BRINGING THEM FACE TO FACE: Alison Michalk is co-organizing the first IRL (in real life) confer- ence in Australia for online community managers, because she and her co- organizer “selfishly wanted to put on the conference of our dreams with profes- sionals we admire.”

Alison Michalk: An online community manager is responsible for representing and managing a company’s online social media presence and community. This may be in a traditional online forum, a Facebook page, or across many platforms such as Twitter, Foursquare, blogs, and more. A community manager seeks to support the business objectives while repre- senting the members’ needs. The role has a dual focus of engagement and risk mitigation through effective moderation.

How did you become interested in professional community management? RM: There are two parts to this question: my interest in com- munity management and my interest in professional commu- nity management. Unsurprisingly, one led to the other. My interest in community management began over a decade ago while working with video-game communities. I was hooked on the idea that people could use the Internet to come and connect with each other. My interest in professional community management is

more recent. Community management shouldn’t be a profes- sion that we make up as we go along. It should be a profes- sion with proven principles, strategies, and frameworks.

“Meeting professionals have an advantage over most community builders; their audience already meets on a frequent basis. This provides an incredible opportunity to build an online community. It’s far easier to build an online community for an offline group than an offline group for an online community.”

42 pcma convene November 2011

Since I began working with several different organizations, I knew we simply needed greater methodology to be working from. If we don’t, we’re simply working in the dark.

Have you worked with any organizations to help them build online communities around their events? RM:Yes, but not in the way that the question might imply. Events are an important part of an online community. Increasingly, organizations are using events not as the solidi- fier of online relationships but as the initiator of the commu- nity itself. They launch the event and then use the community to keep things going.

How can meeting professionals build sites that drive attendance to their events without a hard sell? RM: Meeting professionals have an advantage over most community builders; their audience already meets on a fre- quent basis. This provides an incredible opportunity to build an online community. It’s far easier to build an online com- munity for an offline group than an offline group for an online community. The key, however, is not to do what most meeting profes-

sionals do, which is to leave all online activity to a short time period before and after the meeting. That’s not a community; it’s a short promotional push to benefit you. The key then is to make the community a permanent activity, which you undertake all year round. When you have your next meeting, make sure you keep a

list of the topical discussions. Then create a community to continue them. Invite people to give their opinions online. Interview people that were at the meeting. Let people write guest columns. Summarize the best advice and invite people to initiate their own debates. Soon, your offline events might take their cue from the topical online debates more than vice versa. AM: Any company or organization that has an offline event

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