6 Types of Community Management (+ Tips from the Experts Who Manage Them)

Jenny Sowyrda, supervisor of neighborhood technique and operations at HubSpot, shared an excellent analogy with me about neighborhood administration:

“Because the neighborhood supervisor, you’re internet hosting a celebration. At first it’s a must to welcome everybody, take their jackets, and provide them meals or a drink.

However as soon as extra visitors begin to arrive, you may make connections amongst visitors who’ve issues in frequent, and you may slowly pull again … to only being within the background.”

Find it irresistible.

It’s additionally price noting that the get together could look somewhat totally different primarily based on the sorts of neighborhood administration on the market. So, let’s overview the highest six collectively.

Desk of Contents

The SPACES Mannequin

You’ll be able to take a look at community management in some ways, however the best one is thru the SPACES model.

No must take my phrase for it as a result of the specialists agree that this can be a fairly strong basis.

“The SPACES mannequin is a incredible framework to assist manufacturers decide how the neighborhood can assist the enterprise with a particular focus …” says Christina Garnett, founder and fractional CCO at Pocket CCO.

“… Particularly for non-community builders. It helps present readability about what the enterprise needs the neighborhood to offer,” she continues.

The SPACES mannequin, proposed by CMX, organizes neighborhood administration methods primarily based on their major operate and the main target of the neighborhood in query.

Sowyrda provides, “The SPACES mannequin is sensible in the truth that you actually do must give attention to one factor at a time. It does a great job of highlighting the other ways your organization can use a neighborhood.”

The acronym “SPACES” represents six distinct neighborhood administration classes: Support, Product, Acquisition, Contribution, Engagement, and Success.

Now, onto the specifics.

Varieties of Group Administration

Enter: the specifics. Listed here are the six sorts of neighborhood administration to think about primarily based on the SPACES mannequin.

Professional tip: As you begin constructing your community management strategy, Sowyrda recommends specializing in one (or two) of the weather beneath and mastering these earlier than expanding your approach.

1. Support

Help communities empower members to assist one another out by answering questions or fixing issues. These communities could be organized as a web-based discussion board or dialogue board, the place members can ask and reply questions.

I’d additionally advocate providing different assist sources like data bases and FAQs, so folks can discover solutions rapidly on their very own.

Advantages:

• Diminished buyer assist prices
• Decrease workload in your customer support groups
• Faster decision of frequent points
• A larger sense of neighborhood amongst members

Finest for: Manufacturers with in-depth product traces, like software program or electronics, the place customers can profit from sharing ideas, methods, and troubleshooting recommendation.

Instance: Apple Support Community

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What I like about Apple’s Help Group: Actually, the simplicity of search is de facto interesting right here. You’ll be able to kind in a key phrase or ask a query and join with Apple clients all over the world on associated assist subjects.

2. Product (Ideation, Innovation, and Suggestions)

Product communities help you create a secure house in your clients to offer suggestions in your services and products. They’ll share ideas on how one can enhance your merchandise or concepts for innovation.

This manner, you’re mainly inviting members to take part straight in your product progress and improvement course of.

For instance, at HubSpot, Sowyrda explains, “We’ve got communities of product (discussing HubSpot’s merchandise) and communities of observe that are areas to debate skilled subjects.”

Advantages:

• Improved product-market match
• Steady product enchancment primarily based on person suggestions
• Larger person satisfaction
• Sense of possession and loyalty to your model

Finest for: Shopper-oriented software-as-a-service (SaaS) corporations the place person suggestions is essential for iterative product improvement.

Instance: LEGO Ideas

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What I like about LEGO Concepts: They make it tremendous simple (and enjoyable) for LEGO lovers to submit concepts for brand new designs. Plus, folks can see what successful concepts seem like from their fellow clients.

3. Acquisition and Advocacy

Acquisition and advocacy communities are sometimes networks of ambassadors or advocates who assist construct consciousness round your model.

Members promote your services and products by way of phrase of mouth, affiliate applications, and social media.

