5 Tools to Launch Your Online Community
Online Tools to Help You Build Community
Community offers many vital features consumers seek in a modern customer experience. Although many interactions and transactions occur online, consumers expect the same connection, engagement, and value as they receive from face-to-face experiences. Online communities provide information, human connection, engaging conversation, and a way for individuals to get together and share something they're passionate about. In short, they give a sense of belonging in a time when people are craving it.
Brands can use online communities to build familiarity, help generate an understanding of their products, and build stronger relationships with customers. Organizations can use online communities to develop knowledge about a central idea or create awareness of a cause. Online communities are a space where like-minded members can discuss an important topic, offer and receive advice, and express views and opinions. Yet, thriving online communities don't just happen. Without the right combination of engagement and moderation, your fledgling community could fall flat or even disrupt your forward movement and derail what you were hoping to accomplish.
Let's take a closer look at the power of online communities, what it takes to build one, and a few examples of thriving online communities.
The Power of Community
An online community is a group of people who use the internet as a tool to gather together and communicate about a shared interest or purpose. Corresponding with like-minded individuals about a topic you're passionate about creates a strong sense of belonging and builds a sense of familiarity with a group of people. Making connections with similar interests is the main reason 66% of users engage in online communities. Communication in these forums can help members gain knowledge and work toward their goals.
While the term online community is commonly associated with social media platforms and groups, a branded online community typically has something more to offer. Users generally spend time on social media for entertainment, whereas members of centered online communities invest time engaging in ways that promote personal or professional growth.
Brands and organizations that invest in an online community can generate a significant ROI if the platform achieves the intended goal. For instance, an active online community can further a cause, spread awareness, build brand recognition, or help new users overcome challenges. These communities can generate information about the products and services created by an organization and help boost brand recognition.
Building an Online Community
Unfortunately, thriving online communities aren't born by simply designating a platform for folks to gather. Poorly designed communities or those lacking management can quickly lose steam and never achieve their intended purpose. Thriving online communities are often designed like a business. Eighty-eight percent of online communities have at least one dedicated manager, and many have moderators to ensure content quality and maintain a relevant conversation.
To create an online community that provides value, it's vital, to begin with, a clear purpose. What is your community's reason for existing? What purpose will it serve your organization and the people who join it? For instance, if your community is for people who use a specific product type, the purpose of participating will likely be to learn.
Ease of use is a significant factor that can be easily overlooked when planning an online community. Members join to achieve a purpose. If roadblocks or a poor user interface delays each visit, members are less likely to maintain consistent activity. When choosing a platform, you'll want to consider how many members you expect to join, whether you want a single community or a large community with multiple sub-categories. Planning will make it easier to determine what tools you'll need to get your online community off the ground.
Tools to Build an Online Community
Modern online communities typically offer more than a simple discussion board for members. While discussion boards are likely to be a part of the community, an online community platform can offer many different features to simplify management and help engage members. A community platform is a specialized software solution that powers online communities. These platforms are built to meet specific needs with varying capabilities and pricing.
Top Online Community Platforms
There are a large variety of platforms and online tools that can help you build your community. An online community platform is the best solution to get many different types of tools in one package. These are some of the most popular community platforms available.
Tribe: Known for customization, Tribe focuses on building and managing communities with features like personalized activity feeds, gamification, and communities customized entirely for your brand. Prices include a free package, a paid package for $59 a month, and the Premium plan for $239 a month.
Discourse: One of the most well-known platforms, Discourse is a community platform with a 100% open source framework. Discourse offers the ability to create custom communities, develop community management, and easily categorize. User features include content sharing, messaging, and other communications. Discourse provides a 14-day free trial, after which a standard package costs $100 a month and a business package costs $300 per month.
Mighty Networks: An all-in-one platform that includes a website builder, an online course builder, a content management system, a membership platform, and a community platform, Mighty Networks offers a free package and a choice between 2 paid plans. (Community plan-$28 or business plan- $98)
Circle: With a minimalist approach, Circle is known for its ease of use. It is built to handle the most critical elements of community creation and management with features like discussion boards, community moderation, content moderation, and member connections. Circle's three pricing plans include Basic for $39 a month, Professional for $79 a month, and Enterprise for $199.
BuddyBoss: A platform that comes in the form of a WordPress plugin, BuddyBoss enables capabilities once you add it to your WordPress platform. Features include personalized activity feeds, member notifications, social groups, sub-groups, and more. BuddyBoss starts at $205 per year for one website. A 5-site license costs $259 annually, and a 10-site license costs $295 annually. You can also create your own branded native mobile app for an additional cost.
Features to Consider when Comparing Platforms
An all-in-one community platform software solution should have capabilities that help you create the community, manage community memberships, monitor discussions, and develop multiple communications. Depending on your goals and how you hope to interact with members on your platform, you may seek any or all of these features when choosing an online community platform.
Event Scheduling Tools
Discussion Boards
Member Profiles
Community Management Tools
Direct Messaging & Chat
Course Platform
Live Videos
Post Creation
Member Directory
Personalized Activity Feeds
Mobile Apps
SEO Compatibility
Sub-group Capabilities
Gamification Tools
5 Examples of Successful Online Communities
Thriving online communities offer a range of purposes for users. Some are specifically learning-based with course creation capabilities, discussion boards, and other methods of communication. Other communities are interest-based. Some online communities are massive groups with multiple subgroups that serve various purposes.
Reddit: The self-proclaimed "front page of the internet," Reddit is one of the most significant internet communities with a page for everything. The platform has more than 130,000 subreddits, each with its own moderator. Reddit is ranked as the 5th most-visited site in the US and the 13th most-visited worldwide.
Lego: A brand platform that gives customers a voice, the Lego community, allows members to submit their product ideas and launch contests. As a result, the platform drives product innovation.
Codecademy: A learning community that offers courses and a community that shares goals, asks questions, and offers support, Codecademy gives members a place to gather and work toward becoming better software designers.
Daily Burn: A shared interest community, Daily Burn is a fitness community that offers workouts, chats with trainers, and connections with other members.
Earth Activist Training: An action-based community, Earth Activist Training is built around environmentalism and offers community information and discussions about climate change, racism, social justice, and environmental issues.
Online communities provide a way for individuals to connect around a brand or central idea. They give a sense of belonging and value to the members who join. At Think Global Forum, we celebrate the creation of communities designed to provide users with a space to share ideas and learn from one another. It's our goal to generate new creative, insightful, and inspiring strategic thinking in global industries. Join us to learn more about creating a community that can generate innovative ideas.