The fourth Monday of January is always celebrated as Community Manager Appreciation Day (CMAD), a day of recognizing the efforts of ALL community professionals! This year, CMAD takes place on January 24. If you’re wondering what YOU can do on this day, here are some suggestions:
For Community Executives or Leaders
Take the CMAD Pledge
Allow your community professional or team to take a paid personal development day, and sign this pledge with other business leaders who are making the same commitment.
Post a Tribute on LinkedIn or Other Social Channels
Write something up on social media to make a public declaration of your thanks to the community professional(s) at your company. Imagine if every CEO did this and the kind of awareness it would bring to our field. Here are some templated messages for LinkedIn, if you need some inspiration:
IF YOUR COMPANY HAS 1 DEDICATED COMMUNITY PROFESSIONAL:
Text to copy/paste: Today, on Community Management Appreciation Day, I'm proud to recognize the great achievements of our community manager, <tag the person's name here>! Our community is a valued and essential digital space for our customers, and it's a critical part of our business. It takes a special skill set to manage and run this space, and I want to thank <insert CM's first name> for everything he/she/they does to nurture and serve our members. Please join me in wishing him/her/them a Happy Community Management Appreciation Day!
Optional text to add to above...only pertains to public communities: If you'd like to experience our community first-hand, please visit: <insert URL>.
Hashtags: For the greatest reach on LinkedIn, you may add hashtags that are particular to your industry, or you may use some of these which are popular in the Community field: #community #communitymanagement #onlinecommunities
Image: If possible, add a picture/headshot of the CM, or perhaps a screenshot of the community home page.
IF YOUR COMPANY HAS A COMMUNITY TEAM:
Text to copy/paste: Today, on Community Management Appreciation Day, I'm proud to recognize the great achievements of our community team: <tag each person's name here>! Our community is a valued and essential digital space for our customers, and it's a critical part of our business. It takes a special skill set to manage and run this space, and I want to thank this team for everything they do to nurture and serve our members. Please join me in wishing them a Happy Community Management Appreciation Day!
Optional text to add to above...only pertains to public communities: If you'd like to experience our community first-hand, please visit: <insert URL>.
Hashtags: For the greatest reach on LinkedIn, you may add hashtags that are particular to your industry, or you may use some of these which are popular in the Community field: #community #communitymanagement #onlinecommunities
Image: If possible, add a picture/headshot of the community team, or perhaps a screenshot of the community home page.
For Any Community Professional
A Speaking Challenge
I invite you to join me in a personal challenge this year…I know that many of us seek and engage in opportunities to speak at Community events or conferences. In an effort to teach more people about the power of Community and the benefits of our field, I’ll be seeking at least 3 speaking opportunities OUTSIDE of this field. For example, I might look into events for B2B tech companies and pitch a session about Community.
Will you also challenge yourself to find a speaking opportunity in another field or industry? It may take a little research and time, but in the end, you’ll be helping to spread awareness of our entire field’s efforts. Also, if you DO end up doing this, please let me know as I’ll be keeping a list!
Offer Your Time
Use social media to get the word out that you’ll be offering up a specific amount of time, or number of slots, for people who want to talk to you about this profession or who just recently started in. Your knowledge and experience could have a direct impact on where their career path goes from here.
For Anyone
Reach out and thank a community professional on January 24. It could be a message to the person who runs your soccer mom group, or the manager of your workout accountability community, or anyone who makes an effort to unite a community. And if you don’t know of anyone, then you could just post “Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day” on social media!
Happy CMAD celebrations to all! I sincerely hope that this year brings more spotlight to community professionals than it ever has before. ❤️
CMAD Events
Check out these fantastic events taking place on Monday, January 24:
2022 Community Industry Awards - LIVE Awards Ceremony (hosted by CMX and Bevy)
Vanilla Conversations: CMAD Edition (hosted by Vanilla Forums & Higher Logic)
A win/win analysis: Community-led Customer Success with Nick Mehta (hosted by Insided)
Join Me Next Week For…
Need help managing your community but don't know where to turn to? Join me as I share how to recruit and incentivize volunteers for your community.
In this session, learn how to:
- Determine where you need the most help
- Identify your ideal volunteers (AKA Champions)
- Set the right expectations and incentives
Giveaway: Special prize drawing for 1 event attendee to win a private 1:1 session with me to discuss your community strategy. To be in with a chance to win, just ask me a question in the Livechat during the session 🎉
RSVP and join here ➡️ http://ow.ly/Pw2Y50HzawX
I love the pledges, Jenny. Nice way to acknowledge this day!