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Case: Very significant overhaul of community hub.
- Challenge:
- Most community members don't always interact with the community site; many don't care about the updates, many do. How to reach people appropriately.
- Solution:
- Be decisive/use authority when necessary. Be transparent as possible. Respond personally to personal complaints.
Transparency vs. Prior Notice
- Allowing for consideration before a change can cause more resistance.
- Keep people apprised on a specific blog where relevant people are informed. Use rough drafts of plans with a basic outline of future direction.
- More acceptance through communicating the problem before creating change.
How to communicate to a large and diverse user community
- Communicate through community organizers/leaders
- Tell the story of what you're doing. First person acccount. Include how it was done.
- Consider separate communications for different aspects of the product (user experience, technical)
How to communicate to less involved users
- Post on a company blog
- Make available a plugin that allows you to try a new version
How to get upper-level folks in the organization to participate in/support communications
- Communication lead for each project, who works directly with product manager