The Role of Leadership in Social Media Communities
Ever noticed the phrase “thought leader” being strewn across social media with no apparent reason or relevance? Us too. That’s why we decided to clarify some of our burning questions about leadership and leadership roles on social media.
And guess what—we had an excellent resource we could turn to, right in our Twitter Smarter community. Gene Petrov is a business consultant, leadership coach, and an active social media manager. When he’s not teaching marketers how to become efficient leaders that their team will choose to follow, Gene is on the Twitterverse sharing priceless marketing nuggets.
So here’s how our chat with Gene went.
Guest: Gene Petrov
Topic: The Role of Leadership in Social Media Communities
Format: 8 questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
Q1: What do you mean by “community” on social media?
Oh, where to start, huh? Everyone’s got their own definition of what a it is and should be. But in its essence, a community is a group pf people who share common interests and continually strive to help each other out.
Physical communities are bound by location, but thanks to the internet, online communities can accommodate global audiences—look at our Twitter Smarter chat, for instance.
And of course, as Gene rightly points out, a community should be rooted on mutual respect and trust.
A1a What connects people here on social is passion, interests, profession, values, hobbies, etc. But the connection would not be complete without a sense of camaraderie and desire to support each other. Community is active and built on trust. #TwitterSmarter
— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
Kathryn sums it up in a nice way:
A1: I think community is the same thing across the board – it's the people you hang out with, that encourage you, and that have your back when you need the backup.#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/aZ1cyxeMhI
— Kathryn Lang (@Kathrynclang) June 6, 2019
You can be yourself in a community, because they’ll always have your back.
Q2: How do you go about creating a community?
We all talk about finding a community, someplace we can feel at home. But what if you don’t find one, or in other words, you’re the first in a community?
A2d Last let me stress this very important point: It takes time and energy to create a community. Don’t expect this to be an overnight success. Show up with consistency, service, and enthusiasm and it will attract the right people. #TwitterSmarter
— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
Gene knows so much about this, folks. Just follow his advice:
- Know your why: Identify your (or your brand’s) purpose. It should be a common goal or cause that people can rally around.
- Find the right person: Building a community is a huge responsibility. Delegate the task to someone who’ll be around, who understands your purpose, and is socially-trained.
- Assure security: People need to know that your community is a safe space for them to voice their opinions. Make sure you’re transparent and let them know everyone matters.
- Establish ground rules: It isn’t school, and we’re not kids anymore. But a community is for sharing ideals without offending or hurting anyone. Don’t hesitate to set up regulations for members.
- Do your thing and be patient: We can’t insist enough on this. Overnight success is fantasy. Building a group of people committed to sharing their insights takes a lot of time and patience.
Ginny reminds us that Twitter chats are the easiest way get involved in online communities. You can start by engaging in other chats and then build your own.
A2 Twitter chats are a great way to create a community, as you build an audience that's interested in the same areas that you are.
Also follow trends and engage with people in threads too.
Pose questions, use polls to encourage interaction #TwitterSmarter— Ginny (@Gini_L) June 6, 2019
Q3: Why is it important for a brand/business to have a community on social media?
Not all brands have active social media communities. But the benefits of being available to current and future customers far outweigh the efforts.
Besides, as Gene says, people reach out to people. That’s our instinct, and no amount of technological algorithms can prevent people from engaging with their chosen communities. That’s why it’s invaluable for a brand to have human representatives online—to have a source fans can rely on.
A3b And when a brand has that, they don’t have to use over-the-top sales pitches. They have people who desire to do business with them and they have avid supporters to promote them to others. #TwitterSmarter
— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
Your business will practically sell itself.
Because a community is proof of your credibility, as Tina says. And of course if you want to last, as Kathryn points out, you need your cheerleaders.
A3. Having a community (not just presence) on social media shows that you're trusted by loyal fans and therefore can be trusted.
It doesn't matter if your brand is new or has been around for a while.. If you don't have trust, you don't have a brand. #TwitterSmarter
— Tina Bassett (@LIChevyMetsGrrl) June 6, 2019
A3: You need community because if you aren't building relationships then you aren't going to last.#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/FcpXCFk161
— Kathryn Lang (@Kathrynclang) June 6, 2019
However, it’s interesting how many brands name themselves as leaders when they’re far from it. Is there a differentiating factor, we wondered. Which was our next question.
Q4: Are all brands/businesses leaders?
A4a In order for that approach to work, the brand has to be faster, cheaper, better than everyone in the world. That is really hard to do in this global & connected economy. Even then, is that a race a brand wants to win? It’s not sustainable. It’s not leadership. #TwitterSmarter
— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
Oh, well. The short answer is that you can’t be a leader if you’re trying to be everything to everyone.
To be a successful leader, a brand has to put in effort and time to nurture their cause, and the community that supports them.
Our friends at The Karacher Group phrase it well:
“You lift others up, challenge their views and methods while also learning from them yourself.”
Bam!
A4: Many believe being a leader is as easy as saying they're a leader. That isn't the case. It's something you practice, not preach. You lift others up and help them challenge their views and methods while also learning from them yourself. #TwitterSmarter
— The Karcher Group (@KarcherGroup) June 6, 2019
Q5: What does it mean to lead on social media?
Leading on social media isn’t too different from being a leader offline. However, online conversations are so brittle that you need to be extra sensible. Gene explains it brilliantly,
A5b It’s not about building a presence to sell a product or service. It’s about creating an impact far beyond the bounds of social. It spills over into the physical world. When we lead from that perspective, people really want to join the cause. #TwitterSmarter
— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
And our takeaway from that,
- Serve your community—selfishness isn’t leadership
- Share your voice but be aware of its responsibility of your role
- Have self-control—don’t react impulsively. Learn to respond with dignity.
- Show up consistently, and because you genuinely care
- Think beyond that one sale
Q6: What does a leader bring to the community?
A leader brings many things to the community—a broad mind, a welcoming environment, a generous vision, intense compassion, inspiration, and so much more.
Agree. My list is 229 elements long. #TwitterSmarter
— Tom Reid (@_TomGReid) June 6, 2019
It’s such a deep responsibility that Tom has a list of 229 elements listed in his book. Check out his work here.
Q7: What makes a good leader on social media?
To put it simply, knowing what you’re doing makes for a competent leader. Ask yourself: What makes you wake up every morning, and is it driven by a pay check or a cause you deeply believe in?
A7 The same qualities that make a good leader IRL lend themselves to social media. The difference between a good leader and a bad one comes down to these questions:
Why are they leading people? What’s the motive? Is it for their own glory or for their team’s? #TwitterSmarter— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
Of course, we all make mistakes, but a good leader learns and adapts to changing environments.
Q8: Share some tips to being a successful leader on social media.
We really couldn’t get enough of Gene’s wisdom. So we asked for more tips. But that’s the nature of social media management—you learn something everyday.
A8 It doesn’t just matter what we do, it matters how we do it. We lose trust by taking morally grey shortcuts to success. And that trust may never be recovered. Choose to focus on integrity. #TwitterSmarter
— Gene Petrov – Leadership Based Marketing (@GenePetrovLMC) June 6, 2019
There you go, people. Long term success has no shortcuts.
I hope this summary was helpful. Feel free to share your thoughts as comments or leave a follow-up question for Gene.
About me, Narmadhaa:
I’m a writer of all things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
Say hello: Personal blog | LinkedIn | Twitter