The New Key Players: The Community Connector
The Connected Generation Podcast: The New Key Players: The Community Connector, Episode 59
In this week’s podcast in the New Key Players series we look at the Community Connector and why they are an essential part of your business in the wake of the connected marketplace.
Excerpt from Mind Your X’s and Y’s:
Community connectors are the nurturers who maintain diverse personal and professional circles and always get the inside scoop. Community connectors have razor-sharp social instincts. They know how to work with people from a wide range of interests and backgrounds, and they naturally put everyone at ease.
Connectors move between the company and the brand community to learn what each group wants, and then figure out how to satisfy their different interests. They listen to the community, making them feel heard and valued, and convey their desires back to the organization. Connectors anticipate social needs and suggest new things that will support the community. They understand what makes Epinions reviewers tick, for example, or what the DJs at a Scion event will think is utterly cool.
As communities work closely with brands to refine products and develop new services, the community connector is a critical team member with a 24/7 lifeline to the brand population. One caveat: community connectors must always be insiders. They can’t be outsiders who are “trying to see what the young people want,” or fiftysomething men aiming to connect with new moms. Outsiders won’t be embraced. Connectors must be members of a community in which they are know, respected, supported, trusted and known within the community.
Community connectors’ core competencies include:
• nurturing
• speaking
• communicating
• facilitating
• listening
• understanding
• anticipating
Community connectors three-question toolkit:
• Who is our core community?
• What do they want and need?
• How can we make things better for them?
This post was written by Lisa Johnson
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