2024 CMX Community Industry Report

THE 2024
CMX Community
Industry Trends Report
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Executive Summary
Welcome to the 2024 CMX Community Industry Trends Report!
Since 2017, we've been conducting this research and diving deep into the world of
community to see how it's changing and how businesses are building them. Our
survey is open to anyone in the industry, from all corners of the globe. While we aim
for a diverse sample, most of our respondents hail from the tech world. This year,
we’re thrilled to see more international voices joining in, though the majority are still
based in the U.S.
It's been a tough year for our industry, and I’m sure many of you don’t need a report
to know that. In the past 12 months, 37% of respondents have experienced layoffs
either personally or through a team member.
But I’ll offer you a silver lining: Despite these challenges, most community
professionals are feeling optimistic and satisfied, and plan to stick around in this
field.
More good news: Community continues to be a business essential. Community pros

are confident that their organizations will ramp up their investment in community
over the next year.
For the first time, we asked about your thoughts on the future of Artificial Intelligence
in our industry. The majority of our respondents are excited about AI's potential and
believe it will have a positive impact. The future is bright, and I can’t wait to see how
community flourishes with AI’s help.
We’ve also seen a surge in creative strategies and innovative approaches to building
and maintaining communities. From virtual events to personalized member
experiences, community managers are pulling out all the stops to keep their
members engaged and connected.
A big thank you to everyone who took our survey this year. We hope you find this
research valuable and actionable. Most importantly, we hope it helps you build more
successful and meaningful communities for your members.
Beth McIntyre
Director of Community
Bevy/CMX
Key Takeaways
Community teams are small but scrappy.
1 16% report having no full-time team members dedicated to

their community, the highest ever recorded. However,
community teams are increasingly involved in activities like
running chapter-based programs and designing community
products and experiences.
Lack of budget is an increasing concern.
2 Investment in the community is decreasing and community

professionals are increasingly frustrated with lack of budget.
However, respondents continue to report that their
community has a positive impact on the organization.
Layoffs are common, but community professionals
3 plan to stay.
37% have been affected by layoffs, yet they are less
concerned about job loss than last year. Only 11% want to
switch fields.
Communities are having more success with
4 consistently engaging members.

While engaging members is a common challenge, this is
something that only 34% report (compared to 55% when we
first asked this question in 2020).
3 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

Key Takeaways
Communities are hosting a mix of asynchronous and
5 synchronous programming.
84% host asynchronous online forums, chat rooms and
message boards and 70% host conferences and/or events. Of
those who host events, 83% host virtual events and 60% host
in-person events.
Community professionals are excited about AI and
6 are actively using it.

73% of respondents are using AI for their community, most
commonly to help them create content. The vast majority
(93%) are excited to learn more about AI.
Communities continue to have a positive impact on
7 the organization.
83% believe community is core to their company’s mission
and 79% report their community has had a positive impact on
their organization's objectives over the past 12 months.
Community-led events are increasingly common.
8 47% of respondents report that at least some of their events

are community-led, up from 39% last year.

Table of Contents
6. About this Report
Methodology
Respondent Snapshot
15. Community Programs

Members
Asynchronous
Synchronous
22. Community Teams

Team Organization
Impact, Interest, and Investment
29. The Business of Community

Business Objectives
Quantifying Value
Measuring Community Health
35. The Community Professional

Layoffs
Job Satisfaction
Frustrations
A note about Salary and Budget
39. The Future of Technology

Artificial Intelligence
43. What Comes Next

Support from CMX and Bevy
Acknowledgements
About this Report
Methodology
The 2024 CMX Community Industry Trends Report shares
findings from a survey of 560 community professionals
who completed our online survey between April 25 and
June 22, 2024.
To collect responses for this report, we used multiple

avenues:
Outreach from our partnered organizations (pg. 46)
Outreach from partnered individuals in the industry
(pg. 46)
We shared the survey across the CMX community in
our Facebook group, Slack, and email list.
74% of respondents said they work on community for an

organization either full-time or as part of their job. 17% of
respondents said they are community
consultants/freelancers, which is up from 7% in 2023.
The vast majority (55%) of respondents said they work in

the technology industry, while the professional services,
finance, healthcare, media, consumer retail, education,
gaming, nonprofit, and government industries made up
37% of responses. 8% selected “other.”
While some of this year’s questions were new, many were

repeated from past surveys. Throughout the report, we’ve
highlighted interesting changes in the value of community
and changes in our industry over time.
For some questions, respondents had the opportunity to

provide written answers. These responses were analyzed in
relation to how long the respondents have been in the
industry and their current role level or title, and have been
shared where relevant.

