Establishing a community on a social media platform can prove beneficial for your business. It allows you to directly connect with your customers, while also giving consumers a chance to engage with each other over a common theme – your brand.
In this blog, we explore the benefits of having an online community and how you can start your own online community.
What is a Community Platform?
There are many social media platforms that can support communities. They all have unique features that can complement different businesses and audiences.
Reddit is a platform that supports hundreds of subreddits – online communities and forums about a single topic. Subreddits allow users to participate in online conversations and discussions about the things they enjoy doing. When you have a Reddit account, you can post and share content in subreddits that pertain to your interests. But it’s important you understand Reddit language, navigation and etiquette before posting. This will help you familiarize yourself with the interface and feel less overwhelmed in the beginning.
Discord
Discord is a community platform that allows users to get together on servers and discuss topics that are important to them.
You can create multiple message boards and chat channels. This can prove useful when you want to keep discussions limited to a particular channel.
One of the key features with Discord is that you can have invite-only or public servers to suit your community’s needs.
Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups are exactly what the title suggests – they’re groups on Facebook that users can create about almost anything. You can make a Facebook Group for personal or business reasons, meaning it’s easier to keep in touch with family and friends online.
There are multiple features in Facebook Groups. You can share posts, set up events for people within the group and make important announcements.
Benefits of Building a Community
Building an online community can have a myriad of positive effects for your business. When you’re transparent with your customer-base in a public forum, it bolsters trust, fosters good relationships and boosts your reputation as an industry leader.
When you’re active in an online community, it can help retain customers and their loyalty. Getting like-minded consumers to interact in your space allows your brand to connect with them on a deeper level. You can allow customers to share their experiences with your brand in the forum, or you can engage with your audience directly via comments and replies.
Online communities can create a support system for your brand. Both customers and your staff can share advice with members, making your online community a central hub for support, advice and feedback.
How to Build a Community
Identifying your audience is crucial to building an online community. It ensures that you’re targeting the right platforms for your community and that the members will get the most out of the platform.
Staying true to your brand is crucial for making your online community shine. It shows community members that you’re honest and authentic, so don’t jump onto trends if they don’t suit your brand. This should apply to all of your social media platforms for a holistic brand image.
When engaging with your community members, it’s important to be respectful and responsive. Understand what they have to say before you go and post your response. You need to show that your online community is a safe, welcome space for all perspectives – even the ones that might not support your brand.
Hosting events – online or in-person – is a great way to grow connections made in your community. It allows you to focus on a topic that pertains to your business, but also gives you the opportunity to draw in crowds who are interested in your business and industry.
Start Your Community Today
Social media is often post, share and like. Taking your social media engagement one step further and creating online communities can have a positive effect on your business. From trusting customers to an expanded customer-base, starting up an online community or even joining one can help you elevate your online presence.