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The Importance of Flexibility in Community Management
Community management involves handling the interactions, comments, and discussions that take place within an online community. While processes and guidelines are essential, they don't always cover all the nuances that come with managing a community. This is where flexibility and adaptability come in. Being flexible means being willing to navigate the gray areas and make adjustments based on the situation at hand. It's about finding the middle ground between black and white, rather than rigidly sticking to one approach. Flexibility allows community managers to respond to different client needs and expectations, making them a valuable asset to any team. Ultimately, the success of a community management program depends on the ability of its managers to be flexible and adaptable. By embracing the gray areas and being willing to make adjustments, community managers can create a positive and engaging online community that thrives.Starting a Top Contributor Program
Read about the Top 10 knowledge nuggets to gain insight on starting a Top Contributor program: A Top Contributor program is a community management strategy that recognizes and empowers highly engaged and knowledgeable members within a community. Top Contributor programs are important for enhancing member engagement, providing support, creating valuable content, and acting as advocates for the community. To start a Top Contributor program, assess the community's needs, define program goals, identify potential Top Contributor, establish selection criteria, and provide proper onboarding and training. Top Contributor can be rewarded and recognized through badges, exclusive privileges, public acknowledgments, and tangible rewards to show appreciation for their contributions. Empower Top Contributor by offering training programs, dedicated communication channels, access to analytics, and involving them in decision-making processes. Evaluate the performance of the Top Contributor program through engagement metrics, response time, member satisfaction, and community growth. Sustain a Top Contributor program by maintaining regular communication, offering growth opportunities, conducting periodic program reviews, and fostering a strong community culture. Benefits of having a Top Contributor program include increased member engagement and satisfaction, enhanced support and resources, a vibrant community culture, and overall community growth and success. Top Contributor programs can be implemented in various types of communities, regardless of their size, industry, or niche. By implementing a Top Contributor program and following best practices, you can leverage the power of engaged and knowledgeable community members to create a thriving and supportive community environment.Unleashing the Power of Customization to Build Thriving Online Communities
Customization empowers platform administrators to create unique and engaging experiences tailored to the specific needs and preferences of their community members. Below outlines the importance of customization and the impact is has on building thriving online communities. User Interface Customization: A visually appealing and intuitive user interface is paramount to community success. By allowing platform administrators to customize branding, layout, and navigation, communities can establish a unique identity and enhance user engagement. Tailoring the user interface to align with the community's values and aesthetics fosters a sense of familiarity and belonging. Content Customization: Tailoring content to match the community's interests is key to fostering meaningful discussions. Community administrators can curate categories, topics, and user roles to ensure that content remains relevant and valuable to members. This level of customization promotes a focused and vibrant community environment, where users can connect with like-minded individuals. Features and Functionalities Customization: The ability to adapt features and functionalities is a game-changer for community platforms. Offering customization options such as different discussion formats and integrations with external tools provides versatility and flexibility. Communities can align their functionality with the specific goals and needs of their members, making the platform more valuable and engaging. User Experience Customization: Seamless user experiences are essential for community platforms to thrive. By allowing users to personalize their notification preferences and implementing algorithms for content recommendations, platforms can ensure a tailored experience that keeps members coming back. Customization enhances user satisfaction, as individuals feel more in control of their interactions within the community. API and Developer Tools: Empowering administrators and developers with APIs and developer tools opens doors to endless possibilities. These tools enable the creation of custom integrations and applications that enhance the community platform's functionality. By leveraging external expertise and resources, community administrators can unlock the full potential of their platforms, providing unique experiences to their users. Conclusion: Customization lies at the heart of building thriving online communities. The power of customization extends to user interface, content, features, user experience, and development tools. By offering a range of customization options, community platforms create unique and engaging experiences that foster a sense of belonging, increase user engagement, and nurture vibrant online communities. So, if you're looking to build a successful community platform, remember the transformative power of customization. Customize, engage, and watch your online community thrive!Upgrade to Aurora with iTalent’s strategic road map and playbook
