Are you a Community Manager? Check out Training Targeted to Your Role Now!

Companies are now anxious to adopt all things “social” and launch a community to engage with customers and prospects. But as many of us know, you could select the best, industry-leading social business or community tool and your community could still fail.

Why? As my InfoWeek blog “Who’s to Blame for a Failed Community” suggests, social software vendors may provide you with best practice advice or strategy toolkits, but the responsibility for success lies solely at the feet of the customer organization to both invest in and execute upon a well thought out social business strategy.

A key part of that strategy must include investing in both community management and a strong community advocate program.

But to date there was very little training to help someone manage a community well. With the explosion of social business and community management, it became clear to many of us that a new set of skills, competencies and language was required. Many, like myself, had approached Rachel Happe of The Community Roundtable asking for resources and wondering whether it was time to start creating and promoting a standard of excellence of our own for Community Management.

Well now the hard work of Rachel Happe, Jim Storer, and other members of  The CR has finally paid off.

After a year of input from its members and partnership with WOMMA and ComBlu, those aspiring to be Community Managers, or those who want to polish their skills now have a training program to take. To learn more, check out:

• http://community-roundtable.com/2011/11/its-time-community-management-certification-program/
• http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/womma-launches-new-certificate-program-1596477.htm

Register to Take the First Module in the Community Management Certificate Program

• Module 1: Community Specialist
• Begins: January 24, 2012
• Duration/Days/Dates: 6 one-hour webinars over 3 weeks every Tuesday and Thursday beginning January 24 through February 9
• Time: 11am-12pm CT.
• Delivery: Web Meeting/Audio
• Instructors: Various brands
• Sponsors:  The Community Roundtable, WOMMA, Comblu
• Interested?  Register directly at http://commanagement.eventbrite.com/