By Ted McEnroe, The Community Roundtable
It’s been a busy three weeks since we released The State of Community Management 2015. We are pleased with the reaction we’ve gotten to the research – already thousands of people have shared and downloaded it. (If you aren’t one of them, you can fix that by downloading it here.) But while we see this report as an annual milestone, we also see it as a stepping off point for much more. For us, it helps shape the activities we plan for the next 12 months by highlighting the areas of growth and opportunity for the field of community management. Members of TheCR Network tell us that they highlight, dog-ear and re-read it because it is a critical piece of research for them, too. They use this research to:
- Gain strategic perspective on their work
- Prioritize their time and resources
- Identify tactical gaps
- Plan for and make the case to invest in more strategic initiatives
- Validate their progress and plans with stakeholders
Today, we held the first in a series of programs we are planning inside TheCR Network – on topics ranging from building stronger welcome processes to advocacy program development to exploring how to define the shared value of community not just in individual communities but across them in an organization. We’d love to have you join TheCR Network and get access to those conversations. But it’s just one of the ways you can continue using the research.
In addition to reading the report, these additional resources will help you distill the research and see what others have found interesting:
- Watch the one-hour SOCM webinar recording, hosted by our Rachel Happe and Jim Storer, sponsored by Higher Logic.
- Read the SOCM post-webinar Q&A on the Higher Logic blog.
- Browse the June 18th #ESNChat stream, which explored the SOCM with a focus on findings for internal communities.
- Join The Community Roundtable Facebook group, where we will be discussing some of the themes, or you can start your own conversation.
There is more to come – you’re already seeing what will be three months of Monday Facts from the report to highlight some key findings, and there will be other posts as well. And get ready – the next iteration of the Community Manager Salary Survey is right around the corner!
Haven’t taken the State of Community Management 2015 survey? it’s not too late! If you would like to compare yourself to the research, you can get get your scores for the eight competencies by taking the survey here. It should take you about 20 minutes.
