The Community Roundtable

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

Do online communities need dedicated budgets? YES!

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One of the questions we ask each year in the State of Community Management survey is whether communities have their own budget. It may not seem like a big deal – and to some community leaders, dealing with the budget process might sound unappealing.

However, we consistently see correlations between having a dedicated budget and those who are able to move their communities forward more effectively.

Communities with dedicated budgets are more likely than their peers to:

  • Have an approved community strategy (80% to 48%)
  • Have an approved roadmap (47% to 15%)
  • Have a formal advocacy program (42% to 27%)

It’s not a matter of age – communities with dedicated budgets were only slightly older on average than those without. But a dedicated budget lets a community program owner allocate resources more effectively, and makes it easier for him or her to connect allocated resources with community elements.

If you’re looking to enhance your community, it might be time to ask if you can stop sharing – your budget. It could accelerate your ability to change.

Don’t have your copy of the SOCM 2017 yet? Download it now.

Online communities have executive attention – and expectations.

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Need a sign that communities are in the spotlight? Look at where communities fit into organizations.

In the State of Community Management 2017, we asked more than 300 community professionals where their communities fit in the structures of their organization.

Communities today can be housed in almost any department in an organization, but consistently, they are being supported, connected and answering to the top levels of the organization. One way to look at this is to look at the titles and reporting levels of the people in charge of community.

We found that while the heads of community programs held a number of different titles, more than a third were Directors, Vice Presidents or higher. And those community leads reported even higher. Fifty-nine percent of them report to Vice Presidents, Senior VPs or members of the C-suite. And 92% reported to Directors or higher.

Another way? Look at where their budget is approved.

Nearly three-quarters of communities get budget approval from Vice Presidents or higher in the organization.

And then look at who is paying attention to performance – we asked the respondents the highest level of executives to receive community reports – and 80% said those reports went to a VP or higher. For best-in-class communities, that number rose to 88%, with a 58% of communities getting reports into the C-suite.

In the State of Community Management 2016 report, Rachel Happe noted that communities were gaining the executive spotlight. This data suggests that spotlight is intensifying – and if you aren’t getting your results into executive offices, you may be missing a powerful opportunity to demonstrate your impact.

Do communities spend more on people or platforms?

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Here’s an interesting piece of data from the SOCM 2017: for the first time, communities say they are spending more on people than on technology.

That’s right – by a narrow margin, organizations with dedicated community budgets said they spent slightly more on community management salaries and resources than they did on their platforms. The difference – 0.1%, is well within any margin of error, but the statement itself is remarkable. It means that a profession that not that long ago suffered from a “build first, staff it later (maybe)” mentality in some organizations is seeing that approach fade.

It doesn’t entirely vanish. Our set of communities that are under 3 years old spends more on platforms and technology than on people, but at every other age group, investments in the human side of community top those on technology.

That spending question is just one of a number of encouraging side for those of us who understand the critical importance of moderation, strategy and community management in running successful online communities.

The research also finds that 73% of communities (and 92% of our best-in-class group) had full-time community management – and 96% of communities had at least part-time community management resources.

Not only that, but organizations are investing more in training and development of their community managers. Just 4% of those communities with full-time managers say they didn’t offer professional development opportunities to them. For the other 96%, conferences, member networks, coaching and online courses help keep their community team members learning and growing.

For years, the research has indicated that community management matters. It’s great to see this year that the advice is being heeded more than ever.

Haven’t downloaded your free copy of the SOCM 2017 yet?

 

Help! I don’t have budget to add new staff to my community team.

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By Shannon Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable.

Budgeting challenges are a big concern for a lot of community managers. One of the most common questions we get from community members is some variation on:

“Help! I don’t have budget to add new staff to my community team. Where should I prioritize my time to make sure my community continues to grow?”

The State of Community Management 2014 report showed  that communities with community managers are more likely to be able to measure the value of the community. It’s important to remember that the work you are doing is important, even if you feel stretched too thin. You are making a difference!

While every role at every organization has it’s own nuances, we’ve pulled together four best practices from the State of Community Management 2014 research that will help you prioritize your time and help ensure that your community is growing and thriving, even as you remain a team of one.

1. Evaluate your time.

​Track where you are spending your time for a week or two and then segment it into major categories – engagement, measurement, evangelism, etc. so you can see your current allocation.

2. Compare your priorities.

Look at how community managers in the most mature communities prioritize their responsibilities – and where that differs from average communities. These are a few of their priorities that differ from average communities:

– Advocating for the community internally

– Building a community roadmap

– Coaching executives

3. Create a schedule.

Reactive issue management can eat up all of your time if you let it. Make sure it doesn’t by blocking your calendar so you can dedicate time to what is important – and make sure to protect that time. Delegate what you can to community members and give the community space to take care of itself sometimes.

​4. Empower members to impact engagement.

​Community managers can scale themselves and improve engagement in their community by giving control to community members. Community leadership programs and working groups have high member participation rates that can signal a healthy, engaged community.

​Other common responsibilities community members take on include new member recruitment, welcoming new members and facilitating introductions and connections – more than 50% of communities reported members taking on these tasks.

Do you struggle with a lack of budget for additional community staffers? We’d love to hear how you stretch your resources to make sure your community is thriving.

Want more insights like these? Download the free State of Community Management 2014 report!

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