How many times have you wished you could respond, with data, to the following questions: What is the value of implementing a community strategy? What is the value of a community manager? How long does it take to achieve a critical mass of activity such that the community is … [Read more...]
3 Best Practices for Creating Community Rules of Engagement
By Shannon Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. Whether you're starting from scratch with a brand new community, or working with a mature community that doesn't have well defined programs and processes defining and managing community rules of engagement can be a struggle. We … [Read more...]
Announcing The State of Community Management 2014
By Rachel Happe, Co-Founder of The Community Roundtable. The fifth annual State of Community Management report is here! A lot has changed in the five years we have been publishing this research and the State of Community Management 2014 continues to push the boundary of what we collectively … [Read more...]
Announcing the State of Community Management Toolkit
By Shannon DiGregorio, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable The State of Community Management (SOCM) has been one of our core research platforms and we are excited to announce the availability of The State of Community Management Toolkit, which includes both newly released research … [Read more...]
Assess your Community Management Maturity
Eight years. The Community Roundtable has been doing its annual research on the landscape of community management for close to a decade. We have learned a lot in that time and this research has contributed to the discipline by: Consolidating and determining standard practices within … [Read more...]
Building a Community Roadmap
By Shannon Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. We are excited to share with you a free eBook based on the findings in the State of Community Management 2014 report - Building a Community Roadmap. The State of Community Management 2014 research found that the best–in-class … [Read more...]
Building Value: Articulating the Power of Community Management
Over and over we hear from members and peers that articulating the value of a thoughtful and well-executed community program is one of the hardest parts of their job. Sure - wrangling tough community members isn't a walk in the park, and no one likes a troll, but condensing the power of community … [Read more...]
Call for participation: 2016 State of Community Management Survey
It's that time of year again: time to contribute to the most credible community research in the market. The 2016 State of Community Management survey is now open! Now in its 7th year, this research has helped tens of thousands of community management professionals evaluate their … [Read more...]
Call for Research Participants: 2014 State of Community Management
It's that time of year again! Today we’re excited to kick off the 2014 State of Community Management research - our annual research initiative which focuses on community maturity assessment and will explore the questions: How are communities performing? What are the standards and strengths of … [Read more...]
CMGR Swag – Week Three of The SOCM
By Shannon Abram, Director of Marketing at The Community Roundtable. The 7th annual State of Community Management research survey and contributions is rolling along - do I sound like a broken record yet? If so, at least I have a good reason. The SOCM is the community industry's most … [Read more...]
Communities are Change Agents
Resiliency and the ability to change quickly are becoming key competencies for all organizations as new technologies create rapidly changing market conditions. Organizations need to acquire and apply new knowledge faster, and the more traditional learning and professional support mechanisms cannot … [Read more...]
Communities in 2016: Quantifying the Value of Community
By Rachel Happe, Co-founder and Principal, The Community Roundtable. It’s an exciting time to be in the community field. In the past couple of years, communities have gained the executive spotlight. It’s currently shining pretty brightly. But the spotlight brings its own challenges and pressures. … [Read more...]
Community Management Case Study: The Evolution of a Community Advocacy Program
One of the perks of being a member of TheCR Network is access to fresh community management programming every week. Our community manager, Hillary Boucher, does an amazing job of tracking down interesting and engaging case studies from every stage of the community journey. This past … [Read more...]
Community Management Limericks
I'm just going to say it: The State of Community Management 2017 survey closes this Friday. By the time you read this there will be less than 72 hours to contribute to the industry's leading community research. If you sleep eight hours a night, that's only 56 hours! Subtract time for eating, hitting … [Read more...]
Do communities spend more on people or platforms?
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 … [Read more...]
Do online communities need dedicated budgets? YES!
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 … [Read more...]
Five reasons to take The State of Community Management 2017 survey right now
Eight years. That's like a century in community management, but that is how many years we have been pouring hundreds of hours of our time into creating The State of Community Management. This is my third year at the helm, and I'm excited. With new questions, new data analysis tools, … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – #SOCM2016 Week 2 – CMGR Essentials
By Shannon Abram, Director of Marketing at The Community Roundtable. We're in week two of the 7th annual State of Community Management research survey and contributions are rolling in. I cannot stress enough how important this research is - and how valuable your contributions are to us, and … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – One Week Left Edition
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. Our annual research initiative - the State of Community Management survey closes next Friday, February 28th. If you have already taken this short survey (only 15 minutes!) - thank you! If you haven't taken it, and are … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – Spring is Here Edition
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. Spring has finally sprung in Boston! Today there are crocuses blooming, marathoners training in shorts and the Red Sox open their season at Fenway Park - so many things to celebrate! I hope you're enjoying spring … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – The One Lucky Winner Edition
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. The 2014 State of Community Management survey closes today and we're going out with a bang. If we reach our goal of 150 completed surveys one lucky participant will receive a free one-year membership to TheCR … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – The SOCM 2016 is Here
By Shannon Abram, The Community Roundtable In case you missed it we launched the State of Community Management 2016 (SOCM) survey this week! Now in its 7th year, this research has helped tens of thousands of community management professionals evaluate their approaches, educate stakeholders, … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – The SOCM closes today!
