The Community-Led Growth Show

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