Take What You Need #4
November Edition
Happy Saturday!
This is my monthly roundup of valuable resources I’ve discovered and enjoyed—now shared with you! This month’s edition features insights on engagement, events, tools, and industry news. As the name suggests, dig in and take what you need!
But first…
Sometime in the month, I had a discussion with someone about engagement in this holiday season and she was of the opinion that the holiday season is when people should talk more, because if they are taking a break from work and all, then they are free to engage.
True! But from observation over the years, it’s common for engagement patterns to shift during this period. Keep in mind that while the community is a priority to you, members have other priorities and many times it’s not your community. And so even though they have more time, they will prioritize connecting with family and friends, disconnecting a bit from the online space, and stepping back from the constant stream of notifications.
So while members may check in, their focus might not be on engaging as actively as usual. Try to keep the expectations low but if it stays active, then enjoy.
Most of all, take care of yourself as well.
📚 Read
📖 Onboarding: Don't Leave Your New Members Hanging
📖 Engagement: How habits and routines can help you build a deeply fulfilling community that transforms your member’s lives
📖 Personal Branding: How spontaneity, authenticity, and humor helps Ahmad Fahim with Public Speaking
📖 A gift guide isn’t coming through from my end anymore, but here’s something that can suffice👇🏾
📺 Watch
Didn’t do a lot of video content around community this month but I connected with Brandon Iverson and he has a podcast and YT channel where you can learn from community experts who are actively building.
📼 Check out The Community Manager’s Podcast with Brandon Iverson
🎧 Listen
🎙️ Prefer to listen rather than watch? Here’s you go!
🗓️ Attend
📍11 December - Are corporate communities dying With Richard Millington
📍17 December - Mapping Out Your 2025 Event Schedule with Valentina Ruffoni (Learn how to design a strategic and captivating event schedule)
🧰 Tools
🛠️ I’ve talked about this AI tool in the past but let’s have it again. Cai is an AI search engine where thousands of community resources have been sourced, downloaded, and transcribed in various formats so it directs you to the most relevant resources. It’s a go-to tool for me whenever I need to be pointed to resources quickly. Check it out!
🛠️ Community Content Planner (use code ‘MUSINGS’ for 50% off)
🛠️ Free Community Audit Workbook
🗞️ News
(Big shoutout to Gareth Wilson for his recent community news roundup which has birthed this section)
📰 A Discord integration that transforms your Discord conversations into a branded community site that's searchable by customers and search engines. Plus 4 other news
📰 Hivebrite launched an enhanced mentoring feature that gives the option to pair participants based on criteria or self-selection. Plus 5 other news
📰 Just in time for your 2025 planning, the Community Roundtable published its annual State of Community Management report. Plus 4 other news
📰 If you use Circle as your community platform or plan to use it, they’ve been COOKING and have new features you may love. Plus 4 other news
Till next time, I appreciate you.