For many people, today will be the first time they hear about the State of Community Management 2017 survey. That's not true here in TheCR Network.
Here, more than a dozen members have been hard at work, alongside Rachel, Hillary and me, to revise the 2016 survey to unearth new and valuable insights this year. This year, SOCM Working Group members included: JJ Lovett, Judi Cardinal, Ted Hopton, Becky Scott, Marjorie Anderson, Chris Catania, Eileen Foran, Lori Harrison-Smith, Rachel Medanic, Jennifer Honig, Jayson Sanchez and Jay Graff. Thanks for all your help.
That’s just the prelude, though. Now it’s time for everyone to act.
The annual survey is the most important piece of research we do all year - and everything about it benefits you as members of TheCR Network. The survey itself gives you a chance to evaluate your community practices on the Community Maturity Model, and get a snapshot of where you stand.
- The results drive our ideas for programs and content in the Network.
- The key findings shape the high-level conversation here in the discussions.
- Reactions to the report serve as springboards for new discussions.
- And only Network members have a direct line to the research team to raise questions, ask for clarifying insights and even get me to dig into findings not covered in the report.
But - and it’s an important "but" - the survey and report are only effective if we get the broadest survey response possible. We need you now so we can support your work even better.
So what can you do?
First - the obvious. TAKE THE SURVEY. And do it now. Doing it in these early weeks gives us numbers to celebrate. It also reduces the effort we need to invest in bugging you to do it later. You get your free coffee earlier. And it gives you that warm "I took an important survey before the deadline feeling." (I'm not the only one who gets that feeling, am I?)
Second - SHARE THE SURVEY. Our Network is powerful, but it’s a small slice of the overall community landscape. Letting people in other networks know about the survey and its value means we get a more representative community sample - and the more surveys we get, the more we can slice-and-dice the data to give you better, more targeted results. It’s also more effective to have you share the survey as a testimonial than us to do it as marketing, and there are many places we really can’t go in and post.
Lastly - TALK ABOUT THE SURVEY. Just raising what the SOCM has inspired you to do, or gotten you to think about, can have a huge impact on the overall community conversation. Mention that you took it. Post about it on Facebook. Share thoughts on your blog, if you have one. If the CMM and the survey have value for you, there are others out there who could benefit.
If you want to share thoughts on the survey, the to get at the survey is http://the.cr/socm2017survey - and there is also an SOCM2017 page on communityroundtable.com.
Have time to cut and paste? Here are a few tweets to choose from (that fit into 140 characters with my @tmcenroe handle. YMMV). You don't need to use them - I'd love to hear your own thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and anywhere else you're active.
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Find out where your community stands. Get a free scorecard when you take the State of Community Mgmt survey http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
Just took @TheCR State of Community Mgmt survey. Free community scorecard, free and key research data! http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
What drives community success? Take @TheCR State of Community Management survey - share data, get a scorecard! http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
Learning starts now. Just took The State of Community Management survey. Looking forward to the report! http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
Just took the State of Community Mgmt survey - do it every year... more insights = better data! http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
The #SOCM2017 report comes out in May but learning starts now. Take and get a Community Mgmt scorecard. http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
Finished State of Community Mgmt survey. I get as much from @TheCR scorecard & reflection as I do from ! http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr
Knowledge is power. Help @TheCR shape community management by taking the #SOCM2017 survey. Learn more at http://the.cr/socm2017survey #cmgr