There were a lot of interesting predictions for 2010 in the social media space pertaining to community management. One of my favourite quotes was “Regardless of whether or not you have a digital strategy – you have a digital strategy” (sorry don't have attribute, I believe it was Sebastian Gard?).
Social media: a must have
I think this idea ties in nicely with the sentiment that companies are seeing social media participation shift from a “nice to have” to a “must have”.
Retention, Value, Flash communities
In 2009 community became quite the buzz word with companies scrambling over one another to create their own community, everything from nappies to insurance spawned its own forum. Membership acquisition was largely garnered through promotions & competitions, and the "communities" were largely temporary. I think 'flash' communities will become more used through 2010 (primarily for advertising/marketing purposes), but at the other end of the spectrum retention will come into play. With a smorgasboard of communities, members will seek value.
Private invite-only and hyper-local communities
Perhaps as the pendulum swings from big-business huge-SNs (aka FB) we'll see predictions ring true that private invite-only communities will become more popular, "velvet-rope social networks" as Chris Brogan aptly describes them. (Although in true form Brogan was talking about this a year ago.)
Hyper-local communities are also on the rise with the increase in geo-locational devices.
Privacy, authenticity, transparency, identity-portability
Although the issue of privacy stirred the hornet’s nest last year, I actually feel that transparency/authenticity will become stronger and internet anonymity less respected (this is not to say people shouldn't have control over privacy). Facebook connect has made it much easier to join multiple groups and carry your real identity with you, I only see this becoming more robust.
Multi-platform presence, platform-neutrality
I think 2010 will see companies valuing their presence across platforms, in conjunction with creating their own space for a community (I believe their is value in doing so, for knowledge management/content ownership purposes alone it's worth it), they’ll seek out their audience/consumer and engage with them across Facebook, Twitter and anywhere their brand in being discussed. I think it’s important that companies diversify their involvement on the web to maximise their audience reach. I think we've very much reached an era where we expect information to come to us. Give me convenience!
Professional roles: chat managers, moderators, SM/community managers
It’s been said the role of Community Manager will continue its steep trajectory, and I also believe businesses we see the value in hiring professional moderators, chat managers and the like to engage and govern. The increase in social media monitoring matched with ROI, will further justify these roles. As someone who manages a large team of volunteers, I see this as interesting evolution.
Although a lot of businesses are willing to risk placing graduates or interns in social media roles, I think the risk at doing so will become more apparent, unless you also feel comfortable letting them chair the next shareholders' meeting.
Technology, behavioral management software
Needless to say - behind the scenes - technology will be a game changer. As mentioned by Rebecca Newton here, the increase in behavioral management software is going to have a huge impact on how businesses can effectively participate in moderating and managing huge volumes of traffic and user-generated content. It will certainly aide the transition to moderation and management of the real-time web, and is particularly vital for those working with minors. Although legislation never happens quickly we will see governments moving towards stronger cyber-safety laws.
It’s shaping up to be a great year for community management and as always I’m enthusiastic about being involved.
