2022 Report: Hope for the future, despite challenging times
Despite a challenging 2022, community managers are reporting stable salaries, recovering budgets and a greater sense of optimism than recent years, according to the 2022 ACM State of Community Management Report.
Community managers feel more understood and valued than ever, and a growing number are optimistic about the profession.
The sixth annual ACM State of Community Management Survey examines the who, what, why and how of online communities in Australia, and the practice of community management as a profession. ACM has conducted the research annually since 2015, to help benchmark community management practice, and the insights are regularly used by community and digital professionals, aspiring community managers, employers looking to invest in community, researchers, policy-makers and more.
The 2022 SOCM Report is supported by Higher Logic and Quiip, who help make this important work possible.
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Here are some of the key findings for 2022:
NFP/Social Cause, Media and Government are the leading sectors hosting online communities in Australia
The three top industry sectors investing in online communities are Health, Government and Technology
Knowledge building or sharing is the leading purpose for online communities
Online community managers are 72% female
36% of community managers are over 40
73% of community professionals are tertiary qualified
47% of community managers been working in community for at least five years
Victoria is the centre of the field professionally
The average salary for community professionals is $100,000 - $130,000 pa
61% of community managers work in-house for a single organisation, while only 2% work in an agency setting.
Only 1 in 3 community managers work to a documented strategy
35% of Australian communities have been active for five years or more
46% of online community practitioners say their role is understood and valued
93% of community managers invest in further education
78% % of community managers conduct post-moderation and reactive moderation in their communities
25% of community managers deal with misinformation as a key moderation issue
73% of community practitioners work outside a traditional office
The full report contains detailled information on:
Demographic data
Salary benchmarking data
Which platforms community managers are using
The industries investing the most in online communities
The primary business case for online communities in Australia
How much revenue online communities generate for Australian organisations
Key challenges and risks for online community managers in Australia; and more.