Thisnew versionpromises many benefits, including improved user experience and deeper analytics that empower businesses to nurture their online communities. Amid these advancements, iTalent Digitalemergesas a premier technology partner for businesses embarking on their journey with Aurora. iTalent Digital leverages its deep experience with Khoros to customize and extend the platform while ensuring clients harness the full potential of Aurora. With our proprietary Aurora upgrade road map and playbook, iTalent Digital will ensure a smooth and successful transition from Khoros classic to Aurora, no matter hownumerousor complex your existing customizations are. In this article, we provide an overview of the key components of ourmethodology, based on decades of combined experience as a premium Khoros partner. Step 1: Customizations assessment The process begins with the iTalent Digital’s proprietary customizations assessment that provides an overview of customizations and extensions, associates files with functionality, and examines each customization todeterminethe best way to enable its features in Aurora. Step 2: Aurora road map The road map provides a timeline with key milestones to guide the transition. Based on the results from ourinitialassessment and a comprehensive understanding of the community'sobjectives, user engagement strategies, and operational needs, iTalent Digital outlines a high-level strategic document for ensuring a smooth transition to Aurora within given time and resource constraints. Step 3: Aurora playbook The Aurora play book provides a detailed plan for preparing your community and launching itonAurora. This entails three key phases: preparation,executionand launch. PREPARATION: We begin byidentifyingthe core features you will need in Aurora, for example, interaction styles, locales, case portals, and the like. Another important step is a thorough mapping ofall ofthe customizations you need to keep in Aurora, along with detailed descriptions.Beyond thecomponentlist generated from the ARC, we include other customizations analyzed through our extended assessment as well as any new customizations that may have gone live since then. Next,it’stime to make some decisions based on the community’s vision and strategic priorities as defined in the road map, and categorize each customization and platform extension into one of four buckets: Remove Nice to have Essential Already included in Aurora out of the box You will be pleased to discover that a lot of your existing customizations are likely to be already included in Aurora out of the box (OOB). This decreasestotalcost of ownership as well asfacilitatesadoption of Aurora. Content clean-up: Transitioning to Aurora is a good opportunity to take a fresh look at your community content and consider what is still relevant and what needs to bearchived.It’sworth taking the time to think about what can be simplified or otherwise tidied up before transitioning over to your sparkling new Aurora community. EXECUTION: Data and content conformity Once we have the content, customizations and extensionsidentified,mappedand categorized,it’stime to conform all the data and functionality to the new platform.For example, Tags and Labels in Aurora act more like Labels in Classic. Tags only exist on root posts in Aurora, which means Classic Tags on repliesdon’tcarry forward. Upgrade, not migration: Keep in mind that Aurora sits on top of your Khoros community’s existing database, so no migration of the underlying data is necessary. Customizations: Some customizations may need to be conformed,reconfiguredor rebuilt in order to function correctly on Aurora. Developer Experience: If required, we set upthe DeveloperExperience, including the Aurora SDK (software development kit) and Dev Tools, then rebuild or reconfigure the customizations that use it. We conduct a review of all integrations and updatepathsas necessary. Theme and page builder: Aurora offers an easy-to-use theme and page builder that allows a wide range of colors,fontsand design styles. We recreate the look and feel of your Classic communityonAurora. Depending on the customizations that were applied to your Classic community, a 100% exact match may not be possible. With Aurora, the CSS code is notcustomizableand you cannot import your own CSS. Admin & settings: We carry over the community structure, ranks, roles, permissions, badging and other settings, adjusting as necessary foroptimalperformance on Aurora. We also review the SSO settings and carry them over, whether they be self-service SAML, OAuth2 orKhorosSSO. LAUNCH: With that,you’reoff to the races and fully operational on Aurora, poised to reap its benefits. Get more details about the key advancements that Aurora offers.Key Best Practices for Community Managers
Community management is a multifaceted role that requires the implementation of key best practices. This article explores the essential practices for community managers to build and nurture successful communities. From establishing clear goals and fostering engagement to effective communication, content strategy, community moderation, and data-driven decision making, these practices empower community managers to create vibrant and impactful communities that drive value for members and contribute to organizational success. Establishing Clear Goals and Objectives One of the foundational steps for community managers is to establish clear goals and objectives for their community. Defining the purpose and vision of the community sets the direction and guides decision-making. By articulating the desired outcomes, community managers can align community initiatives with the broader organizational goals. It is important to use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to ensure that goals are well-defined, quantifiable, realistic, and time-sensitive. This enables community managers to track progress, measure success, and make data-driven decisions. Building and Engaging the Community Building an engaged and vibrant community requires intentional efforts to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. Community managers should foster a sense of belonging by actively encouraging participation and valuing the contributions of community members. This can be achieved through various engagement strategies such as organizing events, facilitating discussions, and running contests or challenges. By providing opportunities for members to connect, share ideas, and collaborate, community managers can strengthen relationships and cultivate a strong community culture. Communication and Community Channels Effective communication lies at the heart of community management. Community managers should carefully choose appropriate communication channels that align with the preferences and behaviors of their community members. This may include platforms such as online forums, social media groups, email newsletters, or instant messaging apps. Regular and transparent communication with community members and stakeholders helps build trust, facilitates collaboration, and keeps everyone informed about community updates, initiatives, and opportunities. Leveraging social media platforms and online