Online Community | The Heavy Chef Project

The World Design Capital 2014 Bid – Through The Eyes Of The Designer Posted in Heavy Chef News, Concocted by Jo Barrow January 9, 2012

Stephanie is a creative strategist at World Wide Creative. With a diverse background in design and brand communications strategy, Stephanie’s approach to new media is holistic. She strives to counteract the the superficiality of the online space and harsh edges of the environment to create real solutions that are more engaging and relevant to the communities of the brands she works for. She was recently behind the social media side of Cape Town’s successful bid to become World Design Capital for 2014. She spoke to Heavy Chef team about design thinking, creative collaboration and designing for a cause. Read Further
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
How to get your followers to Re-Tweet you Posted in Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Ettienne Mostert December 9, 2010 7 comments

How to get your followers to Re-Tweet you

Each time one of your Twitter followers re-tweets one of your tweets they help develop your Twitter influence. Retweets can help grow your amount of followers, drive traffic to your website and ultimately create more customer conversions. Here are a few tips and tricks you can put into practice to get users retweeting you.

1. Be first

Where possible try to be the first person to break news. If not first, be one of the first. For example you could be walking in a mall and see a ridiculous promotion or an entertaining situation or even unexpected traffic. This way you are informing your followers of something that is useful, new and relevant.

2. Chat

Tweet about things you can converse about. Even if your Twitter accounts is for your business, talking about topics that you can converse about is far more interesting to your followers than self-promotion and none engaging statements. As an individual be careful about talking about yourself too often or you may end up on Tweetingtoohard.com and users will follow you for the wrong reason.

3. Link to something interesting or that adds value

Give your followers the opportunity to spread your content by adding a link to your tweet. Twitter users love spreading content and interesting links. Also, spread other people’s content that you find interesting in return. This way, your Twitter stream will be filled with a variety of interesting links.

4. The golden 25 characters

Twitter allows you enough space for a 140 character message however, if one of your followers wants to manually retweet you they will need a few characters to add the RT and some commentary. Leave at least 25 characters for them to do this. You need to make a retweet as easy as possible for your users and you will reap the benefits. Remember to also use a URL shortener, this saves you loads of space.

5. Unique

This relates closely to being forthcoming on Twitter. To be interesting enough to be retweeted you should offer some sort of uniqueness. This can be an opinion about an event or a unique sense of humour even if it’s controversial. People love quotes, jokes and funny comments.

In the end, you need to be original and genuine when sharing with others. It’s simple, if you share something you genuinely find interesting, chances are other like-minded people will find it interesting as well.

Each time one of your Twitter followers re-tweets one of your tweets they help develop your Twitter influence. Retweets can help grow your amount of followers, drive traffic to your website and ultimately create more customer conversions. Here are a few tips and tricks you can put into practice to get users retweeting you. Read Further
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
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
5 Twitter No-No’s: Tips from the ANCYL saga Posted in Online Reputation Management, Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by LouisJvR November 26, 2010 3 comments

A few weeks back, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) expressed concern about fake Julius Malema accounts on Twitter tweeting misleading messages. The ANCYL’s militant tone of voice in conveying this concern however made for some nice headline-grabbing soundbites. Soundbites that lead to a barrage of responses from journalists, commentators and the Twitter community alike.

But, taking a step back for a second and cutting through the ANCYL’s talent for their creative choice of words, their concern is valid. And one that many a person or organisation has flagged before. This the very same reason why Twitter introduced Account Verification in 2009: a lawsuit was filed against Twitter by the manager of a well-know baseball team in the US back then (details of the case can be found here).

In fact there are a number of cases where Twitter was asked (read: threatened) to shut down fake Twitter accounts:

· Kanye West posted a rant on his blog saying: “Hey Twitter, take the so called Kanye West Twitter down now.”

· Ewan McGregor was considering legal action to remove a fake Twitter account that had attracted 20,000 followers

· Actor/musician Vincent Gallo ordered Twitter to find and shut down fake accounts

· BP asked Twitter to enforce a disclaimer on fake BP Twitter account @BPGlobalPR

The list goes on.

However, as the ANCYL has learned (or not), there are correct ways of dealing with impersonators and then there are the No-No’s that can potentially even exacerbate the problem.