Respondent Snapshot
We asked a series of questions to better understand our pool of data
and to segment responses throughout the report for more detailed
insights.
Which option best describes your level?

Sample Size: 486
Associate/Specialist 19%
Manager 40%
Director 17%
VP 1%
Executive/C-Level 4%
Founder 14%
Other 5%
How many years of experience do you have as a community

manager/professional?
Sample Size: 283
Less than 1 year 7%
1 - 2 Years 16%
3 - 4 Years 26%
5 - 7 Years 17%
8 - 9 Years 10%
10+ Years 24%

Respondent Snapshot
The makeup of respondents has shifted compared to last year, with more
professionals working as in-house consultants, freelancers, or unemployed
compared to full-time in-house community professionals. For those who
shared that community is part of their job, we asked them to include what
else they work on in addition to community.
Please describe the nature of your community building work.

Sample Size: 560
2024 2023
I work on community 52%

for an organization full time 62%
Community is part of my 22%

job for an organization 26%
I'm a community 17%

consultant/freelancer 7%
I was a full time employee 9%

working on community
but am currently unemployed. 5%
What else do you work on in addition to community?

Answered only by those who indicate community is part of their job.
Marketing 50%
Communications 41%
Content Creation 39%
Product development 32%
Social Media 26%
HR/People ops 12%
PR 10%
Other 35%
“Other” responses included Customer Success (21%), Events (15%),

Sales (13%), Partnerships (5%).

Demographics
While the majority of our respondents are from the United States, we
saw a decrease since 2023 (down to 42% from 57% in 2023). We also
received fewer responses from the UK (down to 6% from 9% in 2023),
and an increase from India (up to 8% from 2% in 2023).
In which country do you currently reside?

Sample Size: 532
We also asked respondents to share their gender. Nearly two-thirds

(62%) of the community professionals who responded to our survey are
female.
How do you describe yourself?

Sample Size: 326
2% 2%
Female
Male
34%
Non-binary/third gender
Prefer not to say
62%

Demographics
We asked respondents to share their racial or ethnic identity, and for
the first time, we asked them to share their age. All demographic
questions were optional.
What is your racial or ethnic identity?

Sample Size: 319
White 61%
Hispanic or
10%
Latino/a/x
Black or African
8%
descent
South Asian 6%
East Asian 5%
Southeast Asian 5%
Multi-racial 3%
Middle Eastern 2%
Other 4%
How old are you?

Sample Size: 329
18 - 24 years old 4%
25 - 34 years old 35%
35 - 44 years old 36%
45 - 54 years old 18%
55 - 64 years old 6%
65+ years old 1%

Company Breakdown
Each year, we ask specific questions about the organization and
community size and tenure. The number of respondents reporting that
their community has existed for 5+ years has increased from 25% in
2023 to 49% in 2024.
Approximately how long has your organization's community existed?

Sample Size: 441
Less than 1 year 11%
1 - 2 Years 21%
3 - 4 Years 19%
5+ Years 49%
Approximately how many total members are in your community?*

Sample Size: 457
1 - 99 10%
100 - 999 27%
1,000 - 9,999 26%
10,000 99,999 22%
100,000 - 499,999 5%
500,000 999,999 4%
1,000,000+ 6%
* We have cross tabulated this question with

a question about moderators on page 17.

Company Breakdown
As we see each year, respondents come from a range of company
sizes. This year we also see an increase in those who are a one-person
business. This may be because there are more consultants in the mix.
What is the estimated annual revenue for your company?

Sample Size: 496
Under 1 million 39%
1 million to
18%
9.9 million
10 million to
15%
99.9 million
100 million to
7%
499.9 million
500 million to
3%
999.9 million
1 billion+ 18%
Approximately how many employees does your organization

have worldwide?
Sample Size: 496
1 7%
2-9 15%
10 - 49 20%
51 - 200 16%
201 - 500 12%
501 - 2,000 12%
2,001 - 5,000 6%
5,000 - 10,000 2%
More than 10,000 10%

Industry
An overwhelming majority of our respondents work in the technology
industry.
Which of the following most closely describes the industry you work in?
Sample Size: 493
Technology 55%
Professional Services 11%
Education 8%
Nonprofit 5%
Media 4%
Gaming 3%
Finance 2%
Healthcare 2%
Consumer Retail 2%
Other 8%
Top “other” responses included Healthcare, Venture

Capital, Entertainment / Music, HR.

