A key decision when creating an online community is whether it’ll be free for members to join or if they’ll have to pay to access it. And, the model you choose can have a significant impact on how you end up running your community. This piece will be all about free vs. paid communities — I’ll explain what each one is, the pros and cons to each model, and dive into expert tips for choosing between the two. Table of Contents Free vs. Paid Online Communities Free Online Community Paid Online Community Owned Online Community Freemium Online Community How to […]

Jenny Sowyrda, manager of community strategy and operations at HubSpot, shared a great analogy with me about community management: “As the community manager, you’re hosting a party. At first you have to welcome everyone, take their jackets, and offer them food or a drink. But once more guests start to arrive, you can make connections amongst guests who have things in common, and you can slowly pull back … to just being in the background.” Love it. It’s also worth noting that the party may look a little different based on the types of community management out there. So, let’s […]

Brands build online communities around their target audiences. As consumer preferences change and technological advances offer more and more opportunities, community management strategies change alongside them. In this piece, I’ll go over community management trends to be aware of in 2024 and how you can adapt them for yourself. Community Management Trends in 2024 1. Hyper-Personalization A community management trend I’ve noticed most often is hyper-personalization, and I’m not surprised by this: Consumers’ expectations for personalized experiences have reached an all-time high, and this desire has grown within online communities. Consumers, including myself, want to feel connected to the brands […]

When I started thinking about the different types of online communities that exist, I felt like the possibilities were endless. After all, new communities pop up every day. Some are free, some are paid. Some are public, some are exclusive. However, based on what I know about community management, there’s a smart way to categorize these communities based on your brand’s engagement goals. Here’s a list of the main types of online communities for your inspiration. Top 6 Types of Online Communities Disclaimer: Some communities may overlap across categories or share similarities with each other. For example, a brand community […]

If you‘ve seen other posts I’ve written about community management, you know I used to manage a Facebook community for a TV station where I worked as a digital journalist. My experience gave me first-hand knowledge of why community management is important and why brands should invest in it. Don’t believe me, well consider this: 86% of social media marketers believe having an active community is critical to brands’ success on social media in 2024. Furthermore, 60% say their companies are already building such communities. Still not convinced? Keep reading, and I‘ll share five reasons community management is integral to […]

In a perfect world, my car would run on starlight and dreams, fries would taste good reheated, and we would never be asked to prove the ROI of community management. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in — so I reached out to 3 different community management experts and asked how they show the value of their community. Below, I’ll share their best tips for communicating ROI to your stakeholders. (We’ll tackle the fries thing another day.) But first, it helps to know what you’re up against… Table of Contents Why is it so stinkin’ hard to show the […]