Your online community has the potential to drive sales, build trust, improve loyalty, and reduce service costs. However, the heart of a community is not profit; community is all about relationships and interaction. So instead of starting with a business strategy, we recommend that you start with your customer in mind. No matter how great your features and functionality are, if you don’t build your community from a customer-centric point of view, you’ll be left with a virtual ghost town.
To create a thriving online community, start by exploring these twelve features to harness the enthusiasm of your customers and build strong connections.
1. Activated brand advocates
Successful online communities encourage, honor, and showcase their superusers. When you empower your most passionate community members, they will develop into brand advocates, who often contribute the majority of content while also actively assisting other customers.
Brand advocates are also more likely to recommend that brand to others. Not only does this increase brand awareness, but it also directly impacts revenue because people inherently trust the reviews of other individuals more than a brand’s advertisements. According to Forrester, 70% of US online adults trust brand or product recommendations from friends and family, and 46% trust consumer-written online reviews.
2. Relevant user-generated content
Smart brands understand the value of creating an environment that encourages users to produce useful and authentic content. User-generated content (UGC) increases engagement between community members, which ultimately strengthens a community's bonds and perceived value.
Communities with relevant UGC often have a significant number of members and are continually growing. Because it’s written by real people for real people, UGC is more likely to be trusted and shared, helping the community grow.
3. Mobile responsiveness
Over 50% of people worldwide access the internet from mobile devices or tablets. In the past, websites were designed with only desktop functionality and user experience in mind. However, with the growth of mobile users, it’s become imperative to design websites that are responsive to all design types.
This goes for online communities. For your online community experience to be rewarding to all users, it must be mobile-responsive. The most successful online communities offer a seamless experience for all users.
4. Crowdsourced ideas
Successful online communities use their platform to crowdsource ideas from their most invested customers. Brands can use these collaborative ideations to improve their product or gauge interest for new projects.
If you want to collect ideas for product innovation and feedback from your best customers, enable features in your community that allow customers to submit ideas, vote, and add comments.
Learn more about why feedback is so crucial for online community success here.
5. Tracking user behavior
The most impactful online communities use data for their advantage. With data analytics software you can easily keep an eye on your potential or existing customers’ interests, any shift in their sentiment, or topics they are searching for, allowing you to create relevant content or adapt to changing customer attitudes. Through tracking features, you can also analyze which users are more likely to participate in discussions and answer questions, and thank them with personalized responses from your customer care team. When looking at online community software, use our Online Community RFP Checklist to make sure it has all the features you'll need.
6. Robust reputation system
Attracting individuals to your community is only one piece of the puzzle. For your community to succeed, you must have a way to motivate users and empower them to get to know and trust one another. This can be done through a robust reputation system.
A reputation system is a structure that recognizes users for their participation in order to build trust. A reputation system works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to recognize users for their participation. You decide (often with input from your members) what activities matter most in the community, and you write those activities into the rules that govern the assignment of ranks. Recognizing high-quality contributors or superusers provides an incentive for them to participate more and helps users identify quality content.
7. Integration
Online communities offer the most value to businesses when they fully integrate with existing systems. This will allow your brand to provide better customer service to community members and collect essential data.
Ensure a seamless experience across all support channels by integrating your online community with existing support processes. Be sure to tie in your CRM system as well, so that unanswered questions are auto-escalated into direct support channels.
8. Personalization
Inspire and cultivate your community by giving members a curated feed that shows content that is relevant to them, motivating them to contribute more. Communities that have personalization features are better able to treat community members as individuals.
Personalized experiences are important for community members; 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences. Personalization can be great for the bottom line, too, as it can increase the efficiency of marketing spend by up to 30% and sales by up to 8%.
9. Engaging content
Visually appealing communities drive more traffic. Give control to your customers to add photos and videos to their galleries and in their posts. Community members use images and videos to engage with other members and your brand, answer questions, and leave reviews. The traffic that image and video content drives serves to increase community and size.
10. Searchable repository
Successful communities have a wealth of content and are constantly generating more. Because of this, content eventually gets buried or difficult to find. However, this doesn’t mean that this content isn’t valuable. To make sure that even old content lives up to its potential, online communities should feature a searchable repository. A knowledge base or repository allows your customers to easily find tips, answers, and advice shared in your community.