Community
Programs
Now that we have a better idea of who our respondents are,
and the types of organizations they work for, we’ll take a
closer look at community programs. Communities offer a
range of programming to support their members, and this
section goes into more detail about how these programs are
being organized.
What you’ll find in this section:
Members
Who participates in communities
Asynchronous programming
What kind of events communities are running
How community teams are managing their event
programs
The event platforms being used in our industry
Synchronous programming
What kind of online programs communities are
running
How community teams are managing their online
programs
The platforms being used in our industry

Community Programs
Members
Members are at the core of every community - regardless of the
programs, the business objectives, or the metrics. We asked our
respondents about who specifically makes up their community.
Who participates in your community?

Sample Size: 348
Customers 71%
Employees 56%
Users 53%
Advocates 44%
Industry Members 38%
Developers 36%
Volunteers 23%
Influencers 22%
Alumni 15%
Other 8%
Ticket holders/owners 4%
We asked this question for the first time in 2021, and every year
since then, Customers continue to be the number one
participant in our respondents’ communities.

Programming
We asked respondents to share information about the types of
community programming they offer, who participates, and who is
responsible for running these programs.
What type of programs does your community host?

Sample Size: 404
Online forums, chat rooms, or message boards 84%
Conferences and/or live events 70%
Member-hosted events/Community-led
50%
chapters/User Groups
Customer advocacy programs 31%
Customer advisory board 25%
Office hours 22%
Self-paced courses 21%
Other 6%
The types of community programming stayed fairly consistent from 2023 to

2024, with a slight uptick In Conferences and/or live events (from 65% In 2023 to
70% In 2024).
The Three Level

Framework
Check out CMX’s

Three Level Framework to learn more about
community programming and community
strategy!

Asynchronous Programming
Of the 84% of respondents who host online forums, chat rooms, or
message boards, we asked the following questions. Year over year, we can
see that programs managed entirely by an in-house team is down, while a
mix of in-house and community-led is up! More communities are passing
the torch to their super members.
What best describes how you manage your online forums/message boards?
Sample Size: 334
2024 2023
In-house: All of our forums or message 46%

boards are started by
me/employees/community managers 61%
We have a mix of In-house 46%

and community-led forums
or message boards 31%
Community-led: All of our

8%
community programs are started
by community members 8%
What platform(s) do you use to host your community

forums/message boards?
Sample Size: 363
Top Ten
Slack 25%
Whatsapp 21%
Discord 16%
Facebook group 12%
Discourse 9%
Linkedin group 9%
Platforms with fewer than 5% of
responses include: InSided, Higher Logic
Custom/Built In-house 9% Vanilla, X Communities, Mighty Networks,
Influitive, Higher Logic Thrive, Hivebrite
Salesforce 8% Platforms with fewer than 1% of responses

include: Crowded, Forumbee. Geneva,
Jive, Mobilize, Higher Logic Thrive
Circle 6%
Khoros Communities 6%

Asynchronous Programming
We asked how many moderators these online forums and/or message
boards have, and compared this with the number of total community
members. We hope this will be helpful for those looking to maintain or
launch moderator programming.
How many moderators do you have for your forums and/or

message boards and approximately how many total members are in your
community?*
Moderators Sample Size: 334 38%
Community size Sample Size: 457
Number of
moderators
Number of
members 1 - 999 1,000 - 9,999 10,000-99,999 100,000+
1 40% 34% 15% 9%
2-4 50% 48% 51% 26%
5-9 6% 13% 21% 28%
10 - 24 4% 2% 10% 23%
25 - 49 0% 1% 4% 14%
Looking to launch
a moderator program for your community?
Learn how!

Synchronous Programming
Of the of respondents who host conferences and/or
live events, and member-hosted events/ community-led chapters/
user groups, we asked more questions about these event programs.
What best describes how you manage your events?

Sample Size: 225
2024 2023
In-house: All community event 53%

programs are run by
employees or contractors 62%
We have a mix of In-house and 38%

community-led programs
29%
Community-led: All of our event 9%

programs are run by community
members and local chapters 9%
Year over year, we see the same trend with event programming as we did
with online forums and message boards. Event programs managed
entirely by an in-house team is down, while a mix of in-house and
community-led is up! And, of those who have community-led events, one
third started them within the past year.
How long has your community had community-led chapters?

Sample Size: 102
22%
21%
17%
15%
11% 10%
4%
Fewer than 6 - 11 1-2 3-4 5-9 10 - 14 15+

6 months months years years years years years

Synchronous Programming
Year over year, we see an increase in communities hosting in-person
events (from 29% in 2022 to 60% in 2024), and virtual events taking a
small dip (from 90% in 2022 and 2023 to 83% in 2024).
What type of events did you host for your community in the
past 12 months?
Sample Size: 275
2024 2023 2022

90% 90%
83%
60% 59%
35% 34%
29% 28%
Virtual In-person Hybrid
What platform are you using to host community events?

