With a newborn baby, Alison Michalk took a crazy leap and started her own business, with the goal of a better “work/life blend”. Alison is the CEO and Founder of Quip, Australia’s leading Community Management provider. She’s also a Founder of Swarm Conference, Australia’s only conference dedicated to online community managers. In this episode of MATE, we talk about why forums are still not dead, how to build and nurture online communities, how Facebook is eating the world (and whether that’s a good thing) and how to manage your business through a crisis. We also dispel the ongoing battle, once and for all: Community Management vs Social Media Management.
Topics:
- Why online forums are still not dead!
- The ways in which forums are better than social media sites
- How Alison’s experience moderating online communities led her to start Quiip
- What is Quiip?
- What is Community Management?
- Community Management vs Social Media Management
- How nurturing a brand’s community can lead to increased customer loyalty and customer satisfaction
- Social media’s positive impacts on customer service
- Alison’s primary motivation for starting her own business: flexibility and freedom.
- Quiip encourages employees to pursue their dreams outside of Community Management
- Remote work is the future of employment
- The “work/life blend” philosophy
- Starting a business with a newborn
- Chatbots and the messaging mega-trend
- How edgy brands can exhibit a cavalier, yet fun, tone of voice on their online communities (e.g. 7-Eleven, Boost Juice and Lorna Jane).
- The key principals of community management
- Facebook’s tumultuous relationship with its users
- Facebook’s tumultuous relationship with brands and advertisers
- Can we trust Facebook? Do we even have a choice?!
- The responsibilities of social media platforms
- Challenges with Facebook Live
- The thing to remember about Facebook: it’s a business.
- The genesis of Swarm Conference
- How to manage a business crisis
- The key question every manager should ask their employees: “I don’t know, what do you think?”
Links:
Sponsors:
Special thanks:
- Editing by Josh Armour, from ArmourPod Productions.
- Podcast logo cover artwork by Courtney Carman
- Theme music from “Ghosts I–IV” by Nine Inch Nails, used under a Creative Commons licence.
- Ad music is called “Going Higher” by Bensound, used under a Creative Commons licence.
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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.
MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.
