In today's dynamic online community landscape, staying informed about the latest trends, challenges, and best practices is crucial for community leaders who seek lasting success.
Discover the valuable insights and recommendations in The Community Roundtable's 14th annual report, The State of Community Management 2023, tailored specifically for community leaders. This report is a goldmine of tactics and strategies to enhance your strategic community planning and ensure your online community remains effective.
We highly recommend you take a dive into the full report to get all the best insights, but here we’ve provided the top takeaway to help your community thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape.
Harness the power of evangelism
With the myriad of responsibilities shouldered by community managers, internal evangelism often takes a backseat. However, simply advocating for the value of a community may not be enough. It's imperative that the community manager isn't the sole voice singing the praises of the community within the organization.
In The Community Roundtable’s research, 90% of best-in-class communities surveyed reported positive perceptions from executives. So how do you foster this support from leadership? Start by coordinating efforts and identifying team members who can act as champions to get support from middle management and executives. Holding the interest of stakeholders is essential to the long-term success of any community program.
Why is internal buy-in so important? To start, building a thriving community is difficult. Not every business considers it a necessity, and some stakeholders may view it as a nice-to-have rather than a mandatory investment of time and resources.
Tailoring your communication to different teams within the organization is key. For example, marketers tend to care about how a community can grow its audience or generate positive sentiment, while product teams care more about how the community will help them receive feedback from customers and further innovation. When each department understands its role in community building, they can allocate the necessary efforts and resources for a healthy and successful community.
Above all, never stop evangelizing — seize any opportunity to speak to others within your organization about your community program. Although this can be challenging with the growing prevalence of remote work, make sure to communicate your message whenever and wherever possible. The more community evangelists who understand the language of community, the easier it becomes to promote the program throughout the organization.
Take advantage of The State of Community Management 2023 to stay up-to-date on community management best practices, trends, and strategies. Download the full report here to learn how to navigate impending challenges and lead your online community to thrive in the months and years ahead.