Here are 5 Twitter No-No’s when faced with a fake Twitter account:

TIP #1: Be confrontational, aggressive, threatening in trying to resolve the problem

TIP #2: Stand on a soapbox and rant to the whole world

TIP #3: Failure to acknowledge your ignorance of the nature of the technology and community

TIP #4: Stereotype and paint all Twitter users with the same brush

TIP #5: Failure to setup your own Twitter profile (even if it is only a placeholder profile)

To the last point, by saying that you should create your own official profile, I’m not saying you should now start using Twitter. Take Tiger Woods for example: he (or more likely, his communications team) setup a Tiger Woods Twitter profile back in mid-2009 which, barring 3 tweets promoting his website, stayed dormant for a year and a half. And until recently served its purpose as a placeholder for Tiger on Twitter. Nothing more, nothing less.

Bottomline, if fake accounts are your concern it would be worth your while to at the very least have your own profile to inform the general public of, as well as point Twitter to when flagging your concerns with the company. It just makes for good practical sense.

A few weeks back, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) expressed concern about fake Julius Malema accounts on Twitter tweeting misleading messages. The ANCYL’s militant tone of voice in conveying this concern however made for some nice headline-grabbing soundbites. Soundbites that lead to a barrage of responses from journalists, commentators and the Twitter community alike. Read Further
5 reasons to Integrate Twitter into your website Posted in Social Media, Twitter, Website Usability, Concocted by Sachin Ranchod November 24, 2010 9 comments

5 reasons to Integrate Twitter into your website

As a standalone entity, Twitter is a powerful tool which allows companies to listen to what people are saying about them and actively engage with their community. However, the advantages of using Twitter shouldn’t stop when you leave the Twitter website. By breaking out of the isolation of the Twitter website and extending your Twitter presence to an existing website or blog, you can begin to see some of the lesser acknowledged advantages of an active social media profile.The real benefits of integrating Twitter onto your website don’t come from just having a link to your Twitter profile on your website. The link does show people that you do have a social media presence but unless they click on a link, it doesn’t show them what you are really about. Below are some of the reasons you should make your latest tweets visible on your website:1) It shows that you are realSeeing an active Twitter stream will help give visitors to your website the comfort that there are real people behind your website. Proving your legitimacy is often a make-or-break problem for online businesses. If a visitor is not 100% sure that they can pick up the phone and talk to a real person, then it is unlikely that they will convert from a visitor to a customer.There are many ways in which you can try communicate to the user that there are real people behind a website – you can make the phone numbers clearly visible on the home page, you can use live chat features and you can write an extensive ‘Meet the team’ section. A live Twitter stream with real conversations between real people, is just another tool to help you immediately signal to the visitor that the website and company are real.2) It will help keep your website updatedIt is often very difficult for businesses to keep their website constantly updated with new content. Nowadays, a lot of websites incorporate blog functionality to allow companies to make sure that there is always something new on the home page. However, writing blog posts and news articles can be time consuming and tedious. Keeping new content flowing on a website is important as it shows a visitor to your site that you are still active and more importantly, that you are up-to-date with the latest industry news.Twitter updates provide you with the ability to quickly and easily publish content to your website on a regular basis. However, it is important to note that tweets are not a substitute for blogging – 140 characters is not enough space to adequately discuss a topic and provide in-depth analysis (proving your expertise).3) You’ll get good quality followersShowing your latest tweets on your website makes it easy for visitors to evaluate the quality of your tweets and decide whether they would like to follow you or not. It is often the case that the people who follow you via your website will be your most engaging followers because they have an interest in your business or industry. These followers are therefore more likely to read your tweets, engage with you and syndicate your content for you. Followers who are interested in what you have to say will prove to be much more useful to you and your community than those who follow you because of things like ‘follow our CEO to win’ competitions.4) People can see that you are knowledgeableIf you tweet about your opinions on the latest industry happening or you tweet back to your followers with advice relating to your business then visitors to your website will begin to see that you are knowledgeable about topics surrounding your business and industry.5) Visitors will see that you engage with your communityFinally, people visiting your website will see that you have a community or that you are trying to build a community around your brand. They will be able to see that you take care of them by answering their questions, listening to their complaints and thanking them for their compliments. Companies often assume that their Twitter profile is only there to accommodate people who are already on Twitter but the truth is that the tweets on your website can bring new users to Twitter itself. As the Twitter network grows, your community will grow with it.A professional Twitter profile can be used as a powerful tool when it is integrated into your website – your tweets accentuate the existing content on your website and it will show visitors that you are knowledgeable, community-focused and real.

