you can tap into your cause effectively, you may achieve the ‘Holy Grail’ of community management… where your audience doesn’t just interact with you, but with each other.

    There are so many online community campaigns popping up across the globe right now. It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Facebook pages, Twitter promotions, everyone seems to be doing it. Read Further

  12. Is Blogging Dead? Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk November 4, 2010 3 comments

    The dynamic duo, Seth Rotherham and Rich Mulholland (not sure which one is Robin?) asked the question “Is blogging dead” to a packed crowd at Deloittes in Cape Town. Check out the Heavy Chef Video. Read Further

  13. 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.
    Navigation and banner

    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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. 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
  21. 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

  22. How ORM can help your Community Management Posted in Branding Online, Community Management, Online Reputation Management, Concocted by Jason Bagley September 14, 2010 10 comments

    Staying ahead of the game when it comes to your online community is sometimes very time consuming. Not only time consuming but with users across the globe in different time zones talking about your brand at all hours of the day, you might struggle to keep up! That’s where keeping track of everything that is being said at all times is crucial to community management. Read Further

  23. Engage relentlessly and build a Community online Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg September 8, 2010 2 comments

    I happened to catch an episode of Gossip Girl the other night and it had me thinking about engagement and building a community online. In this specific episode Gossip Girl was outing everyone’s secrets at once and causing a lot of havoc for the high school teens. What I noticed was that Gossip girl really has her community on the tip of their seats. Read Further

  24. Community Management is not content syndication Posted in Community Management, Concocted by LouisJvR September 7, 2010 5 comments

    It is so very easy to fall in the trap of using your online channels as conveyor belts for your content.

    The distinction between community management and content syndication seems obvious, I know, but in my experience it is a case of it becoming habit: Content. Check. Publish. Check. Share. Check. Smile and wave. Check.

    Read Further

  25. Building an online community within Facebook Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Concocted by Ettienne Mostert September 7, 2010 2 comments

    Who really wants to be known by their endorsement of socks?

    Facebook users see ‘liking’ something as their personal stamp of approval. There is no other benefit to liking something other than an emotional payoff be it belonging or crafting your personal identity. Read Further