Sample Size: 258
Top Ten
Zoom 65%
Bevy 29%
Other 17%
Google Hangouts 12%
Eventbrite 11%
Microsoft Teams 11%
Luma 10%
Top *other* responses included Discord, Google
Meet, Mighty Networks, Facebook, and Slack
Meetup 8%
Platforms with fewer than 0.9% of responses
include: HeySummit, Inevent, Accelevents,
Circle 7% Goldcast, Linkedin, Slack, Get Sessions, Hopin,
Brella.io, Localist, On24, Run the World, Whoa,
Cvent 4% Gatherly, Vfairs, Butter, and Remo

Community
Teams
This section dives into the specifics of how

community teams are organized, and how popular
community functions and tasks are spread across
teams.
Team Organization
Which department community teams are part of
Number of employees working on community
Community functions and team roles
How organizations are feeling about community

How community teams are impacting business
objectives
Respondents’ sentiment around their organizations
investment in community

Community Teams
Team Organization
We asked a series of questions to better understand how
community teams are being organized, and how they’ve been
growing year over year.
What department is your community team part of?

Sample Size: 324
Marketing 32%
Community 18%
Customer Success/
17%
Support
Product 7%
Communications 5%
Engineering 2%
HR 2%
Our company does not

10%
have a formal sructure
Other 11%
Approximately how many employees work full time on

your community team?
Sample Size: 390
2024 2023 2022
40% 41% 41%

36%
31%
30%
16%
12%
9% 8% 10%
8% 8%
5% 5%
We don’t have anyone

1 2-5 6 - 10 11 +
who is full time
This year, 16% of respondents reported they don't have anyone who is
full time on their community team, which is the highest it's ever been.
This could be a sign that community teams are being stretched and
not being prioritized.

Team Organization
While 18% of our respondents work in dedicated community
departments, the majority are part of other departments, with
marketing being the most common (32%). Regardless of their
department, there's a difference in how community work is
distributed among teams.
We asked respondents to indicate if each responsibility had a

dedicated person, if it was part of someone's broader role, or if it
wasn't a focus at all.
Which of the following roles do you have on your community team?

Sample Size: 390
This is someone’s This is part of We do not

full-time role someone’s role do this
Engages directly with

41% 57% 2%
the community
Develops the community

40% 57% 3%
strategy
Focuses on operations
35% 60% 5%
and processes
Designs community
products and 30% 59% 11%
experiences
Runs in-person or
29% 60% 11%
virtual live events
Grows community
25% 58% 17%
through marketing
Develops education
20% 56% 24%
and training
Runs chapter-based
19% 43% 38%
event programs

Team Organization
When comparing these community functions year over year, we gain
insight into the diverse functions and responsibilities that contribute
to the successful management and growth of community initiatives.
Engaging directly with the community continues to be the most

popular function, with community strategy being a close second. The
significant increase around focusing on operations and processes
from 29% in the previous year underscores its importance in handling
the complexities of community management and ensuring smooth
operations.
Community Functions: Year-Over-year Comparison

The percentage of those who answered “This is someone’s full-time role” to the question “Which of the following
roles do you have on your community team?”
2024 2023 YoY change
Engages directly with

41% 38% +8%
the community
Develops the community

40% 36% +11%
strategy
Focuses on operations and

35% 29% +21%
processes
Designs community
30% 24% +25%
products and experiences
Runs in-person or
29% 22% +32%
virtual live events
Grows community through

25% 20% +25%
marketing
Develops education and

20% 18% +11%
training
Runs chapter-based event

19% 15% +27%
programs

Team Organization
We asked respondents what their individual role is within the community. It
is interesting to note that almost all of the categories below have an
increase, yet community teams are not getting bigger. This could be a sign
that teams are doing more with the same or less.
What is your role with your community?

Sample Size: 413
2024 2023
I engage directly with 85%

the community
78%
81%
I build the community
strategy 78%
I lead the community 57%

team 58%
I run chapter-based 33%

event programs 21%
I focus on operations 66%

and processes 63%
I design community products 62%

and experiences 51%
I run in-person or 57%

virtual live events
53%
I develop education 38%

and training
38%

We asked respondents about the impact of their community on their
organization. We can see that there is more optimism than last year but it
hasn't rebounded to how respondents were feeling in 2022, even though
community continues to have a positive impact.
“Our organization will be increasing our investment in community

over the next year.”
Sample Size: 352
2024 2023 2022
Agree: 47% Agree: 44% Agree: 62%
“Community has had a positive impact on our organization's objectives

over the past 12 months.”
Sample Size: 351
2024 2023 2022

Interest in community from other departments is at its lowest point in the
last three reports. We are curious to see if this is a blip or if it will be a trend.
And even though interest is dipping, community continues to be core to the
company's mission.
“I have seen increased interest in community from other departments in my

organization in the last 12 months.”
Sample Size: 350
2024 2023 2022
“Community is critical to our company's mission.”

