Hosting a forum for customers to help each other can significantly reduce support requests — and save companies heaps of money.

Have you wondered why your "talent community" (quotes intentional) isn't working? More to the point, have you had to explain it to your boss? I think the first issue for most of us is that we call it a community without understanding what a community really is. Here's a quick checklist to see if you really have a community or just a pretty mailing list.

I have yet to find a professionally satisfying "talent community." Why? Because "community" speaks to two-way conversation and most talent communities are email blasting tools with new labels on the tin. But I have to imagine that we must (by now) be on the precipice of actually getting talent communities right. Why? Because companies around the world are finding the value of building communities of customers and prospects, so that thinking will trickle down to us at some point. Right?

I will admit right now that I have yet to see a "talent community" which is actually more than just a mailing list and job posting spam. A community is a place where there is two-way interaction including between members, not just a set of targets to blast with email. (By the way, if you read that as "that's why I shouldn't build a community, you're missing the point: there's a huge opportunity here to build a community because everyone wants one and no one's done it right yet!) So it might make sense to take this opportunity, as you pivot the brand and figure out your strategy going forward, to think about getting serious about your own community.

If you're thinking about a CRM of some sort, here are the top reasons why people subscribe and unsubscribe to emails (and yes, they are VERY different lists)

"Learn more about how to shift and evolve your content marketing during and after a crisis, to speak to your community, get connected, and stay relevant."

Too many employer branding CRM strategies and campaigns feel like extensions of boring job postings. But outside of the EB world, the industry is learning how to optimize conversion rates by providing compelling micro-experiences. A big part of that is personalization, which means a lot more than “Dear [First_Name],”.

As a perpetual “outsider,” I struggle with the power of belonging when it comes to brand building (and advocacy, retention et al), but I have to assume there are many companies who actively want to create more sense of belonging as well as telling stories about what that means at that company.

Has anyone come across a legitimately good (not “good enough”) talent community? I still haven’t. But I have hope that it can be done, especially when I see consumer-side communities grow. Here are some examples on a strong community and how they got that way. P.S. the word “community” suggests two-way communication. P.P.S. If you think spamming people with open requisitions is a “valuable service,” try again.

Speaking of community, we’re not the only ones struggling with the idea that we want to get people excited to learn more about us before we have the right role open. Turns out, consumer brands are trying to figure out the same puzzle. The first question you should ask is: what can I help my community members do?