The State of Online Community 2008: Key Findings from the Online Community Research Network

Bill Johnston Chief Community Officer Forum One Networks The State of Online Community 2008 Key Findings from the Online Community Research Network

Today’s Hosts

Bill Johnston - Chief Community Officer, Forum One

Jim Cashel - Chairman and Co-founder, Forum One

10 Key Findings From 2008

1 - Community Strategy

2 - Community Ownership

3 - Community as an Ecosystem

4 - Metrics

5 - Dimensions of Value - The Elevator Question

6 - Reporting

7 - Budgets & Headcount

8 - Evolving Role of Management & Moderation

9 - Compensation

10 - Unmet Expectations

1. Most Orgs / no strategy

1. Most Organizations Do Not Have A Comprehensive Strategy. Source: Online Community ROI: Models and Reports - March 2008.

2. Marketing owns community 2. Marketing Typically “Owns” Online Community Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008.

3. Ecosystem 3. Community Engagement - an Ecosystem Approach

Ecosystem Diagram Corporate Site Mass Social Media (Facebook, You Tube, Linked In…) Independent Blogs Bloggs Independent Communities Local User Groups Events Meetups Blogs Community Portal Idea Generation Discussion Groups

4. Metrics 4. Metrics are a mix of Quantitative & Qualitative. Engagement is Key. Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008.

Engagement

4. Metrics are a mix of Quantitative & Qualitative. Engagement is Key. Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008. An ideal community engagement metric:

Amount of activity on site

Number and type of content items created

Number of connections / relationships created

Time on site

Frequency of visits

Recommendations & Referrals

5. Dimensions of Value

5. Key Sources of Value (The “Elevator” Question) Source: Online Community ROI & Reporting Models - March 2008.

Cost Reduction / Faster Support

“ T he ROI on employee time devoted to the forums far exceeds the returns on the usual support methods. ”

Larger Body of Knowledge

“ You won't find this content anywhere else - written by our members to raise best practice within vendors”

Co-creation / Co-learning

W e have been able to gather more than a thousand best practices/lessons learned in two years use. ”

5. Dimensions of Value

5. Key Sources of Value (The “Elevator” Question) Source: Online Community ROI & Reporting Models - March 2008.

Increased Engagement

“ The more we invest into community, the more organic traffic we get. ”

Lead Generation / Conversion

“ W hen we enlist our community members to represent us physically or virtually, our reach and conversion metrics dramatically increase.”

Building Customer Loyalty

“ Offering a community to your clients where they can speak to you and each other significantly increases customer loyalty.”

6. Reporting to C-level / results mixed 6. Results Reported to Senior Staff / Satisfaction is mixed. Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008.

6. Reporting to C-level / results mixed 6. Results Reported to Senior Staff / Satisfaction is mixed Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008. Q: Are you getting pressure to modify data sets or to find new sources of value?

7. Budgets & Headcount

7. Budgets & Headcount

Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008.

Budgets (average)

Commercial ~$350k

Non-Profits ~$50k

Headcount (average)

Commercial - 5 FTEs

Non Profits - 2 FTEs

8. Community Managers

8. Community Managers Lead the Charge; Roles Evolving Source: Online Community Marketing, Growth & Engagement - July 2008.

Community Manager: drives features, content and activity programs, technical (platform) decisions, metrics collection and reporting.

Moderator: a community liaison, advocate, and “keeper / enforcer” of the rules. Up and coming:

Community Strategist

Chief Community Officer?

9. Community Team Compensation

9. Compensation

Source : Online Community Compensation - August 2008.

225 Respondents: Female (55%) vs. Male (45%)

Majority (61%) ranged in age from 31-50 years of age

Most of the respondents:

5 years of experience

Bachelors Degree

Work 45-50 hours per week

9. Compensation

Source: Online Community Compensation - August 2008.

Mean Salary $81k with a median of $72.5k

9. Compensation

So urce: Online Community Compensation - August 2008.

Ranges

9. Compensation

Source: Online Community Compensation - August 2008.

10. Where communities miss

10. Not Meeting Expectations

% of “Base” engaged - typically 1-5%

Participation

90% passive consumers

9% active participants

1% creators

Customer generated media

Self Direction / Self sustaining activity

Cost / Planning

2009

Looking Forward to 2009

The effects of recession

Platform providers

Influencer programs

Improved metrics

Convergence of corporate site / community presence

SMO / Reputation management

Offline / online integration

Internationalization

Green / Sustainability / CSR

Resources

Resources

Online Community Unconference East – NYC 2/11

http://forumonenetworks.com/ocue09

Online Community Business Forum – Sonoma, CA 3/19-20

http://forumonenetworks.com/ocbf09

Online Community Report http://www.onlinecommunityreport.com

Online Community Research Network http://www.onlinecommunityresearch.com

QA

Q&A

[email_address]

F1N - logo

Forum One Networks

Events

Online Community Unconference East – 2/11 in NYC http://forumonenetworks.com/ocue09

Online Community Business Forum – 3/19-20 in Sonoma, CA http://forumonenetworks.com/ocbf09

Research

Online Community Compensation

Community ROI

Services

Community Strategy, Metrics, ROI & Reporting Frameworks

The State of Online Community 2008: Key Findings from the Online Community Research Network

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