The State of Communities 2018 Report We Asked 150 Community Experts from Around the World What Makes Communities Thrive This Year

The State of Communities 2018 Report We asked 150 community experts from around the world what makes communities thrive this year.

2018 Report Introduction — 3 THEY CALL THEMSELVES:*

THEY LEAD COMMUNITIES AT PLACES LIKE:

*Answers to question nr. 2 of the survey: WHICH TITLE BEST DESCRIBES YOUR JOB?

The State of Communities METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted in November & December 2017.

Expert inputs. We asked 20 experts on The goal was to capture the views the topics that occupied them most and condensed of people who build, those into a 22 question survey. The survey was then shared with a larger group of lead and manage communities. peers, experts and selected Survey. online communities. During November and December 2017, 150 people answered the questions. Their responses were analyzed and condensed It resulted in 10 findings that into 10 findings, divided into two overall topics. indicate the status quo and Analysis. In the survey, the order of the answers was future of what will make always randomized to avoid biases. The answers were also communities thrive in 2018 kept anonymous.

FINAL REPORT

The State of Communities 2018 Report Introduction — 7 A quick note from the editors: We also see the impact We’re falling in love that movements can have: with the internet again. #metoo has paved the way and many more grassroots Today, the myriad ways initiatives will follow. of connecting with each People take things back other result in unexpected into their hands, and it’s models of collaboration. actually working.

2018 is a year where we These are just some of the reflect on the platforms insights we gained this year. we engage with and We hope you find them form smaller, tighter- useful and join us for further knit communities. research in the future.

With love, Your friends at co-matter

The State of Communities 2018 Report Introduction — 9

Contents

Part 1 — THE STATUS QUO 14 Part 2 — THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITIES 36

1. ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGE WITH 16 6. NEW METRICS TO MEASURE 38 THEIR AUDIENCE TO GROW THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITIES

2. PEOPLE JOIN COMMUNITIES 18 7. PEOPLE CONNECT IN SPECIALIZED 42 TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER NICHE COMMUNITIES

3. A SHARED PURPOSE MAKES 22 8. COMMUNITIES THRIVE ON 46 COMMUNITIES THRIVE CLEAR VISION AND GOVERNANCE

4. COMMUNITY LEADERS ARE 26 9. PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH VIDEO 50 DISSATISFIED WITH THE STATUS QUO AND CURATED CONTENT

5. IT’S HARD TO MEASURE 32 10. IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, PEOPLE TAKE 54 THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITIES THINGS BACK INTO THEIR HANDS The Status Quo

Five findings that define what makes communities thrive today. Question: 1. WHY DO YOU ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE? (Multiple choice) ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGE WITH THEIR AUDIENCE TO GROW 62.8% GROWTH People who engage with me are more likely to recommend it to a friend or share it 54.5% RETENTION People who engage with me are more likely to become long-time customers 51.7% KNOWLEDGE People who engage with me give feedback and insights 62.8% of respondents say that the main on how I can improve reason they engage with their audience is to grow, meaning they hope to gain popularity, engagement and ultimately more members joining their community. 43.4% This number is closely followed by 54.5% CONTENT People who engage with me of people who cite retention as a key generate content that helps driver when it comes to investing in their communities. Retention indicates the extend my reach number of people who stay with your community once they have joined. While growth and retention are establis- 39.3% hed success metrics, knowledge stands REVENUE People who engage with me out of this category. 51.7% of respondents are likely to buy more of my stated that the feedback and insights they gain from community members is product / service important to them. This finding is a sign that more organizations are seeing the potential in involving their customers in important product decisions and becoming user-centric businesses.

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Status Quo — 17 Question: 2. WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE BECOME PART OF YOUR COMMUNITY? (Multiple choice) PEOPLE JOIN COMMUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 73.8% CONNECTION Meeting people who share the same beliefs and values

44.8% EDUCATION Learning a new skill

38.6% ACCESS Access resources like invite-only groups, job opportunities or discounts

73.8% of respondents believe that people join communities to connect with those who share the same beliefs and values. 35.9% RECOGNITION Being acknowledged Other factors include the desire to learn for their engagement something new (Education, 44.8%), the ability to access resources like invite-only groups or discounts (38.6%) and being acknowledged for their engagement and contributions (Recognition, 35.9%). 28.3% Meanwhile, only 13% believe monetary ENTERTAINMENT Being entertained by taking rewards are an incentive to join a com- part in the community munity.

As humans, we’re conditioned to be re- warded for our achievements. However, these rewards don’t necessarily form the basis of a community. What makes us join 13.1% a community is the promise of new and MONEY Earning money meaningful relationships, not monetary by being engaged incentives.

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Status Quo — 19 THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE Organizations build communities to grow. People join communities to connect.

