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So BRAND walks into a bar… (no, this is not a joke).  What happens when “bar” equals “community hub?”

I’ve found the reactions of marketers to the need for serious thought and planning around community-management to be both surprising and fascinating.  After all, community management– like so many of the concepts that come onto our professional radar in a rush of “why haven’t you considered this before”– isn’t a new concept.  We could go all the way back to early human communities and examine counselors, religious figures and even the town drunk for clues about how to keep people happy, engaged and contributing to a greater good (or evil).

While I was pinch-hitting (permanently) as community-manager for a game a few years ago, I was alerted to the presence of an ultra-secret society by a friend of mine in the gaming space.  My friend had employed a community-manager for their MMO, and was ranting and raving about how specialized and great this person was.  So I connected with her on the phone and was indoctrinated into the very real underground of games community managers– a digirati/illuminati community who trade best practices, pass each other job opportunities and preserve their Order.    They actually vet new job opportunities for companies that want to employ one of them and weigh in on whether the company is worthy to have one of them work for it.

Serious stuff.

For brands that want to better serve their current communities (most brands have one/some whether by design or accident), it’s a little less intimidating than my holier-than-thou nerd experience.  A pretty consistent skill set has emerged that marketers can use to figure out whether they have the right person/people managing the interactions of their communities.  In fact, even without experience, we’ve seen new community managers have great success as long as they are equal parts copywriter, addict, and friend:

1) Copywriter – Since we’re talking specifically about online communities here, be they within an owned site, run in partnership with another company or administrated via Facebook/Twitter/Myface/Facespace you need someone who can capture the voice of the brand– but more specifically the voice of the product, experience or effort itself.  Not every community is formed around a brand, nor should it always be.  And a common misstep is to attempt community around something no one cares about (sometimes that’s your brand).  Don’t get me wrong- I believe every brand has an opportunity to create community, but often you need a hook, a common interest with your consumers, or a common cause.  Brands fall into the trap of thinking they need to create long-term, meaningful relationships when flings are every bit as useful when approached correctly.

2) Addict -  There are plenty of successful community managers out there that aren’t necessarily gifted writers, but if not, they are prolific.  Call it addiction, call it maniacal enthusiasm, but excellence in community management requires a level of dedication that borders on unhealthy.  Now, whole companies are forming around the idea that you can productize and factoryize community management.  And those companies are making money, and there are many brands using them.  It’s efficient.  It’s sensible.  I say there’s no substitution for the addict in this world.  I’ve seen good community management folks in multiple organizations get nervous ticks from responding so much to consumers in a brand community, but the resulting dividends of goodwill and forgiveness (which is sooo key)  are unmistakable and lead to that coveted outcome all brands lust after– advocacy.

3) Friend – They say friends should be gracious, compassionate and above all– good listeners (ok, no one says that- I just made it up, but it’s my post…).  These same attributes separate great community managers from the rest.  It’s easy– and incredibly dangerous– to become defensive in an online community (or any community, for that matter).  Approaching the community in the role of the friend and sticking to that mindset casts the community manager as the heart and soul of the community itself.  Couple this heart part with someone who really understands (or even creates) the voice of the brand, and you have an indispensable spokesperson that community members can’t get enough of.

There’s something magical about accessibility to something/someone you really love or admire.  Actually, even if you don’t love or admire them, if they’re famous, you still get a tingle.  So every brand can win.  The key with Community Management is making the brand truly human– which requires putting the right humans in charge of it.  The test for whether you’ve done that or not is pretty simple– when BRAND walks into the bar, does everyone light up and say “BRAAAAND!”