Savvy companies recognize the value of a strong community. Think of Nike and its community of
runners Nike+ and you ll quickly understand that creating and fostering an online community
around a product or brand is a powerful way to boost marketing efforts gain valuable insight
into consumers increase revenue improve consumer loyalty and enhance customer service
efforts. Companies now have the unprecedented opportunity to integrate their brand s messaging
into the everyday lives of their target audiences. But while supporting the growth of online
communities should be at the top of every company s priority list all too often it falls by
the wayside. That s why brand strategy expert and digital marketer Lauren Perkins wrote The
Community Manager s Playbook (#CMplaybook on Twitter) a must-read guide for business and brand
builders who need to strengthen their approach to online B2C community management and customer
engagement. As Perkins explains if companies want to create thriving online communities
focused on their product or brand they must do more than simply issue a few tweets a day
create (and then abandon) a Facebook page and blog every once in a while. Instead
organizations of all sizes must treat community management as a central component of their
overall marketing strategy. When they do they will be rewarded handsomely with greater brand
awareness increased customer use and retention lower acquisition costs and a tribe of
consumers who can t wait to purchase their next product. Perkins not only teaches readers how
to build an engaging community strategy from the ground up but she also provides them with the
tactical community management activities they need to acquire and retain customers create
compelling content and track their results along the way. Distinctive in its comprehensive
step-by-step approach to creating online communities that are fully consistent with a company s
existing brand voice The Community Manager s Playbook: Explains how excellent community
management provides a competitive advantage with a large impact on sales Provides an in-depth
overview of brand and business alignment Teaches readers how to identify their community's
online target audience and influence their needs and wants Details the appropriate online
channels through which content should be distributed Champions the use of an agile approach
through repeated testing to maximize the return on every company investment Discusses the many
diverse metrics that can be used to measure community scope Today there is no brand strategy
without a community strategy. Companies that are not developing communities are losing control
of their brands and missing opportunities to optimize their marketing investments. With The
Community Manager s Playbook as their guide however marketing professionals and the companies
and brands they represent will be equipped with the tools they need to manage their online
marketing efforts engage their core customers at every level leverage community insights into
the product development cycle and ensure that their messaging is heard across all corners of
the digital landscape.
