The Community Roundtable

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

CMGRs are Entry-Level? Not Anymore.

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By Shannon Abram, The Community Roundtable.

With the SOCM 2016 survey fully launched we have just one CCC fun fact left for you – and it’s probably something you’ve known for a while. CCC Fun Fact #8: Community management isn’t “entry-level” – the average community manager has more than 12 years of work experience including nearly five in community roles alone. 

I bet you’re reading this, shaking your head. Of course great community management takes experience, but so often we see community jobs advertised as “entry-level” for laughably little money. The 2014 Community Manager Salary Survey demonstrated clearly that community managers are hardly entry-level employees in their skills or their experience, and this year’s CCC research confirms that. The average community manager has more than a decade of work experience, with much of that in community management. Most of the community managers in this year’s survey aren’t in their first job — but they may be in a new one. Half of the respondents have held their current job for less than 2 years.

CCC Fun Fact #8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re looking to level up your community career the Community Skills Framework is a great place to start. SOCM2016_GetStarted_BadgeYou can identify your strengths and find growth opportunities that will help you advance your career – and maybe even get a raise!

Download the Community Careers and Compensation 2015 summary report now, or take the survey and get free access to the full report! 

If you love research like the CCC we’d love your help with our current research initiative – The State of Community Management. Take the survey now and you’ll get free access to the full report in May! 

SOCM 2014 Fact #7: Do I need a community playbook?

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By Shannon Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable.

If you’re just getting started in community management you might find your self asking “why isn’t there a how-to manual I can consult?” Of course there are tons of great resources on the internet (from places like CMX Hub, FeverBee, SocialFish and of course right here at TheCR) – but sometimes it would be nice to just reach over and grab a community playbook.

For most best-in-class communities this isn’t just a dream. Through the State of Community Management 2014 research we found that 85% of best-in-class communities have a community playbook already.

​Community playbooks are hallmarks of mature community programs.

​In addition to enabling policies, best-in-class communities are more likely to document organizational standards for community management in community playbooks. Best-in-class communities are more than twice as likely to have playbooks as the average community. We have found that comprehensive community playbooks act as enablers to scale community management responsibilities.

Creating a Community Playbook

If you don’t already have a community playbook it can seem like a daunting undertaking. Our friends at Enterprise Hive shared five great tips for getting started. Tips include understanding that the playbook is meant to be an organic document and ensuring that the playbook structure has flexibility. Check out the whole post here for a great outline on how to get started.

SOCM 2014 Fact #7 - Community Playbook

You can review more findings related to community maturity in the State of Community Management 2014. This post is part of a series highlighting some of the most thought-provoking data from the SOCM 2014 – brought to you via a fun poster – perfect for sharing on Twitter, hanging at your desk, or printing out and waving around your next community strategy meeting.

Want even more community facts? Check out the full SOCM 2014 here:

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Looking to take your career in community management to the next level? 92% of members agree that TheCR Network supports and advances their personal and professional goals. Learn how our research, access to peers and experts, targeted content and exclusive concierge service can help you achieve your goals.

Is Having a Community Strategy Important?

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By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable.

This year’s State of Community Management research showed what we’re suspected for along time: ​the foundation of a successful community is a well-defined strategy that integrates social tools and methods with business goals and processes. It follows that a community’s strategy also aligns an organization’s goals with their member’s needs.

​Another prevalent idea that was confirmed by our research is that overall community strategies are maturing. Of course this makes sense – as more companies define and grow their practice of community management the industry becomes increasingly developed. This brings us to our community management fact of the week. We found that 72% of communities have an approved community strategy, signaling that organizations increasingly understand how to justify a community approach. That’s the good news! We also found that of that 72%, only 40% of those strategies are operational and measurable.

Fewer than 50% of communities with an approved strategy have an approved and resourced roadmap, suggesting a significant gap between community ambition and the ability to execute on it. This gap in understanding what is required to fully realize a community strategy is a barrier to community success. Best-in-class communities have a smaller gap between those with an approved strategy and those with a fully resourced roadmap – only about 25% of those with an approved strategy lack a roadmap.

SOCM Fact #4

 

Looking for more insights into community strategy? Download the State of Community Management 2014 report and check out the section on strategy – starting on page 26.

Does your community have an approved strategy? We’d love to hear more  in the comments!

This post is the fourth in a 10-part series highlighting some of the most thought-provoking data from the SOCM 2014 – brought to you via a fun poster – perfect for sharing on Twitter, hanging at your desk, or printing out and waving around your next community strategy meeting. You can see the first three posts here: Fact #01, Fact #02 and Fact #03 or downloadthe whole report today.

 

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Did you know that 95% of TheCR Network members agree that the content and peer input improves the quality of their work? It’s true! Membership in TheCR Network saves community and social business leaders time and improves the quality of their work by connecting them quickly with peers, experts and curated information. Learn how joining TheCR Network can improve the work you do.