Building Community During a Pandemic at Pandora and SiriusXM

Published: May 4, 2020, 2:01 a.m.

We\u2019re several months into the COVID-19 pandemic and the daily loss of lives is still devastating and the longterm effects on our communities and society as a whole have yet to be seen. For many of us, the pandemic has affected our routines, our families, our work, and our livelihood. While some online communities have seen more engagement from community members (I love\xa0this story\xa0that mentions how Ethel\u2019s Club pivoted from a brick and mortar social club to an online one), we\u2019re also seeing tremendous layoffs across all industries.

Amidst all of this and despite being just a few months old,\xa0Pandora\u2019s community\xa0is aspiring to be a space where members can connect over music and everything impacting their lives right now. In this episode, community manager\xa0Erick Linares\xa0shares the strategy behind the launch of the\xa0Pandora\xa0community and how he\u2019s working with his team to foster great conversations.

Patrick and Erick also discuss:

  • Why Erick thinks a superuser program will be integral to the Pandora community
  • The challenge of making the case for a new community during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • How the mentorship Erick received at Fitbit propelled his career growth and how he\u2019s paying it forward
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Big Quotes

Turning question-askers into conversation starters (14:45):\xa0\u201cWhen we respond as moderators, we have a signature that says, \u2018Come share your playlist with me in the playlist swap.\u2019 [With small things like that] we\u2019re trying to drive engagement [so that members don\u2019t simply] ask a question and then bounce out because that\u2019s not actually engagement, that\u2019s just coming in and asking a question and then waiting for your answer and never coming back.\u201d \u2013@thegateceo

Creating authentic conversations with your community (16:35): \u201c[We don\u2019t just create content that says] \u2018Hey, go listen to our podcast\u2019 or \u2018Go listen to our playlist that we\u2019ve created as Pandora.\u2019 We\u2019re being very personable. Some of the posts that we\u2019ve created on the community are like, \u2018How are you dealing with COVID-19 anxiety?\u2019 Then [I share how I am] actually coping with it and how my employees are coping with it. \u2026 These are the types of conversations that are going to help our users want to engage with us and be very personable and not to only think of this as a support space or a space for Pandora, but a space where they can actually share their own experiences.\u201d \u2013@thegateceo

What makes a great boss? (36:22):\xa0\u201cThe difference between a good boss and a great boss is having someone who looks out for your career beyond what you can do for them in this moment.\u201d \u2013@patrickokeefe

About Erick Linares

In December of 2014,\xa0Erick Linares\xa0took on a role at Fitbit as a customer support specialist and wore many hats during his tenure. Erick grew from a support specialist to community and social support specialist to transitioning to the community team manager of the Fitbit community, under the leadership of\xa0Allison Leahy.

In March of 2019, Erick took the leap to\xa0Pandora\xa0as community manager to begin the efforts of building the totally new\xa0Pandora Community, which launched in September of 2019. In addition to his community role, Erick also oversees the social care programs for both Pandora and\xa0SiriusXM.

Erick lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is passionate about all things music as he\u2019s earned a Bachelor\u2019s degree in sound arts. Prior to working at Fitbit, Erick ran live sound for the San Francisco 49ers during their inaugural season at Levi\u2019s Stadium.

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