Sample Size: 352
2024 2023 2022

The Business of
Community
Generally speaking, building a brand community
serves entities: Its members and the business or
organization, and whatever you build need to provide
for both. This next section measures how our
respondents are measuring and impacting business
goals
Top Business Objectives and Metrics

The SPACES Model
Popular metrics communities are using to track business
objectives
Impacting Business Goals

How communities are finding success In Impacting
business goals
Quantifying Community Value

How communities are quantifying community value
How much business value communities are driving
Measuring Community health

Popular metrics communities are using to measure
their community’s health

The Business of Community
The SPACES Model
While every community serves a unique purpose, the business
value communities typically provide can be grouped under a few
key objectives.
At CMX, we use the SPACES model to categorize these objectives.

This model Is based on the CMX team’s work with hundreds of
companies, as well as Insights from our community members.
We asked a series of questions to better understand how community

teams are impacting their company’s business goals, and which
metrics they use to prove their value. Support and success for
customers and users are the top objectives this year, followed closely by
customer retention and acquisition.
S Support for customers/users

(e.g., members answer questions for each other)
P Product feedback
(e.g., get Ideas from members on how to Improve the product)
A Acquisition/marketing
(e.g., use the community for leads, new customers, brand advocates)
C Content creation
(e.g., members create content to help the community)
E External engagement/retention
(e.g., increase customer loyalty and rentention)
S Success of customer/user success

(e.g., customers provide eduction and teach each other how to best use the product

We asked a series of questions to better understand how community
teams are impacting their company’s business goals, and which
metrics they use to prove their value. Support and success for
customers and users are the top objectives this year.
Which is your top business objective for your community?

Sample Size: 352
S Support for customers/users

(e.g., members answer questions for each other)
24%
P Product feedback
(e.g., get Ideas from members on how to Improve the product)
5%
A Acquisition/marketing
(e.g., use the community for leads, new customers, brand advocates)
20%
C Content creation
(e.g., members create content to help the community)
8%
E External engagement/retention
(e.g., increase customer loyalty and rentention)
21%
S Success of customer/user success

(e.g., customers provide eduction and teach each other how to best use the product
24%
Top Three Objectives: Year-Over-year Comparison
2024 2023 2022
Support/Success Acquisition/Success Support/Success

1 (24% each) (22% each) (24% each)
2 External Engagement (21%) Support (21%) Acquisition (19%)
External Engagement
3 Acquisition (20%) External Engagement (18%)
(20%)

So how do communities know if they are impacting their top
objective? Below is a list of the most common metrics that are
used to mapped to each objective.
Which metrics do you use to measure the business impact of your primary
objective?
Sample Size: 309
Objective Top Metrics
Active users (41%)

Customer/user Case deflection (40%)
support Customer satisfaction (37%)
Cost savings (32%)
Product ideas (62%)

Feature adoption (46%)
Product feedback New user/member signup (31%)
Customer satisfaction (23%)
New customers (47%)

New prospects or leads (42%)
Marketing/sales/user
Active users (36%)
acquisition Revenue influenced by community efforts (36%)
New user/member signup (35%)
New user-generated content (48%)

Conversation engagement (44%)
Content creation New user/member signup (41%)
Net Promoter Score (33%)
Customer retention (62%)

Active users (45%)
Customer retention Customer satisfaction (38%)
Net Promoter Score (35%)
Customer retention (41%)

Active users (40%)
Customer/user
Customer satisfaction (39%)
success Conversation engagement (39%)

Impacting Business Goals
We’re thrilled to see that 81% of our respondents claim they are
somewhat or very successful at impacting their business goals. Though
there are still 19% that don’t see or are unable to prove their impact.
How successful do you consider your community to be at

impacting business goals?
Sample Size: 456
Very Successful 29%
Somewhat Successful 52%
Neither successful or
13%
unsuccessful
Somewhat unsuccessful 5%
Very unsuccessful 1%
Those who reported they are very successful at impacting business

goals are doing some notable things differently:
Their community is tied to a greater purpose: These respondents

were more likely to report that community is critical to their
company’s mission (pg. 25)
They are staffing their teams: These respondents are more likely to
have least two full time people working in community (pg. 20)
They are relying on community members: These respondents

reported more member and volunteer-led community programming
(pg. 17 & 19)

