The Community Roundtable

Empowering global community leaders with research-backed resources, training, and tools.

  • Who we are
    • Our Values
    • Our Team
    • Our Clients
      • Client Success Stories
      • Member Advisory Board
    • Community Leadership Awards
      • Community Leadership Awards 2022
      • Community Leadership Awards 2021
      • TheCR Awards 2020
      • TheCR Awards 2019
      • TheCR Awards 2018
      • TheCR Awards 2017
    • Careers
  • What we do
    • Benchmarking and Audits
      • Community Performance Benchmark
      • Community Readiness Audits
      • Community ROI Calculator
      • The Community Score
    • Models and Frameworks
      • Community Maturity Model™
      • Community Engagement Framework™
      • Community Skills Framework™
      • The Social Executive
    • Research
      • The State of Community Management
        • SOCM 2022
        • SOCM 2021
        • SOCM 2020
      • Community Careers and Compensation
      • The Community Manager Handbook
        • 2022 Edition
        • 2015 Edition
      • The Social Executive
      • Special Reports
    • Training and Events
      • Upcoming Events
      • TheCR Connect
        • TheCR Connect 2022
        • TheCR Connect 2021
      • Community Technology Summit
      • Training
      • Resource Bundles
    • Resources
      • Vendor Resource Center
      • Community FAQs
      • Community Management Podcasts
        • Community Conversations
        • Lessons From The NEW Community Manager Handbook
      • Community Management Jobs
        • Job Board
        • CMGR Profiles
      • Community 101
        • Community Management Glossary
        • Community Management FAQs
      • Case Studies
      • Community Webinars
  • Who we serve
    • Resources for Community Managers
    • Community Program Owners
    • Community Executives
  • TheCR Network
    • Member Login
    • Join TheCR Network
    • Roundtable Call Library
  • TheCR Library
    • Subscriber Login
    • Subscribe to TheCR Library

Community Management Skills That Matter: Content

April 13, 2018 By Shannon Abram

Content: Ensuring the community is generating value

Community Managers place the highest relative value on content skills, although all three key roles give writing and communication high marks. Community managers’ content skills are focused on the development and production of community content and programs. At higher levels, those skills are less utilized, while being able to develop narratives and take a higher-level approach to how content fits
the overall story of the community becomes more relevant.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY

Top training needs underscore the subtle but important difference between how managers, strategists, and directors of community view their work through the lens of content. Managers find communication planning, such as the management of content calendars, their most critical skill set for development. Strategists and directors say they most need training in developing the community narrative, which gives members and those in the organization an understanding of the community’s role and value through data and storytelling. More tactical skills like multimedia storytelling, graphic design, and SEO optimization had appeal across roles. They may be incredibly valuable for some team members but are not needed by everyone in a community team.

CLIMBING THE LADDER

Our research shows that if you can’t communicate, your future in community (and your present) is in serious jeopardy. But moving up from a manager role can take one of two routes. Developing a specialty in a specific skill, such as multimedia or SEO can make you a valuable (and hard to replace) team member and can be a selling point for someone seeking or moving into a strategist or community content expert role. Growing into a director role can mean not just understanding how to tell stories, but how to weave those stories together into a compelling narrative that demonstrates the value of and need to invest in a community program.


Want to learn more about critical skills for community managers?

Check out our Community Skills Framework and download our Community Careers and Compensation report.

About Shannon Abram

I love dogs, drinks, and the oxford comma. Writing from the great commonwealth of Massachusetts, I almost definitely need a nap.

comments powered by Disqus
Community best practices

Resources for the people who build online communities.

ABOUT US
Our Values
Our Team
Our Clients
Careers

RESOURCES
Vendor Resource Center
Podcasts 
Job Board
Community 101
Case Studies
Webinars
Upcoming Events

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Benchmarking and Audits
Models and Frameworks
Research
Training and Events

RESOURCES BY AUDIENCE
Community Managers
Community Program Owners
Community Executives

QUICK LINKS
Blog
Newsletter
About TheCR Network
About TheCR Library
About TheCR Academy

LOGIN
TheCR Network
TheCR Library
TheCR Academy

Contact
Support
Partnership
Inquiries
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter