Guest: Mark Kilens, CMO at Airmeet (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Mark shares:

• What the term “event-led” really means
• The many forms events can take: user groups, webinars, etc.
• Why events are one of the most impactful methods of marketing
• Some examples of organizations driven by event-led growth (like…The Grateful Dead(!))
• How strategically nurturing leads at small events helps organizations close deals at large, annual conferences
• How setting clear goals for community events allows for better measurement and more meaningful KPIs

Additional Links:

• Follow Airmeet on LinkedIn

Guest: Ashley Dodge, VP of Community at Copado

In this episode, Ashley discusses:

• How she came to lead Community for such a technical company without a technical background
• Her team’s quick pivot from support programming to a virtual online community and academy during the COVID pandemic
• How her team created programming to build relationships and engagement retroactively after membership grew overnight
• Copado’s community-led conference that highlights the work and wins of their members
• The unexpected success of the community’s Testing Buddies program
• How measurement expanded from education metrics to cost-reduction and revenue-related metrics.

Additional Links:

• Follow Copado on LinkedIn

Guest: Tali Leibowitz, Head of Community at Agave Health

In this episode, Tali talks about:

• Determining where to hire and what to hire for (spoiler alert: soft skills!)
• Hiring and managing from non-traditional Community Management backgrounds
• Unbiased hiring methods
• Balancing personality types in the team’s makeup
• Taking a listening-first approach and managing with trust
• Developing team members through human-first conversations, “I am remarkable” sharing sessions, and celebrating wins and lessons learned
• Community trends in AI and data analytics

Additional Links:

• Follow Agave Health on LinkedIn

Guest: Evan Hamilton, Director of Community at HubSpot

In this episode, Evan chats about:

• Assessing career opportunities for Community professionals growing in seniority
• Determining whether a Community role’s compensation range and package are fair 
• The SPACES model for measuring program impact and the parts he finds most compelling
• The value of tracking ROI, even when it’s imperfect
• How community is stepping into a space where traditional marketing and advocacy are faltering
• How he’s watching with interest as communities take on other formats, including VR

Additional Links:

• Subscribe to Evan’s newsletter: Community Manager Breakfast
• Follow HubSpot on LinkedIn

Guest: Emily Lonetto, Director of Community at Webflow

In this episode, Emily opens up about:

• Why Webflow set aside $10 Million for their Community Grants Program
• How they track value in a way that promotes ongoing investment in grants and some of their biggest wins
• How the Webflow community experiments with personas, segmentation, and triaging product feedback
• The importance of building bridges as a community team supporting PLG initiatives
• Her excitement for trends in sentiment data, co-creation, and community as a strategic function within companies

Additional Links:

• Follow Webflow on LinkedIn

Guest: Justin Levy, Director of Social & Influencer Marketing at Demandbase (at the time of this recording)

In this episode, Justin covers:

• The unique setup of Revenue Circle as a thought leadership community, distinct from Demandbase’s customer or marketing goals
• How and why his team maintains the community’s separation from brand and sales
• What led him to start incorporating silliness and fun into community conversations
• How he partners with influencers and thought leaders to bring value to the community
• The importance of building human relationships with community members in a 1-1 way and seeing members build relationships with one another
• Watching the trend toward more off-brand or “hosted-by” communities like Revenue Circle

Additional Links:

• Follow Revenue Circle on LinkedIn
• Follow Demandbase on LinkedIn

Guest: Katie Ray, Head of Community at Metadata

In this episode, Katie shares:

• The red lights and green lights she watched for when considering joining Metadata
• What it was like starting with the Metadata team, their process for growing the community with a member-led approach
• How the team’s very small, dedicated rollout of DEMAND led to huge engagement
• Why building a community for demand gen marketers can, in fact, change lives
• Reasons for creating the new Women in Marketing program
• Her preference for agile community building and building with heart over fearing mistakes

Additional Links:

• Follow Metadata on LinkedIn

Guest: Danny Pancratz, Director of Community at Unqork

In this episode, Danny discusses:

• Managing communities where the Community is the product 
• The career-building value niche communities offer their members
• Applying product management frameworks to community building
• Why community managers should be unafraid to tackle learning technical skills
• Measuring engagement: active users vs active engagement
• Meeting members where they are
• The intangible, immeasurable benefits of a well-managed community

Additional Links:

• Follow Unqork on LinkedIn

Guest: Camille Trent, Director of Content & Community at PeerSignal

In this episode, Camille covers:

• Her career expansion from content to community
• Building her role with intent by looking for a company that focused on quality, meaningful content, investment in community
• Her work turning PeerSignal’s audience into a true community
• Creating a “growth loop:” Allowing content to fuel community and vice versa
• PeerSignal’s strategy for measuring the overlapping success of content and community
• Trends in influencer marketing, owned communities, community tech, & decentralized audience building

Additional Links:

• Follow PeerSignal on LinkedIn

Guest: Arthur Castillo, Head of Dark Social & Evangelism at Chili Piper

In this episode, Arthur divulges:

• How Chili Piper company decided to approach a community strategy by sponsoring ones
• Embracing a “Seek to understand before being understood” philosophy
• Creating integrated marketing campaigns within sponsored communities
• Listening on third-party platforms as a retention strategy
• How measuring ROI matured from hypotheses to solid metrics
• The future of community consolidation and acquisition, as well as the rise of customer communities

Additional Links:

• Follow Chili Piper on LinkedIn

Guest: Laura Roth, Community & Marketing Consultant (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Laura shares insights about:

• Connecting the dots between community and leadership priorities
• Infusing community mindsets or moments into other business programming
• Working cross-functionally, particularly as remote work gains traction
• Building trust through the use of feedback
• The importance of paying attention to norms and inclusion when planning programs
• A future in which community supports a human side beyond the business

Guest: Christina Le, Social Media & Community Manager at OpenPhone

In this episode, Christina digs into:

• Her expansion from social media into a Community Management role
• What it’s like to create brand-focused content and then switch into a community mindset to build engagement
• Recognizing and overcoming imposter syndrome
• Using empathy and goodwill to drive engagement 
• Her vision for separating the roles and platforms as her company grows
• A trend toward online authenticity and advocacy

Additional Links:

• Follow OpenPhone on LinkedIn

Guest: Jeph Abu, Product Community Manager at AhoyConnect (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Jeph shares:

• His perspective on incorporating the full spectrum of diversity in community building
• His challenges in breaking into the Community Management space
• Tactical ways to improve community inclusivity
• The benefits to companies of truly embracing DEIB in their communities
• Alternatively, the pitfalls of companies not putting their money where their mouth is
• The value of feedback when things don’t go your way

Additional Links:

• Follow AhoyConnect on LinkedIn

Guest: Jocelyn Hsu, Director of Creator Community at Picsart (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Jocelyn shares:

• How she turned a recognition program into a thriving community
• How she finds and nurtures top creators
• The need to provide value and make content creation easy
• Reasons for maintaining an exclusive community 
• How her team sets goals and tracks value, including a biannual survey
• Trends in community consulting, DEIB, & using community strategies for internal groups like ERGs

Additional Links:

• Follow Picsart on LinkedIn

Guest: Tara Pawlak, Head of Marketing at GetAccept (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Tara talks about:

• What a decentralized community looks like
• The value of inviting all employees to engage in community efforts
• Supporting employees’ personal goals as a business strategy
• Establishing clear goals based on high-level strategies and iterating over time
• The future of micro-events and brand partnerships

Additional Links:

• Follow GetAccept on LinkedIn

Guest: Vera DeVera, Head of Community at Vareto (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Vera walks us through:

• What it means to optimize for trust and create a space where members feel seen and heard
• Her process for interviewing potential community members to learn what they need
• Connecting experienced professionals with rising stars
• Benefits of a hybrid approach (online and in-person)
• How personas are helping her drive advocacy
• The importance of “Asking for AIR – Advice, Information, and Referrals”

Additional Links:

• Follow Vareto on LinkedIn

Guest: Seth Wylie, Director of Customer Success Ops & Admin Community at Gainsight (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Seth explores:

• Transitioning from a subject matter expert role to managing a community for that role
• Value of Human-First community leadership
• Community members’ hunger for connection beyond resources
• Prioritizing programs that most matter to both the business and members
• How non-Community teams engage in community-building & how Community teams should play a role
• Continued trend toward virtual connection

Additional Links:

• Follow Gainsight on LinkedIn
• Gainsight’s CS Ops Central-Connect Community

Guest: Corrina Owens, Sr. Manager, Enterprise ABM at Gong (at the time of the recording)

In this episode, Corrina opens up about:

• The meaning and purpose of Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
• Marketing to champions while also multithreading within accounts
• How Gong’s community supports ABM through peer-matching and building soft-touch marketing relationships
• Community’s role in connecting with accounts on a personal level, not just a business level
• Doing well by doing good: recognizing and celebrating community members’ passions and successes – big and small
• Trends she’s watching, including creator-led community and AI

Additional Links:

• Follow Corrina on TikTok @featuring_corrina
• Follow Gong on LinkedIn

Guest: Leslie Greenwood, Founder & CEO at Chief Evangelist Consulting

In this episode, Leslie covers:

• Evangelists as advocates who tout value of their own volition
• Evangelism vs Community
• Finding evangelists through community engagement, product usage, NPS, & referral programs
• Nurturing evangelists through white glove experiences
• Best practices for setting up referral programs
• The trend toward a standardized definition of community

Additional Links

• Visit Leslie’s website
• Follow Chief Evangelist Consulting on LinkedIn

Guest: Tessa Kriesel, Head of Developer Relations at Snap

In the episode, Tessa discusses:

• Developer Relations (DevRel) role across developers’ journey from acquisition to adoption
• Strategy for connecting with developers, building goodwill, delivering support
• Similarities between developer experience and member experience
• “Measuring what matters” including developer feedback, use of resources, successful launch and sentiment, and adoption rationale 
• Trends in DevRel, including the hope that DevRel/Community gains a seat at the executive table

Additional Links

• Visit Tessa’s website
• Follow Snap on LinkedIn