As a standalone entity, Twitter is a powerful tool which allows companies to listen to what people are saying about them and actively engage with their community. However, the advantages of using Twitter shouldn’t stop when you leave the Twitter website. By breaking out of the isolation of the Twitter website and extending your Twitter presence to an existing website or blog, you can begin to see some of the lesser acknowledged advantages of an active social media profile.

The real benefits of integrating Twitter onto your website don’t come from just having a link to your Twitter profile on your website. The link does show people that you do have a social media presence but unless they click on a link, it doesn’t show them what you are really about. Below are some of the reasons you should make your latest tweets visible on your website:

1) It shows that you are real

Seeing an active Twitter stream will help give visitors to your website the comfort that there are real people behind your website. Proving your legitimacy is often a make-or-break problem for online businesses. If a visitor is not 100% sure that they can pick up the phone and talk to a real person, then it is unlikely that they will convert from a visitor to a customer.

There are many ways in which you can try communicate to the user that there are real people behind a website – you can make the phone numbers clearly visible on the home page, you can use live chat features and you can write an extensive ‘Meet the team’ section. A live Twitter stream with real conversations between real people, is just another tool to help you immediately signal to the visitor that the website and company are real.

2) It will help keep your website updated

It is often very difficult for businesses to keep their website constantly updated with new content. Nowadays, a lot of websites incorporate blog functionality to allow companies to make sure that there is always something new on the home page. However, writing blog posts and news articles can be time consuming and tedious. Keeping new content flowing on a website is important as it shows a visitor to your site that you are still active and more importantly, that you are up-to-date with the latest industry news.

Twitter updates provide you with the ability to quickly and easily publish content to your website on a regular basis. However, it is important to note that tweets are not a substitute for blogging – 140 characters is not enough space to adequately discuss a topic and provide in-depth analysis (proving your expertise).

3) You’ll get good quality followers

Showing your latest tweets on your website makes it easy for visitors to evaluate the quality of your tweets and decide whether they would like to follow you or not. It is often the case that the people who follow you via your website will be your most engaging followers because they have an interest in your business or industry. These followers are therefore more likely to read your tweets, engage with you and syndicate your content for you. Followers who are interested in what you have to say will prove to be much more useful to you and your community than those who follow you because of things like ‘follow our CEO to win’ competitions.

4) People can see that you are knowledgeable

If you tweet about your opinions on the latest industry happening or you tweet back to your followers with advice relating to your business then visitors to your website will begin to see that you are knowledgeable about topics surrounding your business and industry.

5) Visitors will see that you engage with your community

Finally, people visiting your website will see that you have a community or that you are trying to build a community around your brand. They will be able to see that you take care of them by answering their questions, listening to their complaints and thanking them for their compliments. Companies often assume that their Twitter profile is only there to accommodate people who are already on Twitter but the truth is that the tweets on your website can bring new users to Twitter itself. As the Twitter network grows, your community will grow with it.

A professional Twitter profile can be used as a powerful tool when it is integrated into your website – your tweets accentuate the existing content on your website and it will show visitors that you are knowledgeable, community-focused and real.

As a standalone entity, Twitter is a powerful tool which allows companies to listen to what people are saying about them and actively engage with their community. However, the advantages of using Twitter shouldn’t stop when you leave the Twitter website. By breaking out of the isolation of the Twitter website and extending your Twitter presence to an existing website or blog, you can begin to see some of the lesser acknowledged advantages of an active social media profile. Read Further
Heavy Chef November: Engagement in the Online Environment Posted in Heavy Chef News, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg November 19, 2010 4 comments

At last night’s Heavy Chef session, we were intrigued and fascinated by speakers Walter Pike and Tiffany Markman. Tiffany and Walter talked about engaging and interacting in an online environment. They looked at how companies can reach out to their customers and using the ‘new tools’ (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to actively build a community around a brand. Great talk guys, it sure was enlightening! Read Further
The Real Value of Twitter Posted in Social Media, Twitter, Concocted by Fred Roed November 16, 2010

Something I do regularly nowadays is explain to friends, family, clients and team mates “the real value of Twitter”. My purpose in this post is really to crystallize my presentation in a succinct manner.