Advantages:

• Elevated model consciousness
• Decrease buyer acquisition prices
• Larger conversion charges

Finest for: Virtually each kind of firm can profit from acquisition and advocacy communities, however it’s significantly efficient for startups and newly-established manufacturers.

Instance: Sephora Squad

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What I like about Sephora Squad: The neighborhood isn’t formally stay till August 2024, however Sephora is already creating some buzz. If you may get folks excited earlier than launch, you’re already one step forward of your opponents.

4. Content and Contribution

Content material and contribution communities encourage customers to share content material and concepts or take part in collaborative initiatives.

Contributions can vary from visitor weblog posts and media submissions to involvement in open-source software program initiatives in your web site.

Devoted group members sometimes curate the user-generated content to make sure it’s applicable, meets high quality requirements, and aligns together with your neighborhood pointers.

Advantages:

• Elevated member engagement
• A powerful sense of possession amongst contributors
• Extra priceless content material for the complete neighborhood

Finest for: Media corporations, artistic industries, and open-source initiatives that thrive from UGC.

Instance: Adobe Lightroom

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What I like about Adobe Lightroom Group: I bought this instance from one in all my finest photog pals, and it truly is nice. You’ll be able to see precisely how the contributor edited their photograph in Lightroom — from begin to end.

5. Engagement (Exterior and Inner)

There are two sorts of engagement communities: exterior and inside.

Inner engagement communities convey collectively a model’s inside contributors. These communities function a hub to share inside information and sources with workers, companions, distributors, or suppliers.

These communities may also assist align workers members with the corporate’s objectives and values, enhance morale and retention, and improve collaboration.

By comparability, exterior engagement communities join people who’ve a shared curiosity associated to an organization or model. Like if I ran a cookie firm and created a neighborhood for baking lovers.

Advantages:

• Exterior engagement alternatives
• A way of belonging and stronger connections together with your model
• Natural will increase in model consciousness by way of word-of-mouth

Finest for:

• Inner: Helpful for bigger organizations with many departments or groups unfold throughout totally different areas or nations.
• Exterior: Nice for way of life manufacturers or corporations with robust model identities primarily based on way of life or values (e.g., health or magnificence).

Examples:

• Inner: HubSpot’s Slack neighborhood, which is a platform for workers to attach, share concepts, and ask questions.
• Exterior: Nike Run Club

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What I like about Nike Run Membership: This can be a good play for Nike. They emphasize bodily exercise by way of their merchandise, and this membership permits running-enthusiasts to attach with one another and the Nike model.

6. Success Group Engagement Administration

Success communities are designed to assist clients use your services or products, nicely, efficiently. They permit members to attain desired outcomes by sharing finest practices, person experiences, and success tales.

Advantages:

• Higher buyer satisfaction
• Diminished churn charge
• Beneficial testimonials to draw new members

Finest for: SaaS, business-to-business (B2B), and service-oriented companies the place product success is intently tied to continued product use.

Instance: Noom Circles

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What I like about Noom Circles: I like how customized you may get with Noom Circles. You’re matched with communities that mirror your pursuits (e.g., meals, train, hobbies, and so forth.) and the objectives you’re working towards.

Group Administration Methods

The methods you utilize to investigate your neighborhood efficiency will differ primarily based on the kind of neighborhood you’re constructing.

Listed here are some metrics to think about for every:

• Help: Dialog engagement (e.g., posts, feedback), amount of questions requested and answered, decreased buyer assist calls
• Product: New product concepts, new function adoption, buyer satisfaction
• Acquisition: Conversion charge, new leads/signups, new clients
• Content material: Customers creating UGC, new and lively customers, dialog engagement (e.g., posts, feedback)
• Engagement: Dialog engagement (e.g., posts, feedback), new member signups, occasion attendees
• Success: Web Promoter Rating (NPS), buyer retention, buyer satisfaction

Need extra? Get the total scoop on community management metrics.

Creating SPACES for Your Communities

Hopefully, this offered some readability in regards to the various kinds of communities and what they’re finest for. If you happen to’re nonetheless having hassle selecting one in your model, I say begin together with your viewers.

The very best communities come to life when your objectives align with their wants.