The 2023 Community Industry Trends Report

Key Findings

#Uncertainty

Community professionals are confronted with economic uncertainty.

Only 44% of respondents believe their organization will be increasing their investment in community, down from 62% last year. 59% of community professionals are concerned about losing their job.

#Shortage

Community teams are shrinking – and they’re asked to do more.

Community teams are smaller than ever, with only 54% of teams reporting they have at least two full-time people on the team. At the same time, community professionals are more likely to report they only have one moderator for their message board and they’re managing events in-house.

#Impactful

Communities’ positive impact to the business is increasing, despite the rough economic landscape.

Half of respondents consider their communities to be very/extremely successful at impacting business goals, up from 43% last year. 80% report community has had a positive impact on the business and 79% say they have seen increased interest in community from other departments in their organization in the past 12 months.

#Technology

30% of communities are using 5+ tool in their tech stack, but there are signs they still aren’t getting what they need.

Yet only 36% are using a tool for community/ automation and 42% of community pros say their organization has a CRM, but it does not connect community and customer data.

#Hybrid

Both in-person and virtual events are staples for communities.

Not surprisingly, the percentage of those who host in-person events has doubled since last year while the percentage of communities who host virtual events remains steady. While respondents believe in-person events are better for 1:1 connections and business impact, they think virtual events are better for their community and for bringing in diverse audiences.

#Commited

Community pros are committed to this industry despite challenges.

This year we uncovered the top areas where community professionals want to see improvement: salary, having sufficient budget and staff, and making an impact. That said, the majority of community pros are happy in this industry and plan to remain in this field for at least the next two years.