Boost results with communities and programs: FAQs About Connecteur

That’s a great question! Communities can take many forms. In a sociological sense, a community is a group of people who share something in common, like norms, religion, values, customs, or a common interest. Some examples of community types are product, professional, internal-organization, geographical, and communities around the same interest or hobby. For a deeper dive into community terminology, check out the complete community’s vocabulary.

Community building is the process of bringing people together who share a common interest, cause, values, or lifestyle. It involves creating structures and fostering interactions that help this group connect with each other and develop a sense of belonging.

Partially, that’s marketing. Part of what I’m doing is helping companies and organizations understand how to leverage social media networks as a community platform. That way, their employees or customers can learn together, exchange tips, and grow.

So for example, if you want to brand your company, you’ll do that through a LinkedIn page or Facebook page, but if you want to create a space for discussion and knowledge exchange, you’ll start a LinkedIn or Facebook group.

I have a clear methodology for that, and I’m working on this with my clients. Together we develop the community strategy for the company or organization. Based on that we create a work plan. I also provide training for your team to prepare them to lead and manage the day-to-day operations of the community. Alternatively, I can delegate one of my experienced team members to handle this on your behalf.

However, many individuals reach out to me, and they usually don’t have the resources to go through such a process, or are not ready yet to invest in leading a community full-time.
So my best tip to start a community is taking small steps.
Have an idea for a community? Talk to your potential community members. Organize a meeting. And of course, there are many free resources, thanks to the internet: articles, courses, guides, including my blog :).

Additionally, here are my recommended resources.

Community leaders have a diverse set of skills, since communities are distinguished from each other – i.e. an online community of product managers on LinkedIn group vs an in-person community of neighbours living in the same city’s neighbourhood. Additionally, as I’ve been training community leaders for the past years, I met highly motivated professionals from totally different backgrounds. Software engineers, lawyers, educators, climate change activists, and not surprisingly, marketers.

Most of the community leaders are great communicators, from building interpersonal relationships to curating content, writing, and video making. Community leaders are also great at creating strategies and executing them, so it’s typical to meet a community leader which is highly organized! Other common skills are market and analytical research, problem solving (necessary in moderating conflicts), flexibility (to manage their community in a rapidly changing world), and being experts in their community field. You can read more about the community manager role, common skills, and responsibilities here.

Building a niche community requires understanding your audience’s needs, such as pain points and aspirations, and crafting a tailored experience. From employee development to alumni engagement, I help organizations to develop a strategy that cultivates a thriving community, benefiting both the business goals and the target group. This community strategy includes designing engaging content and specific programs, and offering valuable resources and industry insights. We also encourage mutual collaboration, user-generated content and peer-to-peer learning, to maximize the learning and growth process.

Mostly community of practice. This is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals.

I mainly focus on professional or learning communities. In the past I’ve created or supported communities for entrepreneurs and business owners, communities around entrepreneurship and innovation, communities for learning tech roles, and for customers who are using the same products in their work. I also deal a lot with social impact and DEI in these communities, such as promoting women in tech through communities of practice.

Not only that! My passion lies in transforming organizational development goals, like employee engagement and learning, into impactful experiences. I achieve this by designing and facilitating tailor-made community programs and training, delivered remotely, in-person, or through a hybrid approach.

The programs are catering to various target audiences, including community leaders, employees, managers, customers, and alumni. Sessions are covering a wide range of topics: from community building fundamentals and member engagement to leadership, communication, teamwork, and industry-specific areas like entrepreneurship, innovation, DEI, and impact creation.

Facilitation is an integral part of my work in building communities, training community leaders, and designing community programs. While my approach adapts to the context and audience, here are some core principles I follow:

1. Conducting the necessary preparations: I plan in detail to maximize the session’s success and achieve desired outcomes.
2. Creating a safe space: I foster a welcoming, inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable participating and expressing their views openly.
3. Choosing engaging methods: I utilize engaging methods and tools to boost participation, promote learning, and encourage collaboration. This might involve creative icebreakers, introducing new frameworks, or building interactive exercises.
4. Doing continuous check-ins: I conduct regular check-ins throughout the session to ensure everyone aligns with the process, grasps the concepts, and understands their roles in activities.
5. Staying flexible: While I prioritize a detailed plan, I also recognize the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, both internal and external, that might impact the session. In such cases, I adapt my approach and improvise to best serve the participants’ needs and ensure a successful outcome.
6. Measuring and collecting feedback: I actively collect feedback. This includes directly gauging participants’ experience during the session, as well as gathering feedback from the team or using anonymous surveys. This allows participants to freely share their experience and helps me assess whether the session met its objectives.

Understanding a community’s effectiveness requires setting clear goals and tracking progress systematically. By defining specific objectives, we can identify relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with our vision. These KPIs can range from quantifiable metrics like membership growth and engagement rates to qualitative measures such as member satisfaction and community sentiment. Implementing a thorough evaluation system, including surveys, analytics, and feedback mechanisms, enables us to collect valuable insights. Regular analysis of this data helps us understand the community’s impact, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions to optimize its performance.