Quantifying Community Value
More community professionals are feeling confident in their ability
to quantify the business value of their community (yay!); however,
the number of those unable to quantify it remains consistent.
Are you able to financially quantify the business value of your community?
Sample Size: 324
2024 2023 2022
57% 55%
53%
35%
31% 31%
16%
12% 10%
Yes, I can confidently It is a work in Not yet

quantify the value progress
The 16% of respondents who answered “Yes, I can confidently quantify

the value” were then asked the following question.
How much business value has your community provided to the organization in
the past 12 months?
Sample Size: 37
2024 2023
30%
Up to $49,999
4%
16%
$50,000 - $99,000
16%
19%
$100,000 - $249,999
15%
8%
$250,000 - $499,999
15%
3%
$500,000 - $999,000
13%
5%
$1 million to 4.9 million
24%
19%
$5 million +
13%
Get certified with CMX Academy

The
and learn how to prove the
Community MBA
business value of your community

Measuring Community Health
We also asked respondents how they measure the health of their
community. This is often a different set of metrics from how to quantify
the business value of a community, although there is some overlap.
What metric do you use to measure the health of your community?

Sample Size: 338
Number of active members 82%
Number of new members 63%
Total members 61%
Number of event attendees 43%
Number of posts 42%
Number of comments 36%
Number of events 33%
Number of content pieces or educational

32%
assets created by members
Web traffic to the community 32%
Number of event RSVPs 31%
Number of champions or
31%
ambassadors
Net Promoter Score (NPS) 31%
Number of questions answered 29%
Number of community-hosted events 28%
Repeat event attendees 26%
Post response time 22%
Product market fit 9%
Other 8%
Sense of Community Index

7%
I don’t use metrics to track the

4%
health of my community

The Community
Professional
We’ve seen who is working in community, the

organizations that make up this industry, and how
community teams are impacting business. Now, lets
take a look at the state of the Community
Professional’s career.
Layoffs
How/if our respondents were impacted by layoffs
Concerns about future layoffs
Job Satisfaction
Satisfaction with the current state of career
How respondents are feeling about the future of their
career In the industry
Frustrations and Challenges

Top community-related frustrations

The Community Professional
Layoffs
This year, we asked a new question about community professionals
who have been affected by layoffs. We found that 37% of respondents
have been impacted by a layoff themselves and/or someone on their
team.
Were you or your team affected by layoffs in the past 12 months?

Sample Size: 473
No, no one on my
65%
team was laid off
Yes, one or more team

members was laid off 24%
Yes, I was laid off 13%
CMX offers CMX Academy scholarships to those

in our industry who have been laid off.
Head to cmxhub.com to learn more,
How concerned are you about losing your job within the next year?
Sample Size: 473
2024 2023
13%
Very concerned
14%
Somewhat 36%
concerned 45%
51%
Not concerned
41%
Even though layoffs are prevalent, people are less concerned

about losing their job than they were last year.

Job Satisfaction
Overall, we saw decreasing levels of satisfaction with respondents’
current state of career. We wonder: is there a correlation between job
satisfaction and our other findings that teams are getting smaller but
are doing more?
Overall, how satisfied are you with the current state of your career
as a community professional?
Sample Size: 409
2024 2023
56%
47%
23% 24%
15%
10% 11%
8%
4%
2%
Extremely Somewhat Neither satisfied Somewhat Extremely
satisfied satisfied or dissatisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied
Do you think you will still be a community professional in the next 2

years or do you plan to move to a different field?
Sample Size: 477
2024 2023
I plan to stay in
67%
community
I want to move to
11%
a different field
I am not sure 22%
Despite a decrease in job satisfaction, the majority of respondents

plan to stay in the Community industry. These numbers are the
exact same as 2023.

