In Before The Lock is a podcast from Erica Kuhl and Brian Oblinger about community, customer experience, and leadership at scale. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and everywhere that podcasts are found.
π 30: A nice, big, warm hug between Marketing and Community
How Community and Marketing teams can partner together to attract new prospects, convert them into paying customers, and educate them about new product offerings to drive shared value.
Community Industry News:
Tesla shutting down their forum in favor of βsocial hubβ
Paola Johnson promoted to Head of Community & Customer Advocacy at Thoughtspot
Kerri Williams joins Workday as Manager, Community Experience
Job: Community Engagement Manager at Workday
Rachel Makool promoted to Director, Community Experience at GoDaddy
Leah Knowles promoted to Sr. Manager of Community Management & Programs at Alteryx
Trey Waddell promoted to Sr. Manager of Community Development & Operations at Alteryx
Job: Program Manager, Community Recognition Programs at Alteryx
Partnering with Marketing
Aftershow:
Sponsored by:
Hivebrite is an all-in-one community management platform that empowers organizations of all sizes and sectors to launch, manage, and grow fully branded private communities.
Commsor integrates with all the tools you already use, tying your community data together and enabling you to unlock insights, measure impact, and build a community-led company.
π 29: Post, vote, comment, ask a question, answer a question, or attend a user group
Defining, measuring, and executing community engagement programs to grow your community and achieve your business goals. Also, Peeps.
Community Industry News:
Engagement:
Programs:
Aftershow:
Sponsored By:
Grow your community and prove ROI with Orbit, the community experience platform that puts members first
Hivebriteβs Community Group Strategy eBook will help you understand the benefits of a group strategy, how and when to great a group, how to offer value, and tips to ensure success.
π 28: Keeping you out of prison
Partnering with Legal for all of your community needs, staying out of prison, and an egregious misuse of the Salesforce blue cloud logo.
Community Industry News:
Working With Legal
Sponsored by:
π 27: Content is Queen
Everything you need to know about building world-class content programs for your community, step-by-step.
Community Industry News:
Content is Queen:
Sponsored by:
π 26: Groupopolis
How to leverage Groups to strategically scale your community.
Community Industry News:
Groups:
Sponsored by:
Vanilla cloud-based customer community software. Drive loyalty, grow sales, and reduce service costs
Grow your community and prove ROI with Orbit, the community experience platform that puts members first
Piper Kuhl - the kuhlest dog around.
π 25: A Costco-sized warehouse full of Support Engineers
Working collaboratively with Customer Support to build a self-service community, ramping efficiency, and creating business value.
Working with Customer Support:
Sponsored by:
Vanillaο»Ώβs cloud-based customer community software. Drive loyalty, grow sales, and reduce service costs
π 24: Preparation meets opportunity
Erica and Brian revisit their 2020 predictions, discuss current trends, and look ahead to 2021.
Trends and Predictions:
Aftershow:
Sponsored by:
Localistβs community event platform gives you the tools to connect, grow and engage your community.
π 23: Be bold. Be brief. Be gone.
How to effectively engage Executives to sell the idea of community, gain their buy-in, and partner for success.
Gaining Executive Buy-In:
Sponsored by:
π 22: Lead with gratitude
A Thanksgiving Special: Extending gratitude and telling stories about people that changed our careers and lives forever.
Giving Thanks:
Our Sponsors: Khoros, Community Club, and CMX
You! Our Listeners!
Aftershow - Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes:
π 21: Everyone wants the big title
A special live episode recorded at Vanilla Conversations. Erica and Brian talk about their experiences as VPs of Community and what it takes to get to that level.
Related episodes:
Sponsored by:
Vanilla cloud-based customer community software. Drive loyalty, grow sales, and reduce service costs
π 20: Employees are customers, too
Enlisting, enabling, and motivating internal employees to take an active role in the success of your customer community.
Employee Engagement
Sponsored by:
Localistβs community event platform gives you the tools to connect, grow and engage your community.
Vanilla Conversations brings together practitioners from around the world to share their stories, their experiences and their knowledge.
π 19: Impostery
Erica and Brian take a break from election results to talk about imposter syndrome, mental health, and finding trusted confidants.
All the feels:
Sponsored by:
Community Club - Whether you're an experienced community manager, just starting out, a founder building a community-driven business, or just community curious, the club has something for you
π 18: Iβll take one Culture, please
Creating a culture in and around your community. Also, epic storytime with Erica and Brian β you donβt want to miss it.
Some personal news:
Creating culture:
Aftershow:
Sponsored by:
Vanilla Conversations brings together practitioners from around the world to share their stories, their experiences and their knowledge.
Localistβs community event platform gives you the tools to connect, grow and engage your community.
π 17: Minimum Viable Community
In this very special episode of the pod recorded live at CMX Summit 2020, Erica and Brian walk through the finer points of launching a new community using their free Community Launch Guide.
π 16: Presentations, networking, and food
A special live episode about community events - user groups, VIP events, and conferences - on Khorosβ new events platform.
Events:
Sponsored by:
Khoros Engage is back on October 14th, 2020 with virtual sessions for professionals looking to learn from brands leading the way in digital customer engagement.
π 15: Steer, edit, lock, remove, ban
Custom shirts for community pros, moderation best practices, and a role-play in which Erica drops the ban hammer on Brian.
Get Your Community Shirts!:
Moderation:
Sponsored by:
Khoros Engage is back on October 14th, 2020 with virtual sessions for professionals looking to learn from brands leading the way in digital customer engagement.
Localistβs community event platform gives you the tools to connect, grow and engage your community.
π 14: Close to the money
Erica and Brian answer the question βwhere should community live in an organization?β and detail the pros and cons of each department.
Where should the community live?:
Aftershow:
Sponsored by:
Localistβs community event platform gives you the tools to connect, grow and engage your community.
Khoros Engage is back on October 14th, 2020 with virtual sessions for professionals looking to learn from brands leading the way in digital customer engagement.
π 13: Get rid of your stupid hero
Data-driven community UI/UX design, best practices, and Brianβs hatred of ridiculously large hero images.
π 12: People are #1
Architecting a team, building culture, and leading people to be the best they can be. Also, epic rants by Brian.
Architecting a Team
Resource: Community Team Leveling Guide
Resource: Sample Community Org Structure
Resource: Community DACI
π 11: You get what you pay for
Translating your strategy into technical requirements, engaging with community platform vendors, and negotiating the best deal.
Pre-Show:
Brian doesnβt have COVID-19
Resource: Community Launch Guide
Platform Vendor Selection: