How To Plan For Programming
Part 3: Community Strategy Planning for 2023
**UPDATE, added 11/7/22**: Scroll all the way down for a link to EVERY one of the recap articles in this series.
The planning sessions continued yesterday with a focus on Programming, and we had the phenomenal special guest Ashleigh Brookshaw joining us! As the Founder of C2M Digital, LLC, and the Senior Manager, Customer Experience and Community for NICE CXone, Ashleigh brought a wealth of knowledge to our session. Scroll down for the recap of the conversation.
For the context of this conversation, our definition of Programming was: Any events, activities, programs, content series, campaigns, or projects. Essentially, it’s the answer to the “what will we be offering members” question.
Jenny: Ashleigh, for the people who don’t know you or know C2M Digital…tell them a little about you.
Ashleigh: Thanks so much for that introduction Jenny! C2M Digital, LLC is my consulting practice I started in 2020 as a means to really fuel my passion for community and making an organizational change. I’ve had the pleasure of working with both enterprise organizations and small business owners, not only on community, but specifically on a DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging) focused lens. Over the last year, I’ve also entered the CCAS world as a Senior Manager, Customer Experience & Community for NICE CXone where I use change management to build a customer-centric mindset for the support community.
Jenny: Let’s get into our first question…Ashleigh, once people complete the goal-setting aspect of their planning efforts (from last week’s show), and are ready to turn to programming, where do they begin?
Ashleigh: I always advise clients to build the community with your customer or user in mind. The best way to do this is review the programming from the current year and any data (survey, anecdotal, otherwise) you have access to. I’ve found that community users will tell you what they like and didn’t like so my recommendation is to build a feedback loop! Depending on your platform, this could be accomplished using community functionality. It could be a poll, a specific discussion thread, or direct feedback to the community team. Items to consider when planning programming is the frequency, quality, and relevance. For example, take a look at the attendance of your community program whether an AMA or a Live event. Were some more well-attended than others? Did other formats get more engagement? It’s important to manage quality vs quantity and, in all instances, ensure the content is relevant to your audience.
Jenny: Question #2…What are some of the most successful programming efforts you’ve seen implemented in an online community?
Ashleigh: The most successful programming efforts I’ve seen both incorporate a sense of ownership from the community members AND the community team. Of course, this is going to vary on the type of community you’re managing. Examples include a well-executed Ask me Anything (AMA) from executive leadership on new initiatives or virtual events with product experts on upcoming new features.
Jenny: Question #3…How should one think of DEIB and its connection to programming?
Ashleigh: Thanks for asking! To start out with, DEIB should be an overarching part of your culture building on community strategy, which of course includes programming. I would first recommend an audit of your previous programming efforts. Was there a mix of topics and formats? If your programming includes speakers, was there a mix of both gender diversity, racial diversity, and diversity of perspective, experience, age or tenure? Now, I’ve had clients share with me, “Oh Ashleigh, I can’t find the diversity in the online community.” Here is where culture comes into play. You have to ask yourself: Do you have a community culture where DEIB is encouraged or respected?
Jenny: Question #4…What’s one of the biggest FAILS you’ve seen when it comes to planning programming?
Ashleigh: I always try to view everything as a learning opportunity. I would say the biggest challenge is when community programming doesn’t align with the needs of the community members. Another area is inadequate marketing time, however, the largest fail is providing content/programming that your users aren’t interested in.
Jenny: Secondary question to this…what’s one of the biggest FAILS you’ve seen when it comes to DEIB planning?
Ashleigh: Oh that’s easy. Inauthenticity and what I call “checking the box.” And as I previously stated, when programming doesn't align with the needs or wants of your users. I believe it’s critical for the community team to take time to build out user personas/profiles that encompass a variety of demographic data and qualitative feedback. It’s very difficult to build a community when you don’t have a clear idea of who the community is for and what their needs are.
Jenny: Question #5…How much is TOO much programming?
Ashleigh: Again, I would say it’s about quality vs quantity. If you can only manage quality programming quarterly or every few months its best to concentrate on that. As you evaluate your various programs, ask yourself: What is the value prop of this program?
Jenny: Final few questions here…In the communities you work with, what’s one exciting program you’re looking forward to implementing next year?
Ashleigh: I’m looking forward to incorporating community into the overall customer journey and what that looks like, so I guess it’s not so much programming but more like community operations.
Jenny: In your experience, what’s a program that you’ll never ever do again, and why?
Ashleigh: A program where there is a visible disconnect between the leadership/board vs what the members want/ask for. It’s about prioritizing the needs and wants of your community against competing priorities.
Thanks so much to Ashleigh for being the special guest! If you want to know more about her work, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
We’ve got part 4 coming up on Monday, 10/24 with Tiffany Oda of Venafi, plus 1 more session after that. Mark your calendars for 11-11:30am Pacific every Monday in October!
**Heads up: LinkedIn does NOT provide a recording of audio events, so make sure you don’t miss this conversation!**
Need hands-on help with your community strategy for 2023?
Let’s chat! Contact me.
Check Out This Upcoming Event
10/19, The CoLab: A Half-Day of Strategic Planning & Collaboration, hosted by The Community Club. A free virtual event!
Series Recaps
Session #1 Recap: The Planning Before The Planning, with Steph Bennett
Session #2 Recap: Setting Goals & How They’ll Be Measured, with Todd Nilson
Session #4 Recap: Understanding Roadmapping in the Planning Process, with Tiffany Oda
Session #5 Recap: The Strategic Plan & Roadmap are Done! Now What? With Ilker Akansel