{"id":61601,"date":"2016-08-09T02:32:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T07:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dmwsprod.wpengine.com\/?p=61601"},"modified":"2022-01-26T14:10:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T20:10:00","slug":"pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"How 3 Unforgivable Community Management Mistakes Cost Pok\u00e9mon GO Millions in Active Users"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Something interesting happened with the folks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pokemongo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pok\u00e9mon GO<\/a>\u00a0recently.<br \/>\nThey screwed up, and droves of customers are demanding refunds.<br \/>\nThe game\u2019s developer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nianticlabs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Niantic Labs<\/a>, introduced an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techinsider.io\/pokemon-go-niantic-glitch-2016-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">update<\/a>\u00a0on July 30, 2016 that, among other changes, removed a buggy (yet some passionate players would argue critical) feature. Around the same time, they sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techinsider.io\/pokemon-go-pokevision-shut-down-2016-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cease-and-desist letters<\/a> to third-party developers that stepped in to offer solutions to the buggy feature.<br \/>\nThat, in and of itself, is not the problem. Products get changed and updated all the time. Features come and go, and there usually isn\u2019t earth-shattering fallout from customers. Third-party developers may or may not be \u00adwelcomed to chip in.<br \/>\nSo what did Niantic Labs do wrong?<br \/>\nThey did <strong>nothing<\/strong>.<br \/>\nAnd customers have been taking to social media with a vengeance to express their displeasure.<br \/>\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61611 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img1.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img1\" width=\"600\" height=\"223\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61612 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img2.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img2\" width=\"600\" height=\"182\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61613 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img3.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img3\" width=\"600\" height=\"184\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61614 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img4.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img4\" width=\"700\" height=\"324\" \/><br \/>\nThe social telephone has been ringing off the hook\u2026 and no one from Niantic Labs is answering.<br \/>\nAs DigitalMarketer\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/community-manager-vs-social-media-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">community manager<\/a>, I\u2019ll be breaking down the three huge mistakes that Niantic Labs made with their community and how they could have handled it better, so you can learn from Niantic Labs\u2019 mistakes.<br \/>\nBefore we dive in, there&#8217;s a ironic fact surrounding this entire situation &#8212; online communities and community management took off in popularity thanks to the gaming industry. Gamers are a passionate bunch, and the gaming industry was arguably <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Online_community_manager#History\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the first to harness the power of community<\/a>\u00a0&#8212; not only empowering players to connect with each other, but using community as a powerful tool to inform product development.<br \/>\nAt this point, gamers <em>expect<\/em> a community, and are quick to band together all across the giant sphere of social media networks. And when they are angry, the fallout can be <strong>costly<\/strong> if the situation isn\u2019t handled with care.<br \/>\nSo\u00a0let\u2019s go over the fallout:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pok\u00e9mon GO\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/games\/2016\/07\/pokemon-go-losing-number-of-players-popularity-decline-dying-gamers-downloads-numbers-bugs-glitches-server-issues-dead-update\/\">lost about 3 million active users<\/a>&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Customers are demanding <a href=\"https:\/\/gamerant.com\/pokemon-go-refund-request\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">refunds<\/a> of in-app purchases&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>A plethora of one-star reviews on iTunes and Google Play&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>One very, very unhappy community&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u2026Yikes.<br \/>\nThe sad thing is, this all could have been avoided with a commitment to community management. Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n<h2>Pok\u00e9mon GO Community\u00a0Mistake #1: A Slow, Semi-Transparent Response<\/h2>\n<p>Tweets, Facebook posts, Reddit conversations and all those 1-star reviews began popping up as soon as the update went out on Saturday, July 30 in the evening. Blog posts began sprouting up by Monday morning, citing the growing social media response and the lack of communication by Niantic.<br \/>\nFrom what I can gather, Niantic didn\u2019t respond to a <strong>single customer message<\/strong>. The only response was made on their public Facebook page at 1:19pm on Tuesday afternoon, when most of the damage was already done:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61615 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img5.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img5\" width=\"600\" height=\"704\" \/><br \/>\nThe underwhelming statement largely lacked the transparency that players were vocally demanding:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why was the tracking feature removed?<\/li>\n<li>Is it coming back?<\/li>\n<li>Why remove a buggy feature while discouraging third-parties who have made it work?<\/li>\n<li>Does anyone at Niantic care at all about how upset everyone is? You\u2019ve read the posts but chose not to respond?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take a look at these real responses to this official response (none of which had replies from the admin):<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61616 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img6.