The most wanted thing in Community Management is to find the answer to one question. It is: How do we measure the success of the community? But there is no one direct answer to it. Everything depends on the goals of communities. So, let's untangle this knot from the goals and the examples of how to achieve them.
Community of Practice (CoP) goals
Community of Practice's primary goal is to create a space to exchange experiences and grow fast and at high quality. So, the success here could be:
First, correct structure of events that will help community members to gain needed experience
How do you reach this goal?
Investigation of suitable formats for the community → Options gathering (formats) → Presentation to society and stakeholders → Selection → Empowering the selected forms and adding some events → Finding the correct format and events for your community → Creation of the recurring schedule → Implement the events.
Second, wise and convenient platform for exchanging expertise and sharing best practices
How do you reach this goal?
Investigation of the secure and convenient platforms for the community → Creating a list of options for the format for sharing best practices → Presentation of the options to stakeholders → Selection process after adjusting the best option according to the stakeholders’ comments → Giving the green light to the possibilities that could be potentially more suitable → Implementation → Gather the network of community leaders — people from the community who are interested in growing as a leader and making intake, etc.
Third, make convenient best practices storage for exchanging experience with the understandable interface and easy search.
How do you reach this goal?
Research the best internal and external platforms (Confluence, Workplace, Sharepoint, others) → Presentation to stakeholders → Selection → Giving the green light to the possibilities that could be potentially more suitable → Implementing it → Gather a network of people who will contribute to this platform → Create the way to attract people who will take intake in the selected for the storage platform → Organize and support the storage.
Fourth, creating a supportive and inclusive community environment
How do you reach this goal?
Establish community guidelines that promote inclusivity, diversity, and respect for all members → Maintain the platform for experience sharing and support the storage for experience sharing → Celebrate achievements, milestones, and contributions within the community → Regularly gather feedback from members to ensure the community’s activities and initiatives meet their needs and expectations.
CoI goals
Community of Interest could have different goals: to gather people interested in the same hobby and activity to enable them to do those activities together and get some extraordinary experience. Here are some example goals and strategies to achieve them:
First, define who is your target audience (potential community members) and find the needs within the community
How do you reach this goal?
Find platforms where potential community members could be → Create an easy survey to define the community needs → Conduct the research → Fill in the base of potential community members whom you can promise to return to when the research is ready, and you will craft the community.
Important: there is no need in the community of interest for one person. If you think something is cool and exciting, you are welcome to do it, but consider that to make a community, you need to find other interested people.
Second, facilitating engaging discussions and collaboration
How do you reach this goal?
Identify the preferred communication channels and platforms for the community (e.g., Telegram, Facebook group, LinkedIn group) → Encourage active participation through regular discussions and collaboration initiatives → Invite guest speakers or subject matter experts to share insights and spark discussions → Establish guidelines and norms for respectful and constructive communication within the community.
Third, fostering collaboration and partnerships around the interest
How do you reach this goal?
Identify potential collaborators or partner organizations with aligned interests or complementary expertise → Create community proposition (what you can give to the partners) → Explore collaborative projects or initiatives that leverage the collective strengths and resources of the community → Establish channels for feedback and evaluation to assess the effectiveness.
Are you interested in similar goals and examples of step-by-step actions to achieve them for other types of communities?
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