This article will help you create your own online community. It will give you a better understanding of the different types of online communities, and how to find an audience. It will also give you a better understanding of the online community launching process.
Introduction
Are you a creator who wants to engage more with your followers? Want feedback from your fans without having to go through complicated research strategies? Then you might want to look into creating your online community.
Online communities provide a space for people to feel a sense of belonging. In the modern era surrounded by all the pollution, crowds, and noise, these communities give members a sense of connection. Something social creatures like us desperately need.
An online community is more than a marketing strategy. It’s a great way to form a deeper connection with your audience. Creating your own online community lets you gain first-hand experience of how your brand is being perceived. Not only that, you’re more likely to gain more loyal followers. Almost everything about your community is up to you! There’s generally three most common membership types which include:
Public
Private (membership sign up required)
Invite-only
Types of Online Communities
The goal, approach, moderation and management system of these communities varies. All of them bring like-minded individuals together, around a shared interest. Some groups are for people learning a new skill, while other groups might focus on a single event. Some might be strictly moderated, whereas others might be more lenient. Depending on the needs of its members, online communities are customizable. Communities don’t fit into any boxes, there's a lot of room for experimentation and trial-runs. Because there’s such a wide variety of online communities out there, here’s a few examples for a better idea.
Brand Communities - Associated with brands and businesses. Brand communities bring in loyal customers together, and in turn also strengthen the brand’s identity.
Learning Communities - This is where people who are just getting started with a particular field can join and ask questions about the specific industry. Learning and strengthening knowledge in an industry is the shared goal in learning communities.
Networking Communities - Connections, connections, connections! Networking communities are made for those who seek connection in their industry. Whether that would be in business, or personal career goals. Networking communities seek connections with others who are facing similar challenges or circumstances.
Social Communities - Social communities are communities that come together to socialize and share discussions about things like politics, video games, books, and other aspects of life. Similar to an old school book club, but on online platforms.
Fan Communities
Event Communities
Communities of circumstance - Rather than a shared interest, communities of circumstance are focused on life experiences and circumstances. Rather than a normal community that bonds over shared interest, communities of circumstances are driven by individuals who have been through, or are going through similar situations.
Support Groups
Health Organizations
Finding an audience
Before you can start building your online community, who is this community for? You have to set clear goals and objectives. Communities can only grow from the people who join. Start by defining who you want in your community, and how you’re going to get them to join.
If you are building a community based around your content, consider your followers to be the first members, then grow from there. Are you building a community based around a product or service? Offer the type of content that is related to the product or service.
Define your goals
Ask yourself what you’re trying to provide and achieve. What will the community do for you? Why should people become a part of your community?
Are you trying to increase your product sales? Or do you want insights to your brand perception? Your goal is an essential part of your online community plan. You want to create a community you’re excited about. Something that provides value to you personally. Without these personal incentives, your community won’t last.
Next question is, what value are you providing to members? Many communities are created for experts to help newbies in a field, or helping each other through a shared experience. Are they learning a new skill that will help them in their career? Save time? Maybe even a listening ear.
Knowing the answer to these questions gives you a clear purpose. When you are providing value to your customers, a clear purpose will allow you to attract the right members.
Figure out the logistics
Here’s the not-so-fun part of creating your online community. After all, rules and regulations must be in place. You have to ask yourself the following: how are members going to sign up? If this group is open for the public, what is the sign up process? Another aspect that is extremely crucial is who is going to be monitoring your online community?
Figuring out your community guidelines, moderators, managers, is extremely important. The platform you choose to host your community on directly affects this. An example of a community guideline could be “no hate speech or harassment”.
What happens when you create an online community without any rules? An extreme case of this would be 8chan. Something that started off to honor freedom of speech quickly spiraled into “the go-to resource form for extremists”.
Manage risk factors by being aware of them. Issues that pop up in online communities are often spam accounts, members violating community guidelines, personal product promotions, etc.
The moderators of each community must have assigned roles.
For example:
Who deletes posts from members who have self-promoted themselves?
Who keeps the conversation going?
Who will be responsible for reviewing new applications?
What happens if you receive negative feedback about your product? How should your moderators respond?
Establishing roles for the moderators creates a clear and effective process. As your community grows, the more important these aspects will become. Having a strong basis for each role will streamline the moderation process. Creating a concrete plan allows future moderators and members to have a pleasant experience.
Where will your community be?
There are so many platforms that allow you to create your own communities. Here are a few ideas on where you should host your online community.
Reddit
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Telegram
Whatsapp
Your Own Website
Last but perhaps the most important thing!
Test your online community out! Figure out what you want, your likes and dislikes. When you are testing out your community, there are several metrics you can use. Whether that would be:
Sign up rate
Clickthrough rate
Conversion rate
Engagement rate
Unfamiliar with these terms? Read our top 25+ marketing terms all content creators should know here.
Need help establishing your online community? Contact us via email our through our social media channels.
Comments