Frustrations and Challenges
The top three frustrations have remained consistent in every report
since 2020, with quantifying the value and consistently engaging
members alternating for the top spot. Since 2023, we saw an increase
in frustration around budget (from 15% in 2023 to 25% in 2024).
What are your top frustrations about managing your community

and its activities? Select up to 3.
Sample Size: 477
It’s hard to quantify the

39%
value of the community
It's difficult to consistently

34%
engage members
Our efforts are largely manual

34%
and not automated
We don't have enough

25%
budget
We don't have enough

24%
staff
We don’t have the right

13%
tools and technology
I’m not able to access and

11%
use the data I need
Planning events takes

10%
too much time
It's difficult to get buy-in

9%
from leadership
It's difficult to work effectively

7%
with others in my organization
Negativity or toxic behavior

6%
in the community
It’s difficult to maintain a

consistent brand experience 5%
across our community

A Note About Salary and Budget
While we collected salary information again this year, we have decided
not to include the results in this report for the following reasons:
Our respondents are spread around the world -- and salaries vary
significantly based on location. In the past we reported data from
the US only to adjust for this, but this year only 42% of our
respondents are based in the US.
The industry someone works in also plays a huge role in salary --
and the majority of our respondents work in tech where salaries are
typically higher. We don't want the data set to be skewed.
Each respondent comes from a different background and has
different tenure in the industry. Individuals are paid differently
based on how long they’ve been in the industry, as well as their
education and experience.
Even titles within a company can be somewhat arbitrary. For
example, the title “Director” can mean different things at different
companies, and the responsibilities and level of ownership for this
role at one company might be entirely different at another.
Because of these reasons, we don't think the salary data is

representative of the industry. CMX will consider launching a
standalone salary report with survey questions better suited to
gathering this specific data. For questions, concerns, and feedback,
email the CMX team at info@cmxhub.com!
We will also consider adding questions to future iterations of this

report specifically pertaining to budget, in order to track increases
and decreases in the community team's budget, as well as to gain an
understanding of how that budget is being allocated.
Subscribe to the CMX Weekly to learn about

future surveys and research reports!

The Future of
Technology
This year was the first time we asked a series of

questions to gauge community professionals’
sentiments around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how
they feel it will impact their work.
Artifical Intelligence
How community professionals are using AI
Why some community professionals are not using AI
Sentiments around AI In the community industry
Write-in answers about the future of AI and the
community industry

The Future of Technology
The majority of respondents (73%) are using AI tools in their
community work. We asked specifically how community
professionals are using AI in their work.
How are you using AI tools to support your community?

Sample Size: 352
Assistance with content

61%
creation and copywriting
Assistance with replying

20%
to emails
Automating chat bots or

17%
online help centers
Analyzing and summarizing

16%
data points for reports
Language translation 15%
Personalized recommendations
14%
about community strategy
Automating onboarding of
11%
community members
Automating aspects of
10%
community moderation
Assistance Identifying potential

4%
new members
Other* 3%
We are not using AI tools

27%
in our community
*Other responses included:

Event and meeting transcription
“Tools are being built and rolled out soon”
“Summarizing chat highlights for member weekly digest”
73% of Community Professionals are

using AI tools in their community

We asked those who aren’t using AI in their work to share why not.
Why aren’t you using AI tools in your work as a community

professional?
Sample Size: 90
AI is not readily available in

48%
the tools I’m using for work
I prefer to do the work myself 20%
I’m not comfortable sharing my

18%
community data with AI tools
The concept of AI is
8%
overwhelming
I’m not Interested in learning

1%
how to use AI for work
Other* 27%
Within the “other” responses, we found many answers that used

the same wording and were able to confidently group these
answers together and separate this out further. Of the “other”
responses:
33% of respondents shared that using AI is not allowed by company

policy or hasn’t been approved by leadership.
24% shared that they are unequivocally against AI and they will not
use it.
18% shared that they are actively researching AI tools and how AI can
benefit them.

It’s clear that the majority of our respondents are interested to utilize
and excited to learn more about using AI In their work, and they are
excited to see the Impact AI will have on our industry.
Are you excited to learn more about how AI will impact your work as a
community professional?
Sample Size: 90
Yes 93%
No 7%
Do you think AI is more likely to have a positive or a negative impact on

the community industry within the next 3 years?
Sample Size: 284
Positive
impact 87%
Negative
13%
impact
Want to connect with other Join the CMX

community professionals? Community

Why do you think AI will have a positive impact on community?
“Community by default is about people. You will always need people to have a
community. AI is here to support our efforts and perhaps make things run more
efficiently. So I don't see any negatives here”
- Community Manager, in the industry for 8-9 years
“AI is powerful technology to leverage community operations. It can't replace

the human touch process such as community engagement, but it can replace
repetitive tasks especially in community operations.”
- Community Executive/C-Level, in the industry for 3-4 years
Why do you think AI will have a negative impact on community?
“AI was created by humans and therefore will have implicit bias. AI is also not at
a place where it is foolproof, so much of the time a human has to
supervise/monitor/edit the AI behaviors after all is said and done, sometimes
creating more work than if a human were to spearhead the entire task in the
first place.”
- Community Associate/Specialist, in the industry for 10+ years
“Because management will always see it as a way to cut cost and staff.”
“AI doesn't address the data accuracy and privacy issues. It eliminates some of
the manual work way too quickly and organizations don't have a plan to
address it.”