forums also allows community managers to reach a wider audience and attract new members to the community. Content Strategy and Management A well-crafted content strategy is essential for community managers to drive engagement and provide value to community members. Developing a content plan that aligns with community goals and interests ensures that the content is relevant and resonates with the target audience. Community managers should curate and create valuable content that educates, entertains, or solves problems for community members. Regularly reviewing and updating content is crucial to meet the evolving needs and preferences of the community. By analyzing engagement metrics and gathering feedback, community managers can optimize their content strategy to deliver meaningful experiences for community members. Community Moderation and Conflict Resolution Community managers play a pivotal role in establishing and enforcing community guidelines and moderation policies. Clear guidelines help maintain a safe and inclusive environment where community members feel respected and valued. When conflicts or challenging situations arise, community managers should handle them with diplomacy and empathy. This involves actively listening to all parties involved, seeking to understand different perspectives, and mediating conflicts in a fair and constructive manner. Promoting respectful and constructive dialogue among community members fosters a positive and supportive community culture. Analytics and Data-Driven Decision Making Data analytics is a powerful tool for community managers to gain insights into community performance and make informed decisions. Utilizing analytics tools, community managers can track engagement metrics, identify trends, and measure the impact of community initiatives. This data-driven approach helps community managers optimize their strategies, identify areas for improvement, and enhance member satisfaction. Regular analysis of community data also enables community managers to adapt their tactics based on member behavior and preferences, ensuring that the community remains relevant and valuable. By implementing these key best practices, community managers can effectively build and nurture thriving communities. The combination of clear goals, engaging strategies, effective communication, valuable content, inclusive moderation, and data-driven decision making empowers community managers to create vibrant and impactful communities that drive value for their members and contribute to the overall success of the organization.Key Differences Between Khoros Classic and Aurora
By contrast, Aurora, Khoros's new community platform offering, offers improved functionality and increased configurability out of the box, rendering many common types of Classic customizations unnecessary. Here’s how Aurora changes the game: Configuration over Customization: With Aurora, the focus is on configuring all aspects of your community through a simplified Admin interface rather than customizing core functionality using a wide array of customization points. You can still extend the platform in ways which bring business value if you have access to development resources, but these extensions are built around the edges, enhancing functionality without disrupting the foundation. Aurora encourages you to use the core product the way it was designed. This means the platform remains stable and consistent, and updates and new features can be picked up automatically with little to no adjustment to custom code required. Styling and User Interface: For those who have experience customizing the look and feel in Classic, a common question during their first foray into Aurora is, “Where do I put my CSS”? Unlike Classic, Aurora doesn’t provide a global stylesheet to be overridden. Instead, customization of the look and feel is handled through a theme tool backed by style variables that abstract the style of the community. This helps ensure that core platform updates won’t break your custom themes. The Theme tool makes branding your community a snap! Aurora also provides a Page Builder tool for easy drag-and-drop configuration of your community layout and pages. This is also where your navbar is configured, and in contrast to Classic, you have complete control over the mix of internal and external links you want to include. Page Builder also makes it easy to override your pages for specific categories or boards, a feature that was a lot less intuitive and click-heavy in Classic. Enhanced Default Features: Here are some examples of configurable out-of-the-box features provided by Aurora that Classic lacked and required customization to achieve: Message Lists: One of the oldest features in Classic but also the most commonly customized, as every change to sorting, filtering, or visible columns, or replacing pagination with “load more” functionality required building a custom message list from scratch – and sorting and filtering options were pretty limited in many cases. Aurora offers more modern and configurable out-of-the-box functionality for message lists, reducing the need for complex custom rewrites. Wayfinding/Navigation Tiles: Another common customization, visual navigation via wayfinding or navigation tiles, which had to be custom-built in Classic, are readily available and easily configurable in Aurora. This feature enhances the user experience by providing intuitive and visually appealing navigation paths within the community. Featured Content:Aurora allows you to easily feature whatever content you like wherever you like in your community. While Classic has built-in featured content components, the lack of fine control over their content and placement was a common target for customization. HTML Components:Classic offers “Custom Content Blocks”, which are confusing and error-prone to create and maintain using only a plain text editor. It requires a customization to add more than ten variations and another customization to give them useful names and descriptions in the Classic Admin interface. Aurora offers HTML Components instead, which can be conveniently created directly in Page Builder using a rich text editor and added to pages as desired. Fire Hose (Coming Soon*): Complex integrations and event-handling in Classic usually required code-enabled plugins built by Khoros Professional Services or polling and processing Khoros data via a combination of API calls and huge daily bulk data files. Aurora will put the power in your hands and streamline the process when it