Dear Bri: Community Strategy, Fiascos, and Drama

What can a community manager do when members become too critical? With Community Director Ami Defesche

Aug 27, 2024

Ami Defesche, Community Director at Wildcard Alliance with a rich background in Intuit and Blackbaud, shares her expertise on managing critical community feedback. She dives into the emotional challenges faced by Discord community managers and offers practical strategies for handling negativity. Ami emphasizes the importance of clear mission statements and setting boundaries while encouraging self-care practices to aid community managers. Tune in to discover effective moderation techniques and how to transform criticism into constructive dialogue!

26:55

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Episode guests

Ami Defesche

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Implementing a mission statement empowers community managers to manage feedback and establish clear expectations for behavior.

Using tools like suggestion bots and regular town hall meetings helps streamline community feedback and fosters constructive dialogue.

Deep dives

Navigating Community Chaos

Managing a community on Discord can become chaotic, especially for newer community managers faced with rapid growth. The episode discusses how a Twitch streamer’s community, initially well-intentioned, began to experience backlash as criticism about their efforts surfaced. This feedback flood was overwhelming, leading to burnout among volunteer moderators who felt pressured to manage negativity while trying to uphold a positive community. Acknowledging these challenges is vital, as many managers can relate to the stress of wanting to satisfy diverse community voices while maintaining a healthy environment.

Intro

2min

Navigating Criticism in Community Management

2min

Managing Community Dynamics

8min

Strategies for Managing Critical Feedback in Community Management

4min

Navigating Challenges in Community Management

11min

In this episode, the inspiration stems from a late-night LinkedIn DM from a distressed community manager handling a tumultuous Discord community. They felt overwhelmed and discouraged by all the suggestions and criticism constantly comming from community members.

To better help Discordant on Discord, I invited Ami Defesche as my guest expert. Ami is a community builder with a passion for helping dreamers and doers in small business. She's currently the community director at Wildcard Alliance — and formerly at Intuit and Blackbaud.

As an experienced community builder, Ami shared strategies and tools for managing overwhelming feedback and toxic behavior in rapidly expanding communities. So, tune in to learn about the importance of mission statements, setting boundaries, and self-care practices for community managers.

In this episode:

(03:01) The Communitea: Discordant on Discord’s letter

(04:43) The Challenges of Managing a Discord Community

(06:15) Strategies for Managing Community Feedback

(12:48) Tools and Techniques for Community Moderation

(20:29) What to Do if You’re Starting a Discord Community Today

(23:52) Self-Care for Community Managers

Expect: Community strategy, online community building best practices, and community growth strategies.

Resources Mentioned:

❤️ Sign up for Heartbeat. Bri’s recommended all-in-one community platform.

💛 Join Ember. The place for go-getter community creators building community-powered businesses.

Noteworthy quotes:

“If you're going to start a community anywhere, start as best as you can with the thought that one day it's going to have 10, 000 people in it […] What would you want in place to make sure that was a productive group?” - Ami Defesche

“You have quite a bit of agency as the moderator, as the community manager to set the framework for how members behave in this space and what you expect of them.“ - Bri Leever

“My dad always said: ‘avoid creating a policy where what’s required is a hard conversation.’” - Bri Leever

Ami Defesche

Ami Defesche is a community builder with a passion for helping the dreamers and doers in small business. Currently the Community Director at Wildcard Alliance, formerly Intuit and Blackbaud.

📱 Linkedin

Bri Leever

Bri got her start building a community and growing it to a multi-million dollar revenue stream for a social enterprise in Portland, OR. Now, she supports folks used to running their business on content, coaching, and consulting to create their community offer. She's a Community Strategist by day and a Campervan host by night on the Big Island of Hawaii and you'll usually find her on, in, or under the water.

🖥️ Website

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📹 Youtube

📱 Linkedin

And before you go…

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That helps the podcast more than you know and I deeply appreciate it. 🙏

Want your story to be next? Submit an anonymous letter about your community conundrum, fiasco, drama, or other dilemma here.

*Dear Bri is produced by Ideablossoms.

Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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