Disclaimer: this article assumes you follow people you respect, aspire to, trust or find entertaining in some way. Thus, some of the people that follow YOU, are people that you respect, aspire to, trust or find entertaining in some way. Read Further
Heavy Chef November: Engagement and Interaction in the Online Environment Posted in Heavy Chef News, Concocted by Fred Roed November 11, 2010 3 comments

As CEO of a digital agency, I get involved in a lot of discussions these days about “engaging with the audience”. For this month’s Heavy Chef Session, we’re investigating what the heck it actually means.

After the sheer, ludicrous excitement of last month’s Heavy Chef Session in the Mother City (watch the video featuring the speakers, Seth Rotherham and Rich Mulholland here), we’re back in Jozi for another bumper event.

This month, we’ve invited digital marketing maven Walter Pike, and digital copy maven, Tiffany Markman, to get to the bottom of engagement and interaction in the online environment .

We will be exploring how companies can reach out to their customers and using the ‘new tools’ (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to actively build a community around a brand.

Walter will also be focusing on the unfolding case study within Cell C’s strategy around its Trevor Noah YouTube debacle.

As CEO of a digital agency, I get involved in a lot of discussions these days about “engaging with the audience”. For this month’s Heavy Chef Session, we’re investigating what the heck it actually means. Read Further
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Community Management is not content syndication Posted in Community Management, Concocted by LouisJvR September 7, 2010 6 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
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
How do I build an online community? Posted in Community Management, Concocted by LouisJvR September 3, 2010 3 comments

This months’ focus on Online Community at The Heavy Chef Project as proved to highlight some really exciting opportunities for businesses in terms of building profitable relationships with their customers and stakeholders. However, it has also opened-up a lot of questions – particularly around the question: “Ok, so what now?”

A good starting point is to realise that there are in fact 3 Type of Communities you can “build” online:

1. BUILD: This is where you create your own network/platform for people to join, for example Reebok’s GoRunEasy [Key differentiator: You built it. You set the rules. You control it.]

2. RENT: This is where you create your own presence on an established network/platform, for example Lady Gaga’s Facebook Page [Key differentiator: You attract community. You set some rules, but you do not control it. The network does.]

3. JOIN: This is where you identify an established community and then be part of that network, for example Star Wars: The Expanded Universe Forum [Key differentiatior: You are part of the community. You follow the rules. You have zero control.]

So, if you decide to go the actual BUILD route, here are the 7 STEPS IN BUILDING AN ONLINE COMMUNITY:

STEP #1: Define your objectives and be very clear in what your expectations are from this endeavour.

STEP #2: Decide on what profile of people you are attracting to your community and then spend a great deal of time to find out their motivations for potentially joining and interacting within your community

STEP #3: Think about the potential barriers of your typical community member. How tech savvy are they? What devices are they using to connect online? What is the level of internet connectivity they have?

STEP #4: Have clarity in your call to action. Plan your community function, layout and creative so that it aligns your objectives with the motivations of your community members.

STEP #5: Focus on balancing technical soundness with creative execution.

STEP #6: Realise that if you build it, they in fact will not come. How will you attract members to your newly built online community?

STEP #7: Be part of your own community. Interact relentlessly.

This months’ focus on Community Management at The Heavy Chef Project has proved to highlight some really exciting opportunities for businesses in terms of building profitable relationships with their customers and stakeholders.

However, it has also opened-up a lot of questions – particularly around the question: “Ok, that’s nice, so what now?”

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The Heavy Chef - March 2013 - Andrew Smith - The Story of an E-commerce Startup

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The Heavy Chef - March 2013 - Andrew Smith - The Story of an E-commerce Startup

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