Unfortunately, too many existing online communities fail to integrate in the organization facilitating them. It will come as no surprise that these networks lead a rather dormant existence. To allow a community to reach its full potential it is essential that it is thoroughly embedded in the organization. Only then will there be anything at stake for both the community participants and the employees of the organization. But what is the best way of doing this?
When we visit a client, we always hope that management will fully embrace online networks. Making a success of a social intranet or online community is so much easier when a director is fully on board and acts as a digital leader who leads by example and does not throw in the towel at the first sign of resistance. But what exactly is a digital leader, and what is it that they do?
This month I started at Bind, experts in the field of community building. Having worked as a community manager at Tele2 for several years, I will now be setting up and managing communities for a variety of clients. Where before I was managing a single community, I will now be guiding and advising different organizations. A big step, but one that I’m very excited about.