http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesse757/ / CC BY 2.0
This post was originally published in September, 2009.
We all like to be in control. Growing up, my brothers and I would bemoan the lack of control we had on family decisions. Our parents would make decisions and we’d complain that we hadn’t had a chance to vote on that decision. My dad’s response was predictable: “This is not a democracy, this is a benevolent monarchy.” The issue was settled and the message was clear. While at times our family looked and functioned like a democracy, we all knew who was ultimately in control. My father didn’t rule with a heavy hand, unless he had to, and his decisions were always based on what he thought was best for our family.
This same concept applies to how we function within the framework of social media communities. When creating an online community, whether it be for a business, product, or organization, we need to remember that it’s not about us. It’s about the community. Recently I’ve worked with some businesses for whom the concept of “control” was an issue. I often need to convince them to allow their community members to actually function as a part of the community, i.e. be able to comment, post photos, etc.
When it comes to “control” in an online community, such as a Facebook business page, I endorse a three-level approach:
Level 1: You own the page and therefore have the ability to exert absolute control over the page. But, other than posting information and updates, and perhaps guiding the discussion, you should simply act as one of the members of the community, not someone in control. I have found that social networks tend to be mostly cordial and self-policing. Unlike the forums of yesteryear, which were marked by constant flaming, today’s online communities are usually rather tame. When someone gets out of hand, the community will step in and settle things themselves. And the occasional malcontent will stick out like a sore thumb and the community will see him for what he is. Allow your community members to have free reign and free speech.
Level 2: On occasion you may find that members of the community will come to you with questions or problems. If someone has a problem or gripe, as a member of the community, they have the right to voice their concerns. This is when you should shift into “customer service mode.” Remember, in a community, everyone is watching. How you handle criticism and complaints will have an impact on the future of the community. Dialogue is central to social media. Answer the concerns and criticisms as best and as cordially as you can, and do so publicly. You may need to exchange some private messages with the community member in question, and perhaps eventually a phone call, but if you exhibit reasoned restraint and work WITH the member to solve the problem, everyone in the community will benefit. Those who witness the exchange will feel much better about being members of your community, and you will have built a greater level of trust and loyalty.
Level 3: Occasionally, as the person with ultimate control over a community, you may have to step in and exert that control. But only as a last resort. One particular client of mine has a rather robust Facebook fan page, which is characterized by a lot of interaction between members. On two different occasions, one particular member decided to post some rather harsh comments. Not just harsh, but character attacks on certain local business owners. The comments were not only harsh, but had no connection to the conversation that had been going on.
In this case I worked with the page owners and we determined that the nature of the comments was bad enough to warrant removing the offending comments. My clients DO have the ability to control the page, but this is the only case where they have exerted that control.
Yes, every village has it’s idiot, but in most cases, the idiot is harmless.
So remember, when it comes to control in a community, less is more.