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img6\" width=\"600\" height=\"221\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61617 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img7.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img7\" width=\"600\" height=\"218\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61618 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img8.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img8\" width=\"600\" height=\"150\" \/><br \/>\nMany more comments indicated that players loved the game and were <em>willing to be brand advocates<\/em>\u2026 if only they had more meaningful communication from the company.<br \/>\n(If you want a good look at what an angry community looks like, check out the rest of the comments on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PokemonGO\/posts\/940141879465704\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Niantic\u2019s post<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How Niantic Should&#8217;ve Handled It: Let People Know They\u2019ve Been Heard<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you are facing angry customers on social media, the best practice is to respond as soon as you know if there is a problem \u2013 or proactively, if you know your product changes will upset a lot of people. Twenty-four hours is an <strong>eternity<\/strong> in internet time, and three days for any sort of company response is just asking for trouble.<br \/>\nNiantic could have used a dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/community-manager-vs-social-media-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social media manager (or community manager!)<\/a> to dive into as many customer responses as possible as soon as the update was released\u2026 or, at the very least, as soon as they noticed a change in sentiment levels on the social web.<br \/>\nHere at DigitalMarketer, we use&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The 3-Step Social Customer Service Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Step 1: Respond in a Timely Manner<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Niantic Labs gets zero points for quick response. Consider the stats from Forrester, who determined that 77% of adults in the US say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good service.<br \/>\nOur social media manager is trained to respond to any and all customer service issues on the social web with a \u201cyou\u2019ve been heard\u201d response within 12 hours, and a resolution within 24 hours (quicker, if we can \u2013 especially if it\u2019s on Twitter, where time seems to move at lightning speed). This is where feedback loops really come into play, but more on that in a bit.<br \/>\nIt doesn\u2019t take much to provide awesome customer care on social media, even if you can\u2019t resolve problems right away. A simple, \u201cWe hear you, we know it\u2019s upsetting, and we\u2019re working on it!\u201d would have gone a long way to ease a consumer\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n<h4>Step 2: Be Empathetic<\/h4>\n<p>Empathy is agreeing you\u2019d feel the same way in someone else\u2019s shoes.<br \/>\nIt means you are not a robot, so a canned response will just make it sound like you aren\u2019t hearing the customer, which won\u2019t help to diffuse the situation. Making a statement of empathy when you are addressing customer care issues on the social web goes a heck of a long way in easing the tension.<br \/>\nHere are some examples of empathetic statements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cI know how important it is to be able to [blank]\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWe understand that you had a bad experience\u2026.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWe are so sorry to have caused you an inconvenience\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Empathy aligns yourself with the customer\u2019s point of view, and avoids situations like this:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61619 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img10.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img10\" width=\"650\" height=\"602\" \/><br \/>\nThree responses from Bank of America to customer issues were, word-for-word, exactly the same.<br \/>\nI\u2019m not completely convinced \u201c^sa\u201d is an actual, human person and not some sort of automated system. Empathic statements make people feel heard and valued; that their issue matters to you as much as it matters to them.<\/p>\n<h4>Step 3: Move the Conversation to a Private Channel<\/h4>\n<p>For individual customer care issues that can\u2019t be answered in one short response, move it to a private channel as soon as possible.<br \/>\nThis is a great move for several reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Issues are much easier to address when it\u2019s one-on-one, not in a public post where anyone with an internet connection can weigh in&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Giving customers individual attention makes them feel more appreciated&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Customer care issues can often involve private information like e-mail addresses and credit card info. It\u2019s a safety thing!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Any company with a solid social customer service plan will use this plan, as Lowes expertly does here\u2026<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61620 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img11.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img11\" width=\"650\" height=\"614\" \/><br \/>\nLowe\u2019s actually has a dedicated website to categorize and address customer care issues. They responded quickly, made an empathy statement, and pointed the customer to the resource that will help them get the resolution they need.<br \/>\nHere\u2019s another example from Hilton Hotels:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61621 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img12.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img12\" width=\"650\" height=\"471\" \/><br \/>\nNow if you have a full-blown public relations crisis where thousands of people have the same complaint, it is perfectly OK to make a blanket statement (if its timely, empathetic, and transparent) to address the issue. Your social media manager or community manager can still implement this 3-step plan \u2013 replying quickly, aligning themselves with the customers, and pointing back to the company\u2019s statement as the resolution.