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

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

by Bill Johnston on Oct 16, 2008

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