How can a community meet both interests?

2018 Report The Status Quo — 21 Question: 3. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR A COMMUNITY TO THRIVE IN 2018? A SHARED PURPOSE MAKES COMMUNITIES 100 THRIVE

60 31.4% 5.5% SHARED PURPOSE TRANSPARENCY 20.0% 2.1% SENSE OF BELONGING LEADERSHIP

Having a shared purpose is the most im- 13.8% 2.1% portant element to making a community TRUST MONETARY GAINS thrive. 31.4% of respondents indicated FOR MEMBERS purpose-led communities are key to success in 2018, closely followed by 20% who believe that a sense of belonging makes the difference. 11.0% 20 PERSONAL GROWTH Respondents could only choose one ans- OF MEMBERS — wer for this question. The results show that strong communities are based on a set of shared beliefs. These 9.7% beliefs can be manifold: from backing a INCLUSIVITY 4.4% OTHER Kickstarter campaign to supporting poli- tical or religious movements. 10

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Status Quo — 23 A SHARED PURPOSE The running club from Danish beer brewer Mikkeller has become a global phenomenon.

United by both a passion to run and drink, over 12,000 MRC members worldwide meet regularly to run together and have a beer afterwards.

The State of Communities © Photos by Mikkeller Running Club Question: 4. WOULD YOU LIKE TO INCREASE YOUR AUDIENCE'S ENGAGEMENT NEXT YEAR? COMMUNITY LEADERS ARE DIS- SATISFIED WITH THE STATUS QUO 88.3% 6.9% 4.8% YES I'M HAPPY WITH UNDECIDED THE WAY IT IS

True or False: I’M SATISFIED WITH THE PLATFORMS I CURRENTLY HAVE ON HAND TO ENGAGE WITH MY AUDIENCE.

37.1% 36.5% 26.4% YES NO UNDECIDED

Almost 9 out of 10 respondents aim to in- Question: crease engagement of their audience this IF YOU COULD USE ONLY ONE PLATFORM TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE IN 2018, year. There’s a mere 0.6% difference bet- WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE? ween the people who are satisfied with the platforms they currently use (37.1%) and those who are dissatisfied (36.5%). The rest (26.4%) are undecided. When asked which one platform experts 18.1% 17.4% 64.5% would pick to engage with their audience INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK OTHER in 2018, the results are varied. Instagram GROUPS and Facebook groups are leading the way, but with just 18% each.

The results show that it has become increasingly hard to reach people today. As we communicate across a variety of channels and media (from text to images to video and everything in between), en- Facebook pages, Slack, Twitter, LinkedIn, gagement spreads over many layers that YouTube, Meetup, Medium, Eventbrite, become increasingly hard to manage. Google Groups, WhatsApp & more

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Status Quo — 27 Why Why people are people are satisfied dissatisfied with with existing existing platforms* platforms*

1. 1. ABILITY TO REACH PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE LACK OF OWNERSHIP The existing platforms are established communication Most platforms keep user data to themselves, making it channels that people already use and trust. impossible to reach an audience outside of this platform (e.g. via email). 2. PLENTY OF PRE-MADE TOOLS 2. From moderation tools to notifications, discovery BATTLE FOR ATTENTION algorithms and built-in notifications. Most platforms Algorithms define what people see on platforms. also integrate well with other platforms. It becomes increasingly uncertain whether your most important messages reach the audience. 3. VARIETY OF PLATFORMS AND USAGES 3. Different platforms serve different purposes. You use one TIME CONSUMING AND EXPENSIVE tool to send emails from, one to connect the members and Moderation tools are still in their infancy. another to share tips and tricks. Community leaders spend hours on monotonous tasks. More advanced tools come at high price points. *Based on qualitative answers from the survey.

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Status Quo — 29 TECHLASH An increasing amount of people are starting to question their relationship with technology in 2018.

What was once praised as the golden age of connectivity is now being criticized for its ethics, monopolies and lack of transparency and control.

Have you turned your screen to grayscale yet?

Turning your phone screen to grayscale is an initiative by Tristan Harris, Google’s former design researcher. He spearheads the Humane Center for Technology, a movement that aims to make everyday technologies such as phones and apps less addictive and deceptive.

The State of Communities True or False: 5. I FIND IT HARD TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF MY COMMUNITY. IT’S HARD TO MEA- SURE THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITIES 65.5% 20.0% 14.5% YES NO UNDECIDED

Question: WHICH OF THESE METRICS DO YOU BELIEVE IS MOST EFFECTIVE TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF YOUR COMMUNITY?

38.6% 20.0% 18.6% While social media platforms collect ENGAGEMENT QUALITATIVE ACTIVITY more and more data about people’s be- FEEDBACK havior, community leaders still lack the right metrics to quantify the effectiveness of their efforts.

