If you are a community manager, you’ve probably felt the need to be the one who develops all the content. You may believe that blog posts, videos, or graphics need to come from you, and that line of thinking can lead to exhaustion and burnout. Minus a few rare exceptions, this is not the case. In fact, leaning into your community for help in content is a win-win scenario for everyone involved!
When talking about a community, this can either be internal or external. A community can be made up of the people within an organization, or it could be a broader group that includes the brand’s audience. For the purposes of this article, I’ll mainly be referring to the former. So, what does this look like in practice? How do we get community members to take the leap and create content for the community?
One Person’s Weakness is Another Person’s Strength
There is the notion that community managers, like leaders in general, have to be a jack-of-all-trades. In truth, a good leader has many strengths but is also aware of their weaknesses. Look through the members of your community, and take stock of what their strengths are. Suppose you’ve always wanted to add captions to your videos but couldn’t figure out how, see if anyone has that skill. Soon, asking someone, “Would you mind helping me add captions to this video?” turns into, “Thank you for help, the captions turned out amazing — how would you feel about making your own videos for the community?”
Cast the Net
Simply put, ask your community if anyone is interested in creating content. You may have thought that you had a great idea but were worried that it would fall on deaf ears. Again, it’s common for people to think that community managers make all the content, so let your group know that that is not the case in your community.
Ask if anyone would be interested in writing a blog or being on camera. You may be surprised by just how many responses you get. One final thought on this: this is a great strategy to have if you are stuck on a project. Sometimes, having a fresh set of eyes on something will get you past that creative block.
Support the Content You Receive
This step should really get the ball rolling for your whole community. When you do receive content from others, thank them for their contribution and share what you enjoyed about it. This can be done privately, but I would highly encourage you to make your praise public to the group. This will help boost engagement from others on this person’s content, and it will hopefully inspire others to participate in content creation.
If you are like me, you are surely terrified of making a public faux pas. Your aim with your praise should be to show the group that these contributions are welcome and they should have no qualms about sharing their own opinions and ideas. There is a time and place for constructive feedback and even criticism. But, unless this person’s content is wildly inappropriate, your public comments should trend heavily towards positivity.
Getting the community involved in content creation is beneficial for everyone involved. It promotes true engagement with real, organic growth and can lead to new ideas from a diverse group. As the community manager, it saves you from feeling tapped out from being the primary content generator.
Have you tried this in your community? What has your experience been like?
For more on community management, NISM has excellent resources that will prepare you for taking their industry-leading Social Media Strategy Certification exams.
Author: Ben Rosenstiel
Ben joined the NISM team as a Social Media Strategist in June of 2024. He graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts in Electronic Media & Broadcasting in 2022 and with a Master of Business Administration in 2023. Ben enjoys making content as a Social Media Associate for the Kenton County Public Library. In his free time, he enjoys playing live music in the Cincinnati area, writing music with his band, and spending time with his amazing girlfriend either reading or watching TV (usually Vampire Diaries).
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