WhatsTheBuzzAbout.com

Managing the Membership of Web Sites, Groups, and Forums

Managing the membership of individuals who wish to join or who are members of web sites, groups, and forums can be rewarding and stimulating. Depending upon your inclination, you can be very hands-on or hands-off, responsive or not, proactive or not, and detail-oriented or not.  If you are not an owner or manager of a social network web site, group, or forum, you will be able to see where you fit in the process and learn a few things to consider if you want to be a group manager in the future.

The stages of individuals in the “membership” process include: 1) the seeker, 2) the applicant, 3) the participant, and 4) the departing. Each stage places its own demands on the moderator and site owner. Without dealing with the information technology systems part of this process, let’s look at the expectations at each stage which might help moderators and owners plan for and respond to the individuals in these categories.

 The Seeker

This individual is usually hesitant. He or she may have been told to check out a group, etc. and has done some research. He or she may have read your description and is not willing to step out and risk becoming an applicant. Think of this person as someone who needs reassurance and more information than the average person. Generally, these individuals will get in touch with a group manager and ask for that additional information. They are the “consumer reports” type of social networker.  They may ask a lot of questions–from how long the group has been in existence to the number of members. You have to decide how to respond to his or her queries and what information you are willing to divulge. The inquirer could, in fact, not be a potential member, but have another purpose for the questions.

It is best to have your objectives and purpose clearly listed in the description in order to help ensure that the group remains focused and on-point. Having that information available to all up front, also helps to ensure that expectations are realistic, and that the rest of the group membership will rally around the purpose.

In general, you should respond to the seeker with clarity and accuracy. The individual will be comfortable in making the decision to join and actively participate in your group if you are open and receptive to receiving questions. You may find that these individuals will ultimately become your group’s strongest advocates.

The Applicant

This individual may or may not be someone whom you know. You need to determine whether you will permit everyone to join without prior approval or whether you want to moderate individuals. Allowing people to join without moderation is certainly easier to manage, but comes with some additional issues to consider. Even though it is impossible to ensure that you eliminate all the “spammers” or other “unwanted members” even with moderation, moderating your membership at least permits you the opportunity to catch some before they join. For example, do you want to permit individuals to register twice because they conduct business under two different names? One social network permits this practice of multiple accounts but does not encourage them. However, this means that one individual could join a single group more than once under the same or different names. Moderating your membership applicants permits you to address certain issues such as registering in a personal name versus that of a business or ensuring that the individuals meet the terms of participation. You can simply choose not to approve the membership of Hotel Manager until that individual uses a personal name. By doing something like the example, you simply help your members know with whom they are dealing—at least to the best of your knowledge. Acknowledging membership is also a great personal way to expand your contacts.

The Participant

Participants become successively easier to manage as the length of their participation increases. You will be able to manage the postings to ensure that they are in line with the requirements of the web site. You will receive questions about how to move around the site or group, which is just the normal participant learning curve. Having general use information available is a start, but keeping your responses also helps going forward.  Encouraging your group to share tips is helpful and encourages participation as well. You may receive also complaints about members or about the group itself. It is important to deal with the questions quickly and effectively. Remember to protect confidentiality and to keep your responses (verbal and written) professional.

The Departer

It may or may not be possible to determine who leaves your web site, group, or forum. If you do have that knowledge, you may or may not want to reach out to them, assuming that their departure was voluntary. Rarely, does someone decide to rejoin a group based on an outreach, but leaving may be a better experience if they do have contact with you.

Summary

Social networking is all about creating relationships. Recognizing individuals at all stages is meaningful to those individuals and encourages building those relationships. Deciding how individualistic/personal to make the process is a major decision. You can always change the process at any of the stages depending upon your objectives, your time, and your willingness to interact. Management is a responsibility and social networking is the art of perception–you want the perception to be accurate. Treat the management of your web site, group, or forum, with integrity and respect and you will find it rewarding and worthwhile.

What is your buzz about?