65.5% of respondents find it hard to measure the impact of their communities. Only one in five people (20%) are satis- 6.9% 6.9% 4.8% fied with the metrics they have on hand. CONVERSION NET PROMOTER RETENTION SCORE Engagement leads the way as the metric that experts deem most effective in measuring the impact of their community. 38.6% believe that measuring the active participation of members is a key indica- 4.2% OTHER tor of a thriving community.

Qualitative feedback comes second with 20%. It’s worth noting that respondents find it more important than traditional marketing metrics such as conversion, retention and Net Promoter Score.

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Status Quo — 33 NOTHING IS FOREVER

We’re obsessed with keeping

& retaining users. Why don’t we let them go once their journey in our community is completed? The Future of Communities

Five findings that predict how communities will develop in 2018. Question: 6. WHICH OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES DO YOU PLAN TO USE MORE IN 2018? (Multiple choice) NEW METRICS TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITIES 59.3% DATA ANALYTICS

38.6% MARKETING AUTOMATION

Data analytics is on many community leaders’ roadmap for this year. 59.3% of 22.8% the respondents report that they plan to ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE be using data analytics more. Next to analytics, the community leaders are preparing to use marketing automation (38.6%), artificial intelligence (22.8%) and chatbots (22.8%). Meanwhile, hardly any of the respondents are planning to 22.8% use augmented reality (9.0%) or virtual CHATBOTS reality (2.8%). Growing and maintaining a community is a time-consuming task. Automation and chatbots promise community leaders to scale their time and effort. 9.0% Analyzing data sets provided by Face- AUGMENTED REALITY book, Google Analytics and similar tools might indicate best practices to grow the community and also provide new ways to measure the impact of their efforts. While data is promising, don’t forget the age-old saying: “Statistics are like bikinis. 2.8% What they reveal is suggestive, but what VIRTUAL REALITY they conceal is vital.”

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 39 DO YOU SPEAK HUMAN? In 2017, future living lab SPACE10 conducted a survey to understand how people feel about chatbots.

Nearly 90% of the respondents want their bot to behave like a human.

Apparently we’re still not ready to fall in love with robots.

© Photo by SPACE10 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 41 True or False: 7. IN 2018 PEOPLE WILL ENGAGE MORE IN SPECIALIZED, NICHE COMMUNITIES RATHER THAN ON LARGE, OPEN PLATFORMS. PEOPLE CONNECT IN SPECIALIZED NICHE COMMUNITIES

82.7% YES

Now that social media has become part of our daily lives, people are engaging more in specialized niche communities rather than large, open platforms. 82.7% of respondents believe that we’ll see a shift to smaller communities in 2018. 7.6% NO As community expert Fabian Pfortmüller puts it: “I’m convinced that the solutions to humanity’s disconnection lie not in all-encompassing global technologies, but rather by going back to the places where humans have always found belonging and relationships: in local groups, neighborhoods, schools, book circles, and community centers.” This trend is reflected by brand communities such as Rapha Cycling Club. RCC members pay a yearly fee to be part of the club, meet for early morning rides and converse in local chapters and clubhouses around the world. Rather than open meetups that are accessible to everybody, clubs like RCC are charac- terized by a barrier of entry and code of conduct that lead to stronger bonds between members and the brand. 9.7% UNDECIDED

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 43 RAPHA’S CYCLING CLUB Members of RCC pay a yearly fee to access weekly club rides, branded clothing and rent bikes.

RCC is built around local chapters, clubhouses in 21 cities, a code of conduct, shared identity and rituals.

The State of Communities © All Photos by Rapha True or False: 8. SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES HAVE A DEFINED SET OF GUIDELINES FOR THEIR MEM- BERS TO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER. COMMUNITIES THRIVE ON CLEAR VISION AND GOVERNANCE

59.3% YES

Movements can burn out just as fast as they can spread nowadays. What starts with an idea, voice and audience often lacks the 18.6% vision that engages people in the long NO run. Successful communities don’t hap- pen by chance. They’re built upon a clear set of guidelines for their members to interact with each other, something 60% of the respondents agree with. One such example is Sofar Sounds, a global movement that brings people together to experience live music in intimate settings. Started in 2009, it quickly expanded to other cities, where people began hosting intimate live concerts in their living rooms. The three friends who founded Sofar soon faced the challenge of defining clear guidelines while keeping enough freedom for local organizers to retain ownership. 22.1% UNDECIDED

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 47 GREAT LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT SETTING THE RIGHT GUIDELINES Sofar Sounds was founded in 2009 by three friends who wanted to resurrect the magic of live music.

It soon became a global movement with secret gigs and intimate concerts in 398 cities worldwide.

