Questions to Ask Your Prospective Enterprise Social Network Community Manager

Welcome, enterprise social network enthusiasts! If you're looking to bring outside help into creating your enterprise social network strategy, we have developed a quick list of questions you should administer to anyone offering their services. These questions will help you vet your candidates (you can use them even when hiring a full time community manager) and your consultants.

Ready to go? Here are the questions.

What does AMA stand for in the world of community management?

Answer: "Ask Me Anything." It's an online, virtual Q&A program that successful enterprise social networks run to highlight key individuals and give them a chance to answer questions from anyone in the community. They make your superusers feel recognized and they help humanize your members.

Describe an appropriate scenario to send an Announcement message.

Answer: Community Managers should limit their Announcements, which are broadcast-type messages, so once or twice a week at most. Since they are forced upon users, meaning that users can't opt out of them, you want to save them only for the most important messages about key initiatives or company news.

Does the 90-9-1 rule of participation inequality apply to enterprise social networks? If not, what’s a more appropriate breakdown?

Answer: No. That number came from the consumer web in 2006 and doesn't apply to internal communities, where the idea of social capital is different. Participation can be defined in many ways, but other models suggest 70-20-10 or 40-40-10. (Note: make sure your candidate has a source for their numbers as there are a variety of models out there depending on how adoption is measured).

What are 3 key differences between Workplace by Facebook and Yammer or Slack?

Answer: A few differences may include Facebook Live, default groups, business system integration capabilities, group calling options, analytic capabilities, group manager features, and document management. More macro-differences should also be discussed and should focus on chat vs. community (Slack vs. Workplace by Facebook) and social collaboration vs. community (Yammer vs. Workplace by Facebook).

What is the best way to provide day-to-day platform support for the user base of Workplace by Facebook without breaking the bank?

Answer: Build out a designated "Help and Support" Group within the enterprise social network for users to crowdsource questions and answers. A company's IT help desk should never be the front line for product questions. Groups dedicated toward peer support are the easiest and fastest method of scaling troubleshooting and self-directed learning.

Name three companies where you have personally helped launch an enterprise social network.

Answer: These will vary, of course. Ask for war stories, successes, community manager names, and details. The more specific information you can get, the more secure you should feel in your choice of team members.MORE: Where to Look for Your Enterprise Social Network Community ManagerOf course, Talk Social to Me provides enterprise social network community management services. Contact us to discuss your organization's particular needs.We hope you find this helpful. What are your go-to interview questions? Comment below!

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