Dan E Gray Designer & Community Manager

Community Shouldn’t Mean Marketing

Earlier today I came across this column by the managing editor of MMORPG, Jon Wood. He talks about the dangers of basing your community management staff with your marketing department. It's well worth a read, and I feel he raises some very valid concerns.

My vision of MMO community management has always been deeply entrenched in development. That's simply where the role fits in for me, where it has the most impact and benefit. Understandably, I'm not a fan of the trend to pull CMs away from that. It doesn't matter if it's putting them in with marketing, or their own little niche, the lack of strong bonds in development is a hindrance with little compensation.

The idea that CMs are responsible for acquisition isn't incorrect, but it's been grossly over-emphasized. It should simply be a by-product of your efforts to reach out and provide for a broader community, not a statistic by which your success is measured.

I feel it's a square peg & round hole issue. Companies are still struggling to understand how to get the most out of the role, and frankly I think there's more than a few CMs that aren't sure either. It's a general lack of understanding on all sides, as to how much of a CMs role requires taking the initiative, being creative with solutions, and going into unknown territory. On top of that, the areas important to focus on can vary insanely from studio to studio, as we all know.

Simply: So much of the job can't be specified easily, or only be so broadly that it's impossible to hold anyone to it. You need someone who will be pushing in every direction for their community, not just following some poor and unsuitable preconception of what they should be doing.

Conveniently, social media became as important as breathing, and it provided something to focus effort on. (It's something, but it's not what I call community management.) It was this renewed focus that emphasized the false idea that community management is more about communication than it is about development. Thus the trend I mentioned earlier.

I think there's a definite need for social media and community management to become two separate roles. I don't think you can be a truly effective developer based CM, whilst also handling every channel of communication.

I'd also very much like for someone to illustrate to me the benefits of having a marketing based CM.