In our K-12 years, we were all accustomed to social learning. Whether through collaborative projects or group discussion, learning with and through peers was a critical part of the education process.
But when we transitioned to adult learning, especially about products and services that aren’t mandatory to learn, we forgot about how inherently social learning really is. It’s not just about the information and content, but the ability to apply, ask questions, and learn from the experiences of others.
Which begs the question: What does social learning look like in B2B?
The answer, like most things in education, varies. How you incorporate social learning depends heavily on your audience and strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to community and education.
7 Social Learning Ideas to Inspire You
We asked the customer education community to share their favorite examples. While these may or may not work for your organization, we hope they inspire you to think outside the box and connect your learners.
1. Community-Led Classes
We recently heard from Andrew DeBell, Sr. Learning Solutions Strategist at Atlassian, about different ways they’re leveraging community and social learning as part of customer education.
One format is what they call “Community-Led Classes.” These are free instructor-led training, powered by the knowledge of the Atlassian Community.
This program allows Atlassian power users to share what they know about the platform with other customers—which also reduces the need for the Atlassian education team to offer all of these classes themselves.
2. Creators Program
Another education effort powered by the knowledge of the Atlassian Community is the Creators Program, which offers on-demand learning content. This could be recorded video tutorials on YouTube or LinkedIn posts about how to use certain features or tools.
Atlassian piloted this program in 2023, and it’s exploded in growth since then, with over 100 Atlassian Creators sharing custom content monthly.
3. Community-based live sessions
Once a month, Rosie Smithells, Customer Engagement Manager at boost.ai, offers a live session for the community that ties to content in their academy. The team looks for under-loved content and builds a live session around the topic, aiming to increase knowledge sharing and promote the course during the webinar.
4. User tips and best practices
A fun way to engage your community in knowledge sharing is asking for their tips, tricks, and best practices for using your platform.
Boost.ai did this by running a community-based competition, asking members to submit their tips for using the platform, and took submissions through their academy.
In a similar vein, Sarah Norton, Manager of Customer Enablement & Experience Programs at Salesloft, does a monthly themed post where community members can contribute their thoughts on a particular topic. This helps to gather the inherent knowledge of the community!
5. Connect community discussions with eLearning content
Meagan Jenkins, Senior Customer Education Manager at Bluesight, shared that her team builds calls to action into eLearning content to contribute to specific discussions in the community. That was so successful, they started directing people to “continue the discussion” from webinars as well.
Similarly, Sarah Norton’s team cross-posts event recordings in the Salesloft Champions community, inviting customers to ask their topic-related questions within that post before engaging Customer Success or Support.
6. Use community for informal knowledge sharing
In addition to encouraging discussion around formal education content, consider introducing informal knowledge sharing. Clea Mahoney, Training and Community Enablement Manager at Rewst, was drawn to her current job because of its community. The community, which is hosted in Discord, has channels for topics ranging from specific tech platforms, to coding (Jinja), cooking, and two are dedicated to customer education. Clea shared that the community is super active, and it’s a great way for customers to learn from one another.
7. Blend community and formal education for an immersive experience
At Salesloft, Sarah’s team runs a program that combines learning events, educational courses, and community-based user groups to create a "Training Camp."
Bring Social Learning into Your Customer Education Strategy
Social learning is a powerful tool for deepening engagement and driving better learning outcomes. By integrating community-driven experiences—whether through live sessions, peer-led training, informal discussions, or structured learning programs—you create opportunities for customers to learn from each other, share insights, and build lasting connections.
Not every approach will fit your audience or business model, but experimenting with social learning tactics can unlock new ways to support and scale customer education. As you explore these ideas, consider how to blend community and education to create richer, more impactful learning experiences.
