While I agree that it’s worth trying… what I’d really like to see is imc take the initiative with this kind of stuff.
I would probably be more interested in creating a poll/petition to ask imc to give staff like @STAFF_Julie, @STAFF_John more latitude in terms of their roles. They work their asses off to answer our questions, keep things running smoothly, and are all around awesome!
I suspect however that imc (the company) is probably committing some of the community management mistakes described in this really fascinating piece.
It wouldn’t surprise me since I’ve been through enough mmos and mmo forums to get a feel for these things…
EDIT: For those too lazy to click through
Common Mistakes
The following errors have been made in the past by publishers or developers – and they had lots of regrets afterwards. As we must all learn from our own mistakes, it’s also very important to learn from others’ mistakes. Bear in mind: this list isn’t exhaustive.
- Sending community managers into the lion’s den without proper information and/or backing from management
By underestimating the importance of community management, it can be easy to set someone to work without information or backing at the very beginning. It can lead to critical mistakes that can be avoided.
- Not providing enough support to the CM’s team/not managing the community team
The management of a community, especially a big community, is very hard on the nerves, and there have been some very famous community managers’ nervous breakdowns. You can read about them if you do a little research.
The community managers have to form a team, with a team leader managing and providing the support his colleagues need, so they can rely on each other when they have problems, before losing their cool and insulting a whole community on the official boards.
- Underpay/under-consider the community team
Community management is an important part of communication in the gaming industry, but as it is still relatively new and formative, it is very often under-considered.
Always keep in mind that the community manager is the first interlocutor with the players, and that he bears the image of your company. So don’t expect him to do a quality job without the proper respect from his management – and the proper salary.
- Underestimate the importance of coordination between marketing, public relations and community management
Marketing, PR and community management are the three most common ways to communicate with the public. To maximize the effectiveness of this communication and avoid contradictions, good coordination is necessary.
Having the PR manager saying one thing to the media, and the community manager saying something else to the community, is always a bad and confusing thing.