Community management it helps you build trust, loyalty and connection with your audience. It’s also how you make sure your audience gets the most out of what you’re offering them.
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Given its importance, I understand why interacting with your own communities can feel daunting – you probably don’t want to mess up.
Don’t be afraid. I did a bit of searching online for this article and found some great community management examples to share with you. They are a great inspiration and give you an idea of how other brands have cultivated theirs own successful communities.
Examples of community management
1. Spot
The Spot is HubSpot’s online community dedicated to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion among underrepresented professionals. The All Black Collective is a community within The Spot for Black professionals.
In the image below, Kyle Foster, Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot and member of the Spot Community team, shares a post asking members what they want to see in the community.
This type of direct communication is a great example of community management.
Why I like this example of community management
I think Foster’s query is a great example of audience-centric community management. It asks for explicit feedback, so all responses are direct insight into what members want.
Any feedback he puts into action shows members that they are being listened to, that their presence in the community is valued, and that community managers want members to get value from being in the community.
The spot is also touted as a community of support for people who have traditionally been left out of the conversation, so Foster’s post only furthers the community’s mission by bringing people into the conversation.
How to make this your own: Spot’s audience-centric community management strategy drives member satisfaction. To do it yourself, I recommend doing exactly what Foster did: ask your members about their preferences and how you can help them, and act on their feedback.
2. Ideas for Spotify
Spotify Ideas the community is a place for Spotify users to submit ideas and recommendations for future Spotify features.
This forum is a great example of using community management for audience-driven growth.
Why I like this example of community management
Spotify’s Idea Community is intended to help drive product innovation based on the experiences of the people who use the product every day.
It also does a great job of creating excitement and encouraging participation with game-like rules. Members can vote on and comment on ideas they like, and ideas with more traction and activity are more likely to be sent to the Spotify teams to review and incorporate into product updates.
How to make this your own: Spotify is a big brand, so it can create a community specifically to promote product innovation. I know this isn’t an option for everyone, but you can still create opportunities to ask for feedback on your product or service.
A few methods I recommend are asking for feedback on a website forum (if you have one), sharing feedback surveys in email newsletters, and asking for feedback in comment sections — all ways to get the information you need to get started innovation.
3. Themes
Current is one of my favorite skincare brands.
His products help and I appreciate his dedication to helping people understand the science behind his products and why they work.
He is very active on SOCIAL MEDIA and does a great job of using the comment sections to provide support. The image below is an example of one of those interactions.
Why I like this example of community management
In the image above, Topicals answered a question in the comments, which is a good example of support as a community management tool.
First, he showed that he was committed to helping people succeed with his products and that he would answer questions when asked.
Second, his response helps the original soldier and anyone else viewing his profile with the same question is getting closer to making a purchase decision.
Even if people don’t have the same question, they learn that the comments section is a great source of information and probably a faster way to get support before potentially reaching out via DM or filing a help ticket.
How to make this your own: To be like Topicals, do like Topicals. Actively interact with people in your comment sections and try to answer questions. I recommend keeping your answers live (unless you’re changing the product) so everyone searching can benefit from the support you’ve already offered.
4. Hunter Harris
Hunter Harris is a journalist, screenwriter, podcaster and pop culture expert. each newsletter, Hang upare essays, interviews, reviews, gossip, recommendations — everything she has hung up the phone he.
It also offers Hung Up Chat for real-time conversation about newsletter content and trending topics. In the email pictured below, Harris expertly draws attention to the chat and converts people with a sense of urgency: the latest episode just came out; let’s talk about it.
Why I like this example of community management
I think Harris’ Hung Up chat is a great example of fostering engagement within a community based on a shared interest, which happens to be Harris’ take on pop culture, television, news, etc.
Yes, reading a personal newsletter can feel like a conversation, but the chat allows people to have real conversations and socialize with other Hang Up fans and Harris alone. Everyone participating in the conversation has a common interest and is eager to hear more about what Harris has to say.
