There is an abundance of communities that we are asked almost daily to join. It starts to feel like a fight for our attention. Who will get me to read an email, click a survey link, or log into a social network and actually engage? These are trying times for community managers and one tip I can offer is the idea of the creation of a Community Concierge set of services to create more value for your members.
What does it look like? Use the hotel metaphor.
Make sure that when your members come to your community, they feel welcome. Think about it. When you check into a hotel, have you ever had them greet you verbally by your name, thank you for your patronage and/or your return to the property? Subtle things that you can consider shifting in the way that you interact with members like using gratitude and assistance to an immediate query.
A concierge will spend time to orient you to your new property or forum and can give you an orientation physically, a demo or simply send you a link to get a good sense of the community. Normally it’s rich in visuals and people that allow you to feel more connected and comfortable, right? What about amenities? Do they tell you about the business center, the fitness rooms or the pool? The same thing goes for our social networks. We want to make sure that we are connecting on an individual basis with our members so that they understand all the services available to them. We want them to give us feedback; we want them to feel connected. We want the experience to be customized and personal. We can do things like the old school via even a telephone to welcome them personally. Imagine if you were to call a member to invite them to join a product development conversation with actual staff at your corporation. Send them old school thank you notes on matter. Perhaps if you get to know them well enough you could even make reservations for them to join you at an upcoming conference where they could represent or be a ‘voice of the customer or network’. Endless possibilities really, but we need to spend time thinking about how to make the relationship with our network feel easy, comfortable and fulfilling.
The Lauren Klein 
Communities are different shapes and sizes. I am sharing this based on experience with a closed private community.
I’m really getting a lot out of your blog, Lauren. Thanks for sharing your first-hand experiences. I particularly like the notion of a concierge. I think it is an essential role that crosses different types of communities. We try to engage people through a common purpose or interest – but that only goes so far. I think persistent engagement is also tied to relationships, and the concierge is the starting point relationship and the broker of other connections.