1 - Why bother hiring a community consultant/strategist?
Can't you just do the work yourself?
Maybe, but then why haven't you done it already?
You didn't have the time, skillset, resources, or it was never a priority.
#CMGR
Can't you just do the work yourself?
Maybe, but then why haven't you done it already?
You didn't have the time, skillset, resources, or it was never a priority.
#CMGR
2 - As a result, many #CMGR folks are so busy 'doing the work' they don't realise their communities often aren't making anywhere near the progress they should be making.
They often fall far behind best practices, struggle to gain internal support, and disappoint members.
They often fall far behind best practices, struggle to gain internal support, and disappoint members.
3 - Often they keep doing the same activities over and over again without any idea if a) they are the right activities and b) if they are actually working.
A consultant should be the catalyst that gets your community unstuck by facilitating a strategy/developing new processes.
A consultant should be the catalyst that gets your community unstuck by facilitating a strategy/developing new processes.
4 - If you haven't made tremendous progress in the community in the past year, there's probably a reason. And a consultant and a revamped community strategy can really help take you there.
4 - Sometimes I get "I can't hire a consultant, I'm supposed to be the expert".
Read around and you will notice the world's best in almost any field hire coaches and consultants to help. Admitting what you don't know and getting help is what takes you to the next level.
Read around and you will notice the world's best in almost any field hire coaches and consultants to help. Admitting what you don't know and getting help is what takes you to the next level.
5 - The prime use for consultant in community is the strategy. The common mistake in developing a strategy is to get a free template from somewhere and begin filling out the boxes. At the end you share it with your team expecting their approval.
6 - This almost always a waste of time. You can’t write a strategy in isolation for an unsuspecting audience and expect them to swallow it whole when it’s published.
That's simply not how it works.
That's simply not how it works.
7 - A great community strategy isn’t written, it’s facilitated. You set up collaborative processes to educate and solicit the opinions of your stakeholders. You bring everyone on the journey with you.
8 - You get people into the same room (or Zoom call) to discuss competing priorities, the trade-offs, and build a consensus about where and how to move forward.
9 - This also means you won’t get everything you want. That’s how collaboration works. You compromise. The theoretical best strategy and the best strategy with the resources, permission, understanding, and attitudes within the organisation are often very different.
10 - Yet, the final strategy document should never be at risk of rejection. It’s simply the outcome of the discussions and decisions you’ve guided your colleagues through so far.
11 - This is why it might be best to hire an outside consultant. This is a time-intensive process and is a very different skill set from simply managing a community (it also helps to an experienced independent partner guiding this process).
12 - A great strategy should feel like a breakthrough. All the critical decisions have been made. Everyone should be aligned on the community’s value, everyone should know what they need to do to support the community, and everyone should be excited to make it happen.
13 - And, believe me, when you've already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into your community already, having a great strategy driving it forward is worth far more than whatever the consultant will charge.
