Navigating Community Management in 2025

The latest ACM State of Community Management (SOCM) report is out, offering a comprehensive snapshot of the industry’s evolution and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

ACM Director Venessa Paech was joined by Michael Puhala, Chief Community Evangelist at Khoros, and Larah Kennedy, General Manager for Quiip, at a webinar to launch this year’s State of Community Management findings for Australia and New Zealand. The panelists discussed key findings and shared their insights around the implications for the road ahead.

Community Now Business Critical

More organisations understand community is a longer-term investment and strategic asset.

A standout finding from this year’s SOCM report is that 67% of organisations now recognise community as integral to their success. This signals a clear shift: businesses are increasingly viewing community management as a core driver of sustainable growth, resilience, and customer engagement.

Michael highlighted the growing pressure on community teams to measure and articulate ROI, noting that “45% of community managers are now actively measuring ROI, with 14% demonstrating community-driven value exceeding $1 million.”

He added, “There’s more education needed in this space, but the numbers are encouraging.”

AI’s Double-Edged Sword

The panel underscored the disruptive impact of AI across the digital landscape. Michael stressed the importance of a human-centred approach to AI implementation in communities - focusing on improving member experience, personalisation, and engagement.

“Many platforms are racing to the bottom with AI, implementing it in ways that don’t meaningfully help community managers or users. AI should support both groups, particularly by automating repetitive tasks like spam detection and hate speech filtering.”

Larah added, “AI can help scale moderation, taking some of the heavy lifting off human moderators, especially with hate speech and spam detection. But we need to ensure it’s used ethically and effectively.”

Venessa pointed to the often skewed power dynamics around AI application - those community managers who can control and customise their technology feel more positive about its usage than those relegated to social media platforms or other tools where AI features are deployed top-down.

Some of the AI insights from the 2024 State of Community Management Report.

Misinformation Wildfires

Larah echoed the report’s findings that disinformation, misinformation, and online toxicity are on the rise, sharing experiences from Quiip’s community clients.

“With platforms like Meta reducing fact-checking resources and X becoming more unregulated, moderation is becoming more challenging - and more essential.”

Both Larah and Venessa highlighted the importance of proactive, not just reactive, moderation, particularly as Australia approaches a Federal Election.

Venessa observed: “This year’s moderation insights highlight both the rising challenges of misinformation and toxicity and the evolving toolkit available to address them. While AI can help scale moderation and alleviate repetitive tasks, human oversight remains essential. As stewards of online spaces, community managers must balance efficiency with empathy, ensuring their communities remain safe, trustworthy, and inclusive.”

Moderation insights from the 2024 State of Community Management Report

Evolving Identities

With increasing role specialisation - such as community operations, analytics and moderation - some believe the term “community manager” may no longer fully capture the scope of the profession.

Michael stressed that the focus should always be on impact, versus title.

“Titles will take care of themselves when we focus on the impact community brings to an organisation,” he said. “We’re seeing more executive-level roles like VP of Community and Chief Community Officer, reflecting the growing recognition of community’s strategic value.”

Larah reminded us that: “Language still matters because it influences how stakeholders perceive our roles. Clear and respected titles help establish visibility and credibility. There’s room for more standardised language across the industry.”

Looking Ahead

All three panelists encouraged community practitioners to embrace their roles as advocates and thought-leaders, particularly in the context of AI and digital governance.

“AI needs community more than community needs AI right now,” argued Michael. “Community is a fertile ground for trusted content, and organisations have a responsibility to invest in it.”

Venessa agreed: “Community management is technical, relational and cultural work. We’re in a unique position to not just inform, but help lead in the ethical application of AI.”

Get Involved

Download the full SOCM report for a deeper dive into these insights and explore community managers’ firsthand perspectives on what’s working, what’s not, and where the industry is headed.

Don’t miss All Things in Moderation in May 2025 - early bird tickets are available now!