Five things Disneyland taught me about community management

On a recent family vacation to Southern California, we took the kids to Disneyland. I hated every minute of it. But this was for the kids, and they loved it.

I could gripe about the long lines, overpriced food, and outrageously expensive tickets  (I guess I just did), but I figured I’d try to turn what I learned from the admittedly impressive Disneyland operation into some thoughts about community management.

1.) Make it easy

Never having been to Disneyland before, we weren’t sure exactly where to go. So we took the Disney Way exit off the freeway hoping we’d be able to figure it out. There were clearly marked signs for parking as soon as we got off freeway. We were directed to the nearest open parking space. We were able to buy our tickets before boarding the shuttle bus, which took us right to the park gates. Simply put, they made it easy. Community managers need to make it easy for people to find the community, register, explore, and participate. Allow people to see what your community is all about without registering. When people do register, make it as painless as possible.

2.) Be helpful

Unlike my local supermarket and big box stores, everyone at Disneyland is helpful and can point you in the right direction. They even put up signs telling you than anyone with one of those Disneyland badges will be able to answer your questions. Make sure visitors to your community know where to go when they have questions. Make it easy for newcomers to find moderators and/or experienced members to post questions to. Answer all questions promptly and courteously.  And make sure nobody feels foolish for asking a question.

3.) Recognize your special visitors

Disneyland gives out free badges to those celebrating a birthday, anniversary, marriage, or other special day at the the park. Likewise, you should recognize special people in your community. Don’t just dole out badges to those with a certain number of posts, or who have been with the community for a long time (though there’s nothing wrong with those badges). Be sure to recognize those who answer questions, help new members, report spam and other undesirable behavior — anybody who makes your community a better place.

4.) Keep people informed

At the start of each ride line at Disneyland is a sign that gives you an estimated wait time. An hour-long wait doesn’t seem as bad if you know it’s an hour-long wait going in. It’s all about keeping people informed. If you’re planning any changes in your community, make sure people know exactly what’s happening and when. If you have a maintenance window or planned downtime, give your community plenty of notice and tell people exactly what they can expect.

5.) Never let them get bored

With the big crowds and long lines at Disneyland, it’s easy to get bored and/or frustrated. But the Disney people do their best to keep things interesting. When we first walked in the park, there was Mickey posing for pictures. When we were waiting for the Star Wars ride, a couple of imperial stormtroopers walked by to entertain those in line. When we were fighting the crowds to get to the exits at the end of the day, there was a parade marching down the street. Similarly, community managers need to create programming that keeps things interesting. It could be a silly, off-topic poll or a trivia contest — anything that keeps people excited and engaged.