By Shannon Abram, Director of Marketing at The Community Roundtable The 7th annual State of Community Management research survey ENDS TODAY! If you haven't contributed we need your help! Have 20 minutes? START THE SURVEY HERE As a thank you for every participants time their next coffee is … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup – The SOCM is Coming!
By Shannon Abram, The Community Roundtable Next Wednesday we release the highly anticipated, seventh edition of our ground-breaking community research - the State of Community Management 2016 report. TheCR headquarters are a-buzz with final prep - and we can't wait to share it with you. If … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup: 20 Minutes to Shape the Future of Community
By Ted McEnroe, The Community Roundtable The fifth Friday of 2015 is in the books, and this one comes at the end of a jam-packed week at The Community Roundtable, where we celebrated #CMAD, postponed #CMAD, launched our landmark annual survey and released the first piece of a new and fun … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup: Building a Community Roadmap
By Shannon Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. Did you get hit by the polar vortex that is sweeping the nation? We're bracing for the cold here in Boston, and it is undeniable, Fall is fading and Winter is coming. Luckily we've got lots of exciting community manager content … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup: Links and Jobs and More
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. Welcome to another Friday Roundup. The sun is shining in Boston, the birds are singing - it might finally, really be spring! This week we re-grouped after an exciting launch of the State of Community Management 2014 … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup: The SOCM 2014 Edition
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. After months of surveys, number crunching, chart perfecting and copy editing the State of Community Management 2014 was finally released this week! It feels a little bit like our baby bird has flown the nest - but we … [Read more...]
Friday Roundup: The SOCM 2015 – Strategy, Operations & Tactics
By Shannon Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. If you're following along regularly you may have noticed that our annual research report - The State of Community Management 2015 was released last week, and we couldn't be more excited. The SOCM 2015 is the culmination of not … [Read more...]
How can you use community guidelines to support your work?
For years, community thought leaders in TheCR Network have highlighted the importance of community guidelines and policies that promote healthy community behaviors. Make your community guidelines and policies a trellis, rather than a box, and create a frame for your community to flourish. That is … [Read more...]
How do community managers spend their days? An SOCM2016 Preview
By Ted McEnroe, Director of Research and Training, The Community Roundtable “How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives.” -Annie Dillard Ask an overworked community manager what they wish they had more of - and you’re likely to get one of two answers: resources or time. How a … [Read more...]
How to Recognize Your Top Community Members
As we close out 2016 I wanted to share some best practices for recognizing and rewarding the top contributors in your community. Whether they are super users who take pride in answering others questions or super-star content creators, everyone likes to be acknowledged for their … [Read more...]
Industry Interview: Dennis Shiao, DNN
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. We were able to publish the State of Community Management 2014 through the generous support of our sponsors. We are lucky enough to work with a number of partners in the community space that are helping advance the … [Read more...]
Infographic: 2014 SOCM Sneak Peek – April 1st
By Shannon DiGregorio Abram, Relationship Manager at The Community Roundtable. After sharing our sneak peek podcast yesterday I knew that I had to give you an early look at the numbers. Rachel mentioned some key findings in the podcast - I'm not going to share those, but I am excited to share a … [Read more...]
Infographic: Drive Success with Basic Executive Coaching
This is a guest post by Dennis Shiao, our partner at DNN Software. You can learn more about DNN here. According to the State of Community Management 2014 report from The Community Roundtable, members are more engaged in communities with executive participation. In fact, communities with … [Read more...]
Is Having a Community Strategy Important?
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 … [Read more...]
Measuring the Value of Communities
By Maggie Tunning, Learning and Culture Manager at The Community Roundtable. It’s the last week to take the 2014 State of Community Management survey! Have you shared your community insights? If you work with an online community we would love to hear from you - you can take the survey here … [Read more...]
Now Open: 2015 State of Community Management Survey
Yes, it's that time of year again - time to take stock of where our community programs are and what's next. For The Community Roundtable, this is our biggest and most important initiative every year because our shared value with you is to demonstrate the value of community management. We … [Read more...]
Online communities have executive attention – and expectations.
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 … [Read more...]
Online community platforms: Feel the meh.
The rise of communities as a powerful tool for behavior change has brought with it no shortage of new platforms and technology. There are large enterprise level platform providers, smaller niche offerings, community offshoots of major social and CRM platforms, and hybrid community-collaboration … [Read more...]