<br \/>\nThe moral of the story here is be open and empathetic. And for the love of all that is righteous in the world, let your customers know that you hear them.<\/p>\n<h2>Pok\u00e9mon GO Community\u00a0Mistake #2: No Brand Loyalty<\/h2>\n<p>Niantic Labs has been around since 2010, and unfortunately has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xda-developers.com\/pokemon-go-ingress-and-niantic-a-tale-of-developer-apathy-ruining-massive-potential\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a history of ignoring customer feedback<\/a>.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61622 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img13.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img13\" width=\"600\" height=\"192\" \/><br \/>\nYou\u2019ve probably heard our CEO, Ryan Deiss, talk about how businesses should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/essential-business-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">serve a market and not a product<\/a> \u2013 that you should define your business by the people you serve. This is doubly true to connecting with and empowering your community.<br \/>\nPeople who are loyal to a specific product that underwhelms (or in this case, breaks down completely) are quicker to turn against the company that created it if there is not a strong relationship between the consumer and the brand in the first place.<br \/>\nIf Niantic had spent time and effort building up a loyal community base to begin with, those customers would be more forgiving when the proverbial crap hit the fan.<br \/>\nTake, for instance, how consumers responded to the 2015 public relations crisis that happened with Blue Bell Creameries, an American ice cream manufacturer.<br \/>\nWhen Blue Bell discovered that one of their plants had produced products that tested positive for a dangerous bacterium, they immediately put out a press release and pulled any at-risk products. Once the media publicized\u00a0the press release and the story was amplified, stores all across the south were pulling all Blue Bell products from the shelves. Factories shut down for cleaning and jobs were lost.<br \/>\nPR nightmare, right?<br \/>\nBlue Bell did a lot of things right in the aftermath: constant communication with the press and their fans, never downplaying the issue, and making sure everyone felt heard.<br \/>\nBut because they also have spent years developing a strong community around their brand, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chron.com\/life\/food\/article\/The-internet-responds-to-the-Blue-Bell-recalls-6221866.php\">the internet responded<\/a> with overwhelming support and a healthy dose of snark:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61623 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img14.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img14\" width=\"600\" height=\"460\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61624 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img15.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img15\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61625 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img16.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img16\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><br \/>\nSupport wasn\u2019t limited to online communities. Fans held rallies and prayer vigils on courthouse steps. People just didn\u2019t love their ice cream \u2013 they really, really loved Blue Bell ice cream.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How Niantic Should&#8217;ve Handled It:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Commitment to Community Management <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The hard truth is that even if Niantic Labs had responded to every single customer service issue perfectly over the weekend, it still wouldn\u2019t make up for the fact that they should have had a STRONG focus on community before the crisis happened.<br \/>\nAt one point, the company did have a Global Community Manager. His name is Brian Rose, and he has since moved on to another company (and to Niantic\u2019s credit, they are actively seeking a replacement).<br \/>\nOver the weekend, Rose sent some powerful tweets aimed at educating his former employer on proper community management:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61626 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img18.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img18\" width=\"600\" height=\"324\" \/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61627 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img19.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img19\" width=\"600\" height=\"319\" \/><br \/>\nI get it, Niantic Labs. I really do. Community is a long game. It is not something that comes quickly or easily.<br \/>\nIt\u2019s much easier to put your head down and make what you <em>think<\/em> your community wants than it is to gather them up, establish strong relationships, create a safe space for two-way feedback, and make sure everyone feels heard. That\u2019s hard, time-consuming work.<br \/>\nBut embracing your community on the social web pays off in the end. Consider these statistics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>56% of Americans who are part of a social brand community are more loyal to the brand. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.convinceandconvert.com\/social-media-research\/53-percent-of-americans-who-follow-brands-in-social-are-more-loyal-to-those-brands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Convince &amp; Convert<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>86% of Fortune 500 companies report communities provide insight into customer needs. (<a href=\"https:\/\/sectorintelligence.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sector Intelligence<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>86% of companies see the value that customer collaboration presents for the marketing department. (<a href=\"https:\/\/go.oracle.com\/LP=2971\/?elqCampaignId=6074\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oracle<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Failure to respond to customers on social media can lead to a 15% increase in churn rate for existing customers. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/newsroom\/id\/2101515\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gartner<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>When companies respond to customer service issues on the social web, those customers end up spending 20% &#8211; 40% more with the company. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bain.com\/publications\/articles\/putting-social-media-to-work.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bain &amp; Company<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s safe to say that if you are not responding to your community on the social web is costing you money \u2013 both from potential and existing customers. While Niantic Labs might survive the hit it took over the weekend, they have needlessly lost big bucks due to inaction.<\/p>\n<h2>Pok\u00e9mon GO Community\u00a0Mistake #3: No Social Listening<\/h2>\n<p>In the same vein as community building, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/social-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social listening<\/a> (an aspect of both social management and community management) is extremely helpful in product development.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61628 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/KristinSmaybe_Quotebox.jpg\" alt=\"KristinSmaybe_Quotebox\" width=\"625\" height=\"350\" \/><br \/>\nNiantic Labs\u2019 community members have great ideas for improving the product and are voicing those golden nuggets all over the Internet. As I mentioned earlier, some have spun out and created those third-party platforms to work around the app\u2019s glitches \u2013 but the response of the company has either been deafening silence or a letter from their lawyer.<br \/>\nDon\u2019t get me wrong: <strong>Protecting intellectual property is completely acceptable.<\/strong> But if you\u2019re shutting down community-produced content that addresses a pain point, it\u2019s best practice to communicate that you\u2019re dedicated to fixing the issue.<br \/>\nThat\u2019s called <strong>reputation management<\/strong>.<br \/>\nHow could Niantic Labs have let their customers know that they are listening and addressing product issues while protecting their app at the same time?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How Niantic Should&#8217;ve Handled It:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Implement Solid Feedback Loop<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Once again, putting in place a dedicated social media manager or community manager who is in charge of combing through the plethora of comments, posts, and tweets and responding to as many as they can \u2013 and implementing a system of feedback loops so customers feel heard is essential.<br \/>\nIn a sense, each time a company takes the time to address issues (issues like the kind Niantic is facing right now), it means they are making a deposit into a customer or prospect\u2019s relational equity account. The stronger your equity, the more you can ask from your customer \u2013 whether that be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/direct-response-vs-branding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their money<\/a> or their patience during a failure.<br \/>\nHere\u2019s how feedback loops are set up here at DigitalMarketer\u2026<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-61629 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/pokemon-go-community-management-img17.jpg\" alt=\"pokemon-go-community-management-img17\" width=\"650\" height=\"422\" \/><br \/>\nWe have found this system has helped us respond quickly and efficiently to customer service issues on the social web &#8212; we have someone who is dedicated to listening to the social web using a handy tool called <a href=\"https:\/\/mention.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mention<\/a>, and a procedure in place for making sure issues are responded to in a timely manner.<br \/>\nIt\u2019s not just helpful, <strong>it\u2019s a priority<\/strong>. It makes sure that someone your team is uniquely responsible for\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>actively listening to customer complaints on the social web&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>communicating with those customers&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>routing the issue to the right team&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>resolving the issue within the given time frame&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We\u2019ve found these feedback loops not only help resolve customer service issues, but help us to identify and catalog gaps in our content and products.<br \/>\nFor a deep dive into how to use Feedback Loops, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/social-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this blog post.<\/a><br \/>\nBefore I get off my soapbox, I want to stress the importance of community management as you grow a brand.<br \/>\nNurturing and empowering your community will take your customers and potential leads from a passive audience to <strong>an active, engaged, and loyal community of brand advocates<\/strong>. This will help your brand weather storms and avoid the severe backlash Niantic Labs is facing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users in a matter of days after failing to commit to their community. Check out the three unforgivable mistakes they made and avoid dropping the ball in your own community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":61602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-community-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pok\u00e9mon GO Lost Millions in Active Users | Community Management Mistakes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users after failing to commit to their community. Find out the 3 ways they dropped the ball to avoid community management mistakes of your own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pok\u00e9mon GO Lost Millions in Active Users | Community Management Mistakes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users after failing to commit to their community. Find out the 3 ways they dropped the ball to avoid community management mistakes of your own.