What Comes Next?
Support from CMX
Our mission at CMX Is to advance the community industry and help
professional community builders thrive. We do that through free online
community spaces, training courses and certifications, virtual and in-person
events, a job board, and lots of content like this report!
If you're building community or curious about building community, we're here

for you! All are welcome at CMX. We wouldn’t exist without our incredible
members.
Get Certified with

CMX Academy
Join the CMX

Community
Attend an upcoming
CMX Event

What Comes Next?
Explore Bevy’s Community Tools & Events
At Bevy, we believe in the transformative power of community to foster
authentic and meaningful connections worldwide.
Our unified community platform leverages AI and advanced analytics to

engage members through events, discussions, emails, and more.
Schedule a demo with a Bevy team member to learn how to streamline
community management, reduce tool redundancy, and save time with
event creation, discussion management and advanced analytics.
AI Copilot for Community Management

Bevy is more than just a community tool—it’s
your AI-enabled partner for building a vibrant,
engaged community. Whether you’re planning
an event, sparking discussions, or hosting a
webinar, our platform’s AI capabilities are
designed to simplify your workflow and enhance
your engagement.
Community Members and Groups

One platform for all your community
members and groups to meet and
connect.
Discussions
Keep the conversation going 24/7 with group,
event, and community-wide discussions.
Threaded conversations, tagging, and AI content
summaries help members engage easily.

Bevy Virtual Conference
CMX Global and CMX Summit are hosted on Bevy Virtual

Conference! Host your own virtual conference with an event
page, multiple ticket types, multiple tracks, virtual lobby,
networking tables, exhibit booths and more.
Attend Our Upcoming Bevy and CMX Events
Schedule a Demo

Acknowledgements
Thank you to all of the community professionals and members of the
CMX Community for participating in this year’s survey and sharing your
experiences. Our community members are the heart of this research,
and we are grateful for the time you made to participate.
Thank you to Michele Linn at Mantis Research without whom both the
survey and this report would not have been possible.
Special thanks to the following people for testing the survey and
sharing their feedback:
Piper Wilson, Abdulaziz Akanbi, Shwetabh S Verma, Aaron White, Tirza
Austin, Juan Diego Castano, and Tarun Gupta.
Thank you to our sponsors for helping

make this survey possible!

Acknowledgements
Thank you to our partners and community members

for helping distribute this survey!
Aditya Oberai Céline DeMario Bell Drew Frey

Riemenschneider
Gareth Wilson Jennifer Serrat Samantha Venia Piper Wilson

Logan
Yurii Lazaruk Jan Biller

CMXHUB.COM

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THE 2024

More good news: Community continues to be a business essential. Community pros

Community teams are small but scrappy.

1 16% report having no full-time team members dedicated to

Lack of budget is an increasing concern.

2 Investment in the community is decreasing and community

Layoffs are common, but community professionals

Communities are having more success with

4 consistently engaging members.

3 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

Communities are hosting a mix of asynchronous and

Community professionals are excited about AI and

6 are actively using it.

Communities continue to have a positive impact on

Community-led events are increasingly common.

8 47% of respondents report that at least some of their events

4 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

15. Community Programs

22. Community Teams

29. The Business of Community

35. The Community Professional

39. The Future of Technology

43. What Comes Next

To collect responses for this report, we used multiple

74% of respondents said they work on community for an

The vast majority (55%) of respondents said they work in

While some of this year’s questions were new, many were

For some questions, respondents had the opportunity to

6 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

Which option best describes your level?

How many years of experience do you have as a community

Less than 1 year 7%

10+ Years 24%

7 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

Please describe the nature of your community building work.

I work on community 52%

Community is part of my 22%

I'm a community 17%

I was a full time employee 9%

What else do you work on in addition to community?

Content Creation 39%

Product development 32%

Social Media 26%

HR/People ops 12%

“Other” responses included Customer Success (21%), Events (15%),

8 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

In which country do you currently reside?

We also asked respondents to share their gender. Nearly two-thirds

How do you describe yourself?

Prefer not to say

9 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

What is your racial or ethnic identity?

How old are you?

25 - 34 years old 35%

35 - 44 years old 36%

45 - 54 years old 18%

65+ years old 1%

10 | CMX COMMUNITY INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT

Approximately how long has your organization's community existed?

Less than 1 year 11%