Speakers: Will White, Membership Director
Will White: Hey there, I'm Will White, a Membership Director with SocialMedia.org.
What does a Membership Director do? How do you work as an expert advisor?
Will White: As a Membership Director in SocialMedia.org, my primary function is to help our members fully leverage the value, the knowledge, the experience, and the expertise that resides within the collective community as a whole. What that means in terms of how we advise people, we like to say, "All you have to do is ask your question." Even if you don't know what your specific question is. Talk it out with me, send me a quick email on what you're looking for, what your challenge is. I can help you frame up your question. I can help you kind of get at the root of what that is, and then also know how to go reach into the community and make connections with other members who can help.
What is one of your favorite memories of supporting a SocialMedia.org member?
Will White: So I think one of my favorite kind of moments -- recurring moments -- if you will, is just when we're on a call, and you have someone or multiple people on a call, say "Man, I really needed this. Thank you so much. This is my tribe." I think that's what community is all about. That's what this community is all about.
What’s something new members are surprised about after they join?
Will White: So I think members are surprised by kind of the passive value they get from membership. You don't have to be super engaged, and in the community every moment of every day to really get a ton of value out of the conversations, the way things are set up. You can see the questions others are asking. You can see the responses, you can dial into a call, you can listen to a recording. I think members are just surprised at how well the format of the community works and works for them as busy individuals.
What do you think makes this community different from other peer groups?
Will White: For SocialMedia.org, we celebrated our 15-year anniversary last year. We're going on the 16th year. We started as the Blog Council. I think just the sense of community here is completely different from what I've seen with other peer groups. We have members who have been members at multiple companies, who have even told us that as part of their onboarding with a new employer, they've negotiated to have membership included as part of their contract that they've signed. I think just the sense of community. The way in which everyone is so eager to kind of help each other out when they can, and the idea that sometimes you're coming into a conversation and you're the teacher, and sometimes you're coming into a conversation and you're the student, and both of those are perfectly OK.