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DigitalMarketer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-09T07:32:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-26T20:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"580\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"308\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Suzi Nelson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Suzi Nelson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Suzi Nelson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1d56916a8c914f7c1db907747c4e95\"},\"headline\":\"How 3 Unforgivable Community Management Mistakes Cost Pok\u00e9mon GO Millions in Active Users\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-09T07:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-26T20:10:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\"},\"wordCount\":2450,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Community Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\",\"name\":\"Pok\u00e9mon GO Lost Millions in Active Users | Community Management Mistakes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-09T07:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-26T20:10:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users after failing to commit to their community. Find out the 3 ways they dropped the ball to avoid community management mistakes of your own.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg\",\"width\":580,\"height\":308},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/.\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How 3 Unforgivable Community Management Mistakes Cost Pok\u00e9mon GO Millions in Active Users\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/\",\"name\":\"DigitalMarketer\",\"description\":\"Where AI Meets Real-World Marketing for Real-World Businesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"DigitalMarketer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DM-logo-dark.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DM-logo-dark.png\",\"width\":1042,\"height\":367,\"caption\":\"DigitalMarketer\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1d56916a8c914f7c1db907747c4e95\",\"name\":\"Suzi Nelson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0607941029b205560ade3ce46e392f81b8167a2982883b76050e268d08d241a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0607941029b205560ade3ce46e392f81b8167a2982883b76050e268d08d241a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Suzi Nelson\"},\"description\":\"Suzi Nelson is a leader in the community management space and is the former Lead Community Strategist at DigitalMarketer. She has a degree in Journalism (Strategic Communications) from the University of Kansas and is an avid defender of the Oxford comma. Connect with her on LinkedIn or www.suzinelson.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/author\/suzi-nelson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pok\u00e9mon GO Lost Millions in Active Users | Community Management Mistakes","description":"Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users after failing to commit to their community. Find out the 3 ways they dropped the ball to avoid community management mistakes of your own.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pok\u00e9mon GO Lost Millions in Active Users | Community Management Mistakes","og_description":"Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users after failing to commit to their community. Find out the 3 ways they dropped the ball to avoid community management mistakes of your own.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/","og_site_name":"DigitalMarketer","article_published_time":"2016-08-09T07:32:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-26T20:10:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":580,"height":308,"url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Suzi Nelson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Suzi Nelson","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/"},"author":{"name":"Suzi Nelson","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1d56916a8c914f7c1db907747c4e95"},"headline":"How 3 Unforgivable Community Management Mistakes Cost Pok\u00e9mon GO Millions in Active Users","datePublished":"2016-08-09T07:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-26T20:10:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/"},"wordCount":2450,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg","articleSection":["Blog","Community Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/","name":"Pok\u00e9mon GO Lost Millions in Active Users | Community Management Mistakes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg","datePublished":"2016-08-09T07:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-26T20:10:00+00:00","description":"Pok\u00e9mon GO lost millions in active users after failing to commit to their community. Find out the 3 ways they dropped the ball to avoid community management mistakes of your own.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/PokemonBlog.jpg","width":580,"height":308},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/blog\/pokemon-go-community-management-mistakes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/.\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How 3 Unforgivable Community Management Mistakes Cost Pok\u00e9mon GO Millions in Active Users"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/","name":"DigitalMarketer","description":"Where AI Meets Real-World Marketing for Real-World Businesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#organization","name":"DigitalMarketer","url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DM-logo-dark.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DM-logo-dark.png","width":1042,"height":367,"caption":"DigitalMarketer"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1d56916a8c914f7c1db907747c4e95","name":"Suzi Nelson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0607941029b205560ade3ce46e392f81b8167a2982883b76050e268d08d241a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0607941029b205560ade3ce46e392f81b8167a2982883b76050e268d08d241a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Suzi Nelson"},"description":"Suzi Nelson is a leader in the community management space and is the former Lead Community Strategist at DigitalMarketer. She has a degree in Journalism (Strategic Communications) from the University of Kansas and is an avid defender of the Oxford comma. Connect with her on LinkedIn or www.suzinelson.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/author\/suzi-nelson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalmarketer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}