Being a Cool Kid: Key Steps to Getting “In” With Your Community, Part One
As a freshman in high school one of the most woeful and terrifying experiences had, after stepping through the cold metal doors of the learning institution that you’ll hate for the next four years, is deciding how to reach the upper echelons of the social ladder. Considering you’ve only had five years to learn the fundamentals and three to figure out who you might be, these last four years of school are a daunting leap into social experiences that may indeed shape your life. As a new forum or community moderator, you’re the freshman looking to mingle amongst the social elite; the question is, how do you get “in” without being overzealous or obnoxious? Here’s a few simple ways to drive yourself to the top of the ladder in no time.
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Be Educated: Because you’re a mod, you’ll have a reputation coming through the door; much like the scrawny kid with taped glasses or the super tall and thick guy with the flat top haircut, a moderator is often times sized up before they introduce themselves to the community. Given that you might not be the first or only mod, its up to you to not only get in there and hit the ground running, but to come in with a wealth of knowledge about the product or service the community surrounds. If you’re the forum moderator for a game, by all means play the game and familiarize yourself with the game you’ll cheer-lead for. Knowing the product or service inside and out, including common “message board lingo,” will do wonders for your credibility and likeability as well; users love to feel that staff has the same enthusiasm when talking about the product or service as they have.
Be Engaging: It’s one thing to be a cool kid, but quite another to be the kid everyone wants to hang around. In online communities, its not enough for a moderator to know their stuff; getting in there and providing insight and relevant content for users to consider and chat about is what distinguishes the yearbook layout girl from the yearbook staff leader. While one is in charge of cleaning up and laying down pictures, the other helps to shape and mold the total experience for others to enjoy. Guide conversations as they adhere to your company’s standards, and give users content to come back to daily.
Understanding your product or service and sharing that knowledge with your community in a way that is engaging are two surefire ways to help you break in to the social stratosphere. Show that you’re interested in not only keeping the communities you moderate safe, but in being a contributing and lasting member of the community as a whole. It’s not enough to be on the sidelines as a mod; you’ll have to get out there and be the star player if you want to really make an impact on your community! Stay tuned- tomorrow I’ll share two additional steps that will help you get that coveted seat at the cool kid’s table.
-Lyn Muldrow