introduces its new “fire hose” feature, a dynamic feed of all community actions and events to which webhooks can be added. This will allow customer dev teams and their partners to build some really powerful extensions and integrations. (*This functionality is on the roadmap for later in 2024.) By moving to Aurora, Khoros is addressing many of the challenges faced by users of Classic, offering a platform that is easier to manage and more aligned with modern web standards and user expectations. This transition is not just about new features; it’s about simplifying the user and administrator experience, minimizing tech debt and long-term cost of ownership, and enhancing overall community engagement. Whether you're looking to build from scratch or transition from Classic, Aurora presents a compelling case for a smoother, more sustainable community platform. Simplify the transition with iTalent Digital At iTalent Digital, we understand that transitioning to a new platform can seem daunting. However, our team is here to ensure that your move to Aurora is smooth, efficient, and tailored to your business’s unique needs. Our comprehensive support includes strategic planning, customization guidance, and ongoing optimization to ensure Aurora meets and exceeds your community engagement objectives. Contact us at khoros@italentdigital.com to book a free consultation and discover how iTalent can help you upgrade to Aurora.Improving Customer Engagement with Data-Driven Insights for the Power BI Community
Microsoft sought to enhance customer engagement in its digital customer engagement platform by utilizing a middleware solution. This intelligent solution collected and analyzed data from online communities, generating specialized and customizable reports, ultimately providing deeper insights into business operations and fostering collaboration with other teams.Data Security in Community Platforms
Importance of Data Security. Data security is paramount in community platforms due to the following reasons: Protection of User Privacy: Community platforms handle personal data, conversations, and potentially confidential information. Robust data security measures are necessary to safeguard user privacy and prevent unauthorized access. Trust and Reputation: Maintaining a secure environment fosters trust between the platform and its members. By prioritizing data security, community platforms can protect their reputation and ensure user confidence. Common Data Security Challenges. Community platforms encounter various data security challenges, including: Data Breaches: The risk of data breaches is a significant concern, as it can lead to the exposure of sensitive user information. Implementing preventive measures is crucial to mitigate this risk.Unauthorized Access: Protecting user accounts from unauthorized access is vital. Community platforms need to implement strong authentication mechanisms, such as two-factor authentication, to ensure only authorized individuals can access user accounts. Malware Attacks: Community platforms may be targeted by malware attacks, which can compromise data security. Robust security measures, including anti-malware solutions, can help prevent and detect such attacks. Compliance with Data Protection Regulations: Community platforms must comply with data protection regulations like GDPR or CCPA. Ensuring compliance can be challenging, considering the complexities involved in handling user data and privacy. Enhancing Data Security. To enhance data security in community platforms, the following measures can be implemented: Secure Authentication: Implement strong authentication mechanisms, such as two-factor authentication, to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts. Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential weaknesses in the platform's infrastructure and code. Encryption: Employ encryption techniques for data transmission and storage to protect data from unauthorized access. User Education: Educate users about data security best practices and privacy settings to empower them in making informed decisions regarding their data. User Consent and Data Security. User consent plays a crucial role in data security. Community platforms should obtain explicit consent from users for collecting and processing their data. Transparent privacy policies and granular consent options should be provided to ensure users have control over their personal information. Ensuring Compliance with Data Protection Regulations.Community platforms can ensure compliance with data protection regulations by: Conducting regular assessments to identify and address compliance gaps. Implementing privacy-by-design principles when developing or enhancing the platform. Maintaining clear data protection policies and procedures. Providing mechanisms for users to exercise their rights, such as data access and deletion requests. Keeping up to date with evolving regulations and seeking legal expertise when needed. Preventing and Responding to Data Breaches. To prevent and respond to data breaches effectively, community platforms can: Implement robust security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and regular security patching. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities. Develop an incident response plan outlining containment measures, communication protocols, and post-incident analysis. Promptly notify affected users in the event of a data breach and provide guidance on mitigating potential risks. User Contributions to Data Security. Community platform users can contribute to data security by: Practicing good password hygiene and using strong, unique passwords. Avoiding sharing sensitive information publicly or with untrusted sources. Reporting suspicious activities, potential vulnerabilities, or security concerns to the platform administrators. Staying informed about the platform's privacy settings and utilizing them effectively. Collaboration with Cybersecurity Professionals. Collaborating with cybersecurity professionals is highly advisable for community platforms. Their expertise can help assess infrastructure, provide guidance on best practices, conduct security audits, and ensure the implementation of robust security measures. In summary, data security is a critical aspect of community platforms, ensuring the protection of user privacy, trust, and compliance with regulations. By implementing appropriate security measures, community platforms can create a secure environment for their members and mitigate potential data security risks.
