No matter what level of social media understanding you are at, you will ALWAYS find exciting new information and ways to get the most out of your online experience.

Sometimes it’s a matter of being READY to appreciate the information.

And I, personally, am ready to dive into Group conversations.

How about you?

• Joined any groups yet?
• Did you know what you were doing?
• Are you in the right groups?
• How are you participating?

All of the above are great questions, and I’ve now joined several groups on LinkedIn BUT I’m not so sure that I (a) knew what I was doing; (b) joined the right groups; or (c) knew what was expected of participants.

So when my SOCIAL MEDIA MAVEN group included a discussion on groups, I was really intrigued.

And then when I read Delores Wilson’s article, I thought “WOW, I have to share this.”

Delores was kind enough to allow me to re-post her article on my blog, so you can read her insights on HOW GROUPS WORK – AND HOW YOU CAN MAKE THEM WORK FOR YOU:

I’ve Joined a Group….Now What?

by Delores R. Williams:

http://www.socialmediadiet.blogspot.com
You’ve finally set up all of your profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and all of the other seemingly endless social media platforms. After wading through the plethora of applications, plug-ins, connections and friending, you suddenly find yourself in the world of Groups. You scratch your head, deepen your breath while you ponder this new social media frontier.
What the heck is this? Nobody told me about this “group” thing! Do I join a group? Host a group? Does this require more time? …I don’t remember signing up for this! Now what?

Understanding how communities REALLY behave is important to know BEFORE you either join or/and host a group.

People that join groups may have agendas/goals that may/may not align with those of the host or other group members. Making the mistake of assuming that community members are all on the same page – that once someone joins a community, they are going to abide by the rules & guidelines- could be further from the truth.

How do you get around the daggers that may put holes in the successful functioning of your group?

Best solution – a discussion of objectives, goal and rules for, both, the group and its community. In essence, what I refer to as – THE ROLL CALL. Short and sweet, this is it:

The Moderator:
aka, Host, Admin, Organizer. The Moderator is the ‘mayor’ of the community. It is the job of the Moderator to ensure that the goals, objectives and rules are abided by all of the community members. Monitoring and enforcing group guidelines ensures that the group runs smoothly and that community members feel ‘safe’ and have their basic needs met at all times.

The Influencers:
These are members who, naturally, take on roles like policing ‘bad’ behavior, welcoming new members, inviting other new members and attributing to group discussions. Influencers are self-motivated, enthusiastic community members who are invested in the success of the group.

Second Tier Influencers:
These are members who, through listening to the discussions and conversations from others in the community (usually The Influencers), are learning to appropriately utilize the group for its said purpose. Second Tier Influencers often times are converted into becoming Influencers themselves.

The Individual:
The individual, despite being aware of the guidelines, objectives and rules, has his/her own agenda for joining the group. Behavior is often times contrary to the rules set by The Moderator and results in creating discomfort within the community. These members push the envelope by constantly testing the rules (i.e., blatant product advertising instead of discussing brand/industry standards). The ‘Individual’ keeps The Influencers busy and definitely requires prompt intervention from The Moderator.

That’s it! Social Media Communities…in more than 140 characters.

Tell me your thoughts? Did I hit the mark? or am I way off?
I’d like to hear from the community….

Click on photos to link to other Howard Blum photos or go to his website