Erica Marois for Community Pros Yearbook 2025

Speakers: Erica Marois, Sr. Manager, Content & Community, Informa

Erica Marois: For me in 2025, the biggest lesson was really more of a reminder, and it's that our brand, the products we offer should never be the star of the show. It is about the people within your community. That's what community is. And the most meaningful moments that happened in our community this year were when we took a step back, that got out of the way, and just let our members lead and share and support one another. And when we shift that spotlight onto them and the great work that they're doing, we give them a chance to raise their profile within the community. That's when connections start to deepen and the impact just lasts so much longer.

Erica Marois: I think 2026 is going to be the year where we really start to focus more on depth over scale. So, in 2026, I see community moving towards smaller, more intentional, almost niche spaces, communities within communities, if you will, and I think in-person connection time is going to be more important too. So, I see micro communities really starting to rise, more local regional meetups, when we're in person together with community members, when we give people those smaller spaces where they can feel more connected, I think that's where conversations go deeper, it's faster and easier to build trust and so I think the future isn't about trying to reach everyone or be everything to everyone. I think we're gonna step away from some of those vanity metrics that we have been relying on for a really long time, and focus more of our energy and efforts on bringing the right people together at the right moments.