The 2015 State of Community Management Webinar

#socm2015 @rhappe @jimstorer

State of Community Management 2015

Rachel Happe & Jim Storer Co-Founders The Community Roundtable

In partnership with


Research

Advisory

Training

Benchmarking

The Community Roundtable today

TheCR Network


1.  About the State of Community Management research

2.  SOCM2015 Demographics 3.  Communities in 2015 4.  Key Findings 5.  What’s Next

Agenda

www.communityroundtable.com

#socm2015 @rhappe @jimstorer 4

About the State of Community Management (SOCM) Research


SOCM Research Goal


Demonstrate the value of community management •  Define the discipline

•  Provide objective data and research

•  Evolve with and push the practice

•  Partner with members to generate shared value


Why is this research important?

Passion: Realizing potential

Belief: Communities effectively realize human potential by supporting and challenging individuals

Truth: Control is for amateurs

Superpower: Simplifying the complex


Why is this research important?

Passion: Opening doors

Belief: Community practitioners are natural sharers operating in what's traditionally been a command and control environment

Truth: Knowledge is power.

Superpower: Uncovering connections.


Evolution of the State of Community Management



SOCM2015 Demographics


Research Demographics



Where are you in your community journey?

Poll









Communities in 2015


What are your Biggest Challenges?

Poll



Accelerators

•  Online communities are now common and there are many good examples

•  A growing cadre of individuals that understand how to build successful communities

•  Resistance is more practical and less philosophical

•  Engagement tactics are well established

•  Operational approaches that support shared purpose are emerging

Inhibitors •  Tactics and operational approaches

are not evenly adopted

•  Big gaps between community aspirations and the investments required to realize those aspirations

•  Resistance to hiring resources

•  Lack of executive understanding of networked business models or how to effectively engage online

•  Lack of understanding of how to create, apply and measure the ROI of shared value business models

•  Still often seen as a technology issue

Communities in 2015



Strategy

•  A business model that generates significant shared value

Operations

•  Policies, governance, tools and metrics that reinforce and support emergent contributions from stakeholders

Tactics

•  Content, programming and engagement approaches that encourage and reward participation

17

Communities need aligned strategy, operations & tactics



Key Finding #1 Strategy: Invest in people and systems,

not just platforms


Key Recommendations


1.  Provide ongoing professional development so community managers can work smarter and more effectively.

2.  Ensure adequate community staff so that strategic planning and growth can be addressed.

3.  Invest sufficiently in community teams so that the community is integrated across functional areas of the organization, increasing its visibility and value.

4.  Refine systems to provide incentives and support for community engagement.


Investing in resources enables better planning, alignment & integration


Investment results in: •  Community

management standards

•  Executive engagement

•  Measureable results •  Better business

integration


More community resources enable integration & governance



Professional development resources pays off



Key Finding #2 Operations: Advocacy Programs are

More Than a Checkbox


Key Recommendations


1.  Invest in multifaceted advocacy programs, which address multiple types of advocates and continuously deliver value.

2.  Provide advocates with recognition and exclusive access.

3.  Use advocate programs to create a formal feedback process into product groups.


More than a checkbox



Invest in multifaceted advocacy programs that deliver value


Best-in-Class programs include the basics, but also offer opportunities with business value: •  Access to early news

and information

•  Opportunities to provide input and feedback

•  Access to executives and the community team


Advocacy and community maturity


•  Communities with formal advocacy programs also were more likely to:

–  Be able to measure value and ROI

–  Have documented the value of the community for members and the organization

–  Have an approved strategy and roadmap, and include members in strategic planning

–  Communities with formal advocacy programs scored higher than others on every competency


Advocacy and engagement


35%

27%

33%

31%

36%

37%

18%

18%

13%

11%

11%

10%

5%

8%

6%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

No program

Informal

Formal

InacLve Lurker Contributor Creator Collaborator


Advocacy and engagement


35%

27%

33%

26%

31%

36%

37%

32%

17%

18%

13%

16%

11%

11%

10%

14%

5%

8%

6%

11%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No program

Informal

Formal

MulL-‐Lered

InacLve Lurker Contributor Creator Collaborator


Key Finding #3 Tactics: Quick Wins Exist to Improve

Engagement


Key Recommendations


1.  Define your community’s value.

2.  Build or improving your new member welcome process.

3.  Invest in community management training and coaching.


Mature communities define value for members & the organization


Business Objectives

Member Objectives

Shared Purpose


Welcome programs encourage quality engagement



Professional development for staff enables maturity


•  Coaching/external advising

•  Conferences

•  Degree programs

•  Fee-based online courses

•  Membership network


What’s Next


1-2 Years •  More consistency in job descriptions

and roles

•  Differentiation between levels of community reporting; tactical, operational and strategic

•  ROI templates

•  Increase in engagement from executives

•  Better and more training options

5 Years •  Use case specific research, training

and measurement models

•  Methodology to assess community management skills and gaps

•  Improved online engagement literacy

•  An understanding that community management is a critical 21st century skill, not just a role

•  Evolving business models that support a community-centric approach

The Community Management Outlook



Use this Research


How to use this research


1.  Educate Stakeholders

2.  Plan Roadmap and Budget

3.  Prioritize Resources


Thank you!


Education

The 2015 State of Community Management Webinar