By Shannon DiGregorio, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable.
Here on The Community Roundtable blog we’ve decided to try something new for 2014. Each month we’ll pick an aspect of community management and tackle it from many angles, providing commentary, resources and expert opinions. Planning and building seem like natural themes for January – as we all look ahead to the next 12 months it’s especially important to make sure a solid foundation is in place for your community plans and how you build your community approach.
“Build” is also one of the three main maturity transitions we’ve identified as part of the community maturity model. This is a great tool to assess where you are on your journey – go ahead, we’ll wait while you check it out. In short, Build is the transition where you start to formalize and incorporate what you have learned in phase one when a lot of time is spent experimenting. During the build process governance, resources and metrics to benchmark your work are developed. This short Build checklist should help you decide if you’re in this phase:
If you’re approaching the Build stage of your journey these existing resources will help you accelerate your planning for 2014:
- Overview of the Build stage
- Presentation on the path to a fully socialized business
- The 2012 State of Community Management, which digs in to how community programs mature
- The Build Toolkit with actionable templates, research and resources
- Community Management: Advanced Skills Certificate Program
Over the next month we’ll share content focused on all aspects of building community that can help if you in the Build stage or if you are going back to re-asses your governance, staffing or metrics approaches. We’re focusing on building value, building reputation, building connections and building programs – with expert advice and some fun surprises thrown in. If you have any great resources that have helped you build your approach please reach out – we’d love to hear from you!
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If you’re looking to build your community program there is no better resource than the TheCR Network. TheCR Network is a membership network that provides exclusive strategic, tactical and professional development programming for community and social business leaders. The network enables members to connect and form lasting relationships with experts and peers as well as get access to vetted content.
TheCR Network is the place to learn from social business practitioners. Join today.
