A Guide for Building Online Communities
With technology advancement increasing, so does virtual engagement. As of 2021, about 85% of the US population use mobiles, which shows how dependent humans are with their technology (Statista). Therefore, this has created outlets for communication in the digital world and bringing forth online communities. So, what are online communities?
According to Melanie Bond, from the blog, What Is an Online Community, the definition of an online community is “a group of people with a shared interest or purpose who use the internet to communicate with each other’. The online communities are developed through a variety of shared purposes that brings people together. A community can be classified by its interest, actions, places, practices, and circumstances.
Interest: the same passions that are shared
Action: the changes that need be made
Place: the geographic boundaries
Practice: the similar professions
Circumstance: the shared external situations
Besides the shared purposes that bring online communities together, there are also types of categories and platforms that take place in understanding the communities as well. Read below to learn more about online communities and how to build successful ones.
Understanding the Categories of Online Communities
When building an online community, there are six broad categories to use as a framework. They are broad due to each community being able to intertwine between the categories, and they are not always set in one category. In the beginning stages of building an online community, think about the following categories below to gain an insight of how the digital landscape will layout and what the purpose is for bringing the community together. These six categories were found in, The Six Types of Online Communities, by Justin DiRose.
Brand Communities: this community brings together professional, like-minded people around a shared organization-based purpose to expand growth and collaboration. Mainly, it relates to a defined brand identity.
Support Communities: this community provides a public space for people to seek guidance in their purchasing decisions. According to The Six Types of Online Communities, around 53% of consumers will research about the products they are looking to buy before making the decision, so they are reassured they are making the best choice. Therefore, this is a community where people get the support that is needed in their spending habits.
Learning Communities: this community has a goal to grow knowledge by bringing together students and instructors. It is shown that more people would rather learn together than alone; thus, producing these communities.
Networking Communities: this community is also known as a community of practice, and it involves the connection of people for specific purposes. Networking is about individuals or groups connecting, and it can occur for business or support.
Social Communities: this community is a social gathering point for people to discuss certain interests or passions.
Fan Communities: this community is less broad than social communities and involves the connection of specific fandoms such as favorite books, movies, or other medias.
Again, these six categories are broad, and an online community could fall under one or multiple ones. Besides gaining an understanding of what types of communities are out there and figuring out where the community fits, it is also important to understand the importance of the community. What is the purpose of online communities? Why are they important in our digital world today? Read the next section to learn about what makes online communities so significant.
The Importance of Online Communities
Since virtual interactions are increasing, online communities are important for businesses to build engagement and profit, and they are important for consumers to discover and connect with others. Online communities have become the most convenient and approachable outlet for individuals to find each other and discuss similar topics of interest or engage more about products and services. As mentioned previously, 53% of consumers are researching the products and services before making purchasing decisions; therefore, they are less likely to buy it if there are no discussions or information on it. Online communities provide outlets for businesses to enforce more information on their products and services, and helps consumers discuss their reviews on it. Also, creates a forum with the opportunity for consumers to not only discuss their feedback, but allows them to learn from existing consumer’s experiences as well. This brings trust and authenticity between the businesses and the consumers; thus, making online communities important.
Steps for Building a Successful Online Community
If there is an interest in building an online community, then it cannot be done in a single step. Building online communities involves a process of following a guide of steps to make sure it turns out successful. Read below to achieve the most successful launch when building an online community. The following steps provided were found in, How to Launch a Successful Online Community: A Step-by-Step Guide, by Alok Chowdhury.
Decide the Forum for the Community
When choosing the type of forum, think about the six categories discussed previously. It is important to know the layout and purpose of the online community. Will this community be used for a shared interest or for information? Shared interest forums bring individuals together to explore and collaborate common passions and ideas. Whereas informational forums bring individuals together to search and share information on products and services. After figuring out which main goal the online community will follow, then think about the six categories to specify it more.
Produce a Framework
This process involves thinking about what the problem is that it is trying to solve, and what the need is for the online community. For instance, is it looking to increase customer satisfaction? Or increase product and service demand? Or simply just increase collaboration? When producing the overall framework, it is not only about deciding layout and purpose, but after that is done, it is also important to know what the main issue is and how to solve this with the online community.
Identify Internal Stakeholders
In the process of identifying the internal stakeholders, there are three categories to think about. The three categories are: the managers of the community, the upper mangers of the community, and the individuals impacted by the community. Think carefully about each category when building the online community, and do not miss out on any for it to be successful.
Begin Setting Up
This is where familiarization with the software comes into place with the team. Such as doing hands-on training and demos. Also, it is important to think about a few things when setting up the online community. This consist of making sure the community is private at first, setting up discussions for the forum, reviewing the sign-up section, assigning the team roles, deciding the features in the software, doing gamification, and putting forth the theme, the spam controls, and the emails that will be sent out.
Create a Soft Launch
This allows the team in charge of the online community and members that will be for “practice” become ready for the full launch. It is important to obtain feedback from outside sources first for improvement before fulling launching it. This can occur through recruiting people from other organizations or bringing colleagues and friends into it. The feedback should be about if there are any technical issues that need to be fixed, or if aesthetics needs to be changed, or if there are any issues with the team roles. Once the online community if refined, then set a deadline for the public launch.
Promotion
After the date is set for the launch of the online community, it is time to promote it! To get the word out to the target audience, it is important to promote the launch through the website, emails, newsletters, and getting it discussed about by the team members and the other colleges or friends used in the soft launch. Invite all that is involved in the target audience, and make sure to partner with influencers as well. We are excited to see what online communities are instore for the future!
References
https://www.higherlogic.com/blog/what-is-an-online-community/
https://answerthepublic.com/reports/f533f830-8899-43a2-a7d4-895dc05b5680
https://www.statista.com/statistics/219865/percentage-of-us-adults-who-own-a-smartphone/
https://blog.discourse.org/2021/12/types-of-online-communities
https://www.percepto-digital.com/the-importance-of-building-online-communities/