Chat also helps Harris keep people coming back. Most TV shows have weekly episodes, and pop culture moments are fleeting, so the only way to stay up to date is to be active in the chat.
How to make this your own: To follow in Harris’s footsteps, create opportunities for your community to engage and engage in real-time discussions. You can create chat rooms like hers, encourage interaction on your SOCIAL MEDIA channels (like a Facebook group), or use any of your branded channels to facilitate discussion.
My top tip is to drive engagement if you’re looking for it. Harris doesn’t set a topic of conversation either, and tell your audience that you want to hear their opinion, too. When people interact, they will deepen the connections they have with you, as well as the other members they interact with.
5. Apple
Apple Support Community is a place for people to submit questions about Apple products and services and for highly knowledgeable brand enthusiasts to answer them. People can vote on the usefulness of solutions, ensuring that the forum is filled with genuine help for those who need it.
It’s a great example of community driven community management.
Why I like this example of community management
Interaction between members is key to any online community, which is why I like Apple’s approach.
People are already passionate about Apple products, and he uses that passion to create a self-sustaining community of experts eager to talk about Apple and support others who have questions about their products.
One of the main reasons it’s so successful and requires little intervention from Apple employees is that members earn points based on their activities. Useful answers and solutions bring more points. Points rank people at different levels, with higher levels meaning more trusted experts.
For example, a level 10 member with more than 200,000 points (like the profile in the image below) is a reliable source of information.
Earning points and leveling up also guarantees engagement, as people who seek expert status are excited to come back, answer questions and earn points that give them access to exclusive benefits.
How to make this your own: Yes, Apple has a devoted fan base like no other, but most brands still have loyal supporters (even if it’s a smaller group). I recommend identifying your most loyal customers and creating opportunities for them to endorse other customers.
If you have the means to create a separate community-driven support forum, you can replicate Apple’s exact strategy.
However, I also recommend something as simple as asking a loyal customer for their top tip and circulating it in your marketing materials, or creating case studies/customer stories to highlight fans and their tips for getting the most out of your product.
6. Popheads
Popheads come across a subreddit devoted to pop music discussions. He occasionally invites artists to the forum to host AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions to interact with fans and generate excitement.
It’s a great example of using exclusivity and engagement as a community management tool.
Why I like this example of community management
Chappell Roan is the artist who did just that AMA session on the subreddit.
Given that she had a large fan base who were likely eager to interact with her and build relationships, the exclusivity of the AMAs and the potential to get their questions answered attracted people.
The session generated excitement, especially for people who got RSVPs, and also built loyalty as people were likely to be eager to come back to take advantage of any other exclusive opportunity to interact with famous artists.
How to make this your own: If you offer something that could benefit from exclusivity, use that to your advantage when nurturing your community. I know celebrity budgets are not common, but usually they aren’t needed.
For example, you can host exclusive events or opportunities for select members, or work with micro-influencers to create unique moments of community engagement.
Hype gets people talking and can encourage people who weren’t able to participate to do what they can to get elected next time.
7. Canva communities
Canvassadors is Canva’s community-driven management strategy.
Each community has Canvassadors responsible for moderating, facilitating events, educating members and inspiring conversation. Canvassadors are elected, which gives them legitimacy among members.
Why I like this example of community management
I like Canva’s approach to community management for the same reason I like Apple’s: it’s a community for Canva users and enthusiasts to talk, help each other, and make better use of the platform.
True fans who love the product advocate for it and, because they use it themselves, know how to educate people on how to use it.
How to make this your own: If it makes sense for your brand, my top tip for creating your own community-driven Canva management strategy is to create an ambassador program for your business.
Your ambassadors can act as brand champions, and you can work with them to advocate for your brand, spark discussions and build your community.
Above you
I just reviewed some great examples of community management from brands I like. Taking inspiration from them is a great way to start managing your own community.
Pick what you like best from what they’ve done, relate it to your business and start engaging; your loyal fans are eager to interact with you.
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/community-management-examples
