On 2024-08-29T04:00:00Z, we hosted the Community Manager Mindset office hours with the Discourse Customer Success team, where we discussed:
- Developing your mindset as a Community Manager.
- Approaching the Community Manager role.
- The truth behind benchmarks and KPIs.
Plus, we answered your submitted questions!
Replay
Introductions
These office hours were hosted by @Jenny, @bas, and @danielle from the Discourse Customer Success team. The information shared is based on our in-depth experience with a variety of communities and not necessarily a top-down dissemination of strategies from Discourse as a whole.
Community Manager Basics
What is a Community Manager?
âCommunity management is the act of growing and sustaining a community in which customers, employees, partners, and others help each other achieve their goals.â
FeverBee - The Beginnerâs Guide To Community Management
âA community manager is a marketing professional responsible for the management and development of a companyâs online community. They are responsible for building, growing and managing the companyâs community online and engaging with customers.â
Indeed - Career Guide
âThe one essential role for every community is the âin the trenchesâ community manager. This is the person who spends nearly all their time directly engaging with membersâŚ. {Without a community manager} members wonât get the quality and quantity of responses they deserve. There wonât be someone they can trust and build a good relationship with.â
The âIn The Trenchesâ Community Manager by FeverBee
Community Managers are the driving forces behind thriving communities!
Definitions Donât Matter
- Community Managers need to be managed upward.
- Everyone needs to understand what your community is actually doing, and this recognition must happen by the decision makers, such as your CEO.
- You need to define the why and ROI behind your community.
Without clear objectives and alignment with your organizationâs needs, the impact of your work may go unnoticed. Community Managers must continuously advocate for their community while also making the business case for its value.
-@Bas
Towing the Line: Speaking About Community
Thereâs a duality in how Community Managers communicate, balancing the need to connect with both community members and corporate decision-makers.
Community Members:
- Connection
- Engagement
- Trust
Corporate/Decision Makers
- Demonstrating ROI
- Metrics
- Strategic Value
Thatâs why clear goals, being proactive, and receiving feedback are crucial.
Goals, Benchmarks, & KPIs
What goals should I set for my community?
At Discourse, weâre often asked, âWhat goals should I set for my community?â The truth is, the answer depends on your communityâs specific purpose and objectives. Each community is unique, so the goals you set should align with the core mission of your community and the needs of its members.
- Support Community: Goals might include improving response times, increasing issue resolution rates, and enhancing member satisfaction.
- Product or Service Community: Goals could focus on tracking member interaction with your product or service, gathering valuable feedback, boosting overall engagement, and even driving sales or upgrades.
- Employee or Team Member Community: Goals might revolve around better connections among team members, increasing their self-sufficiency, and raising awareness of organizational updates and initiatives.
Start at the Origin
- Revisit the reason your community was created.
- Ask yourself: Why was this community started? What problem were you looking to solve?
- Understand the original purpose to help identify key areas to measure.
Connect to Business Goals
- Reflect on how your community ties back to the main business or organizational goals.
- Consider how the community can support these objectives, whether itâs improving customer satisfaction, increasing brand loyalty, or enhancing employee collaboration.
- This will give you a clear framework for identifying relevant metrics.
Something critical to note:
It doesnât matter if your community is activeâwhat truly matters is how well your communityâs goals align with your organizationâs business objectives. You can have thousands of active users and millions of posts, but if your communityâs impact isnât tied to the businessâs goals, it risks being shut down.
Community Managers must connect their efforts to tangible business outcomes to ensure long-term success. Always start by asking, 'Why do we have this community, and how does it drive our business forward?
-@Bas
Derive KPIs
- Once you have a clear understanding of your communityâs purpose and how it supports broader goals, you can derive Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that align with these objectives.
- KPIs might include specific targets for growth, engagement, or impact, tailored to your communityâs unique needs.
As a Community Manager, your priority isnât just to engage with the community but to ensure your efforts align with the broader business objectives. Itâs not enough to say, âI want to increase engagement.â You need to set specific, measurable goalsâlike increasing engagement by 10% over the next six monthsâthat directly contribute to the businessâs success.
Always monitor, adjust, and align your community strategy with the organizationâs changing goals to drive real value.
Models & Resources
- Discourse Discover
- Discourse Resources
- FeverBee: Free Community Management Course
- FeverBee: ROI Guide
- CMX Hub: SPACES Modes: The Framework for Defining Your Communityâs Business Value
Q&A
View Answers
What is the first thing someone should consider when joining an existing community as their new community manager?
- Understand Business Goals: In your first week, focus on understanding the communityâs purpose and how it aligns with the companyâs broader objectives.
- Learn from the Past: If there was a previous Community Manager, find out what worked well and where challenges occurred.
- Observe Before Acting: Take time to observe the community dynamics before implementing any new strategies. This helps build credibility and ensures your changes are well-received.
- Engage Across the Organization: Talk to colleagues at different levels to gather diverse perspectives. This can uncover important insights that may not be immediately obvious.
There are a ton of analytics, which is great, but which ones should a new community focus on the most?
- It Depends on Your Community: Each community is unique, so thereâs no one-size-fits-all answer. The key is to track what truly demonstrates the value you provide.
- Focus on Value-Driven Metrics: Track metrics that directly show the value your community brings to the organization. These often arenât found in the community platform itself but in tools like Salesforce or your marketing analytics.
- Tie Metrics Back to Business Goals: The most important metrics are those that can be tied back to your business objectives. For example, how does community engagement influence sales, customer retention, or brand awareness?
- Make Your CEO Care: Always think about why these metrics matter to your leadership. If you can show how your community impacts key business outcomes, youâll demonstrate its true value.
What ways are online communities shifting, and how can we as community community managers adapt to those changes?
- ROI Is Crucial: Communities often start as a ânice-to-haveâ feature, but once costs become apparentâlike hiring a community manager and moderatorsâdecision-makers will scrutinize the ROI. They might spend minimal time assessing the community, so always focus on proving its value.
- AI Integration: AI is increasingly being integrated into communities. With Discourse AI, for example, there are ongoing developments in modules that enhance automation, moderation, and content creation.
- Moderation: Tools like AI-powered moderation can help manage communities.
- Automations:Automation is becoming more popular, making it easier to maintain and engage the community.
- Articulating Value: Even if a community shows strong ROI, itâs essential to clearly communicate this value to decision-makers. Many successful communities fail simply because their value isnât well articulated to those who make final decisions.
What are the key mindset shifts successful community managers have made that have significantly impacted their growth and engagement, and how can I apply these own shifts to my own strategy?
- Focus on Dual Value: Ensure your community provides value to both members and the business. A win-win scenario is crucial for success.
- Communicate Impact: Regularly showcase the communityâs value to decision-makers. Use internal presentations or office hours to highlight its impact and gather new ideas.
- Drive Engagement: Keep the community active by hosting events, discussions, or polls. Revive past successes and continuously innovate.
- Stay Informed: Continuously gather insights to align community activities with business goals. Adaptability is key to staying relevant.
- Seek Satisfaction: If your efforts arenât appreciated, consider finding an environment where communities are more valued.
Upcoming Office Hours
- AMA with Discourse Design Team, October 2024
- Yearly Recap & Latest Releases, December 2024
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