Rafe Offer, co-founder of Sofar, states: “Empowering people is an amazing thing and can change the world. But we need some guidelines, values and the ability to stick to them.

The combination of great leadership is setting those guidelines, but equally inspiring people and welcoming them on board if they believe in what those guidelines, values and culture are about.”

© Photo by Tabitha Swanson / Sofar Sounds 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 49 Question: 9. WHICH TYPE OF CONTENT DO YOU THINK WILL ENGAGE PEOPLE THE MOST NEXT YEAR? PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH VIDEO AND CURATED CONTENT

24.8% 4.8% VIDEO LIVE

24.1% 2.8% CURATED CONTENT GIFS Video is the preferred content to engage your audience with in 2018. Around 43% of the respondents recommended video if you combine traditional video with rising formats like Instagram Stories, snaps and live video. 13.8% 2.8% Youtuber Jack Coyne explains why video VERTICAL VIDEO TWEETS & FB POSTS is the best way to engage an audience: “Video provides the most direct and intimate line of communication between a creator and an audience.” Jack, who grew his audience to 170,000 subscribers in just a couple of weeks, con- 11.0% 1.4% tinues: “The key to great online video is EDITORIAL CONTENT PHOTOGRAPHY authenticity and consistency on the part of the creator. Audience engagement will grow naturally if the creator is genuinely excited by the stories they set out to tell and can publish with consistency.”

Curated content (24.1%) came second 8.3% 6.2% UNDECIDED place in ways to engage audiences this AUDIO year. In a world of information abundan- ce, we need trusted sources to curate and direct us through the noise. These efforts are often driven by single individuals who initially set out to solve their own problem with staying updated on topics that matter to them.

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 51 COMMUNITIES IN THE AGE OF DECENTRALIZED NETWORKS If you have difficulty understanding what the hype around blockchain and decentralization is about, take this as an example.

In the early 2000s, Wikipedia and Encarta competed to become the internet’s leading encyclopedia. Encarta was a far better product, with better topic coverage and higher accuracy.

But Wikipedia improved at a much faster rate, because it had an active community of volunteer contributors who were attracted to its decentralized, community- governed ethos.

By 2005, Wikipedia was the most popular reference site on the internet. Encarta was shut down in 2009.

CENTRALIZED DECENTRALIZED DISTRIBUTED

FIG. I – Centralized, decentralized and distributed networks

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 53 Question: 10. IN WHICH ONE AREA WILL AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? IN AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, PEOPLE TAKE THINGS BACK 100 INTO THEIR HANDS

80 25.5% 5.5% POLITICS & E-COMMERCE & CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT MARKETPLACES 13.1% 4.1% 60 BLOCKCHAIN & HEALTH & CRYPTOCURRENCIES QUANTIFIED SELF The survey’s final finding reflects the big societal shifts that we are facing in 2018. 13.1% 3.4% A large number of respondents display a CLIMATE CHANGE & CROWDFUNDING frustration with established systems: with ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES politics and citizen engagement leading the way (25.5%), respondents further be- 40 lieve that blockchain and decentralized systems (13.1%), climate change and en- 9.0% 2.1% vironmental issues (13.1%) and the sharing SHARING ECONOMY GAMING & economy (9%) depend on people’s enga- E-SPORTS gement to make an impact. As one respondent puts it: “We’ve seen what filter bubbles can do in the past two 7.6% years and people have started to realize 20 MOBILITY & that they can make a difference if they URBANIZATION join a community around a specific pur- — pose.” In an uncertain future, we take things back into our hands. The #metoo movement made a splash in late 2017 – many 6.2% more grassroots communities will take PUBLISHING & action to create change in their world. ENTERTAINMENT 10.4% OTHER 10

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 55 Which community will you initiate this year?

The State of Communities 2018 Report The Future of Communities — 57 ABOUT CO-MATTER co-matter explores what makes communities thrive.

We collaborate with people, brands and organizations worldwide to create meaningful connections.

If this is close to your heart please get in touch: [email protected]

EDITORS: Severin Matusek Kristoffer Tjalve

DESIGN: Catrin Roher ohboy-design.com

PROOFREADING: Brogues Cozens-McNeelance

WITH THANKS TO: Will Rowe, Jerry Michalski, Lisa Kennelly, Haje Jan Kamps, Maddie Sheesley, Lucy Pike, Alex Engelen, Emily McDonnell, Michael Jones, Eglė Duleckytė, Kara Kane, Fabio Carlucci, Ludwig Dumont, Ezra Eeman, Lærke Ullerup, Shamma Raghib, Csongor Bias, Pedro Alegria, Geza Molnar, Ankit Shah, Joke De Nul, David Spinks, Fabian Pfortmüller, Jack Coyne, Rafe Offer, Tomi Mester, Réka Forgach.

The State of Communities