11. Gamification
Gamification is the application of game-playing elements to another area of activity. Outside of actual games, online brand communities were one of the first places where gamification emerged. In modern communities, the ideas and practices that drive gamification have matured to align more with a sophisticated member journey concept where the key role of the user experience designer is to match extrinsic rewards with intrinsic motivation.
Gamification encourages customers and employees to enthusiastically share with each other more frequently. Automate gaming mechanics for everyday actions, like awarding badges the first time an online community member posts, replies to a post, or gives kudos on another member’s post.
Want to learn more about gamification? See our blog post, What is gamification in 2020?
12. Performance measurement
It’s essential to be able to measure the health of communities and take action to keep them at their best. Focus attention on metrics that matter most with features that measure these six health factors: traffic, content, members, liveliness, interaction, and responsiveness.
Learn more about which metrics to track and interpret to best get a pulse of your community and customer service performance on our Digital Customer Care Playbook.
Khoros helps create successful online communities
Khoros Communities help brands connect with their customers to grow existing relationships and build new ones. With this industry-leading software, you’ll get a branded, interactive platform where customers can ask questions, share ideas, solve problems, and get their problems solved. You’ll also get access to world-class analytics that can help you evaluate performance and stay on top of changing attitudes and trends.
See how Khoros Communities helped Qlik grow their online community by 70% and Schneider Electric achieve a 90% customer inquiry solution rate. Or if you’re ready to take the next step, get a free demo.
FAQs
How have a successful online community? ›
- Identify key stakeholders for the online community.
- Define the purpose and goal.
- Select a community platform.
- Build a member profile.
- Develop rules and norms.
- Set up your community.
- Identify key stakeholders for the online community.
- Promote your community.
- Create real connections.
- Stand out from the competition with a better customer experience.
- Generate leads and acquire new members.
- Improve your products and programs by gathering and addressing feedback.
- Decrease support costs by crowdsourcing support.
- Mighty Networks.
- Slack.
- Discord.
- Facebook Groups.
- Discourse.
- Vanilla Forums.
- Circle.
- Reddit.
- (1) A group of people:
- (2) A definite locality:
- (3) Community Sentiment:
- (4) Naturality:
- (5) Permanence :
- (6) Similarity:
- (7) Wider Ends:
- (8) Total organised social life:
The disadvantages of using the online community focused on 5 areas of concern: design and navigation issues, uncertain quality of user-generated content, negative comparisons with others, excessive time commitments, and data privacy concerns.
What are the benefits of an online community of learning? ›- Flexibility. Students have the freedom to juggle their careers and school because they aren't tied down to a fixed schedule. ...
- Reduced Costs. Online education can cost less due to a variety of reasons. ...
- Networking Opportunities. ...
- Documentation. ...
- Increased Instructor - Student Time. ...
- Access to Expertise.
The truth is that social media can also be beneficial for society. It can help individuals connect and deepen their relationships. Social media also encourages students to learn and grow. And it can empower businesses to build their audiences and boost their bottom line.
What does inSided do? ›What is inSided Online Community Platform? inSided is the only Customer Success Community Platform built to help SaaS companies improve customer success and retention.
Where can I find online community? ›- Check Out Social Media. ...
- Subscribe to Newsletters. ...
- Join a Support Group. ...
- Try a Virtual Club or Class. ...
- Check Out Your Local Library Website.
If you're looking for an easy-to-use platform that can help you build a thriving online community, Circle is the better choice. However, there is no harm in trying out both Circle and Mighty Networks to see which one works better for you and your business.
What are the examples of online communities of learning? ›
- synchronous (such as instant messaging or language exchange websites and mobile applications.
- asynchronous (such as message boards and Internet forums)
- blogs.
- course management.
- collaborative (such as wikis)
- social networking.
- social learning.
- online universities.
Social networking services are the most prominent type of virtual community. They are either a website or software platform that focuses on creating and maintaining relationships. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are all virtual communities.
What are some examples of communities? ›- Business Communities.
- Caste Communities.
- City Communities.
- Countercultural Communities.
- Ethnic Communities.
- Farming Communities.
- Fundamentalist Communities.
- Gated Communities.
- Find Ways to Support & Celebrate Your Organic Ambassadors. ...
- Bring Your Followers Into the Business-Building Process. ...
- Encourage Connections Within Your Community. ...
- Stay Guided by Your Why.
A good community is one where neighbours take pride in their living environment, respecting and supporting one another regardless of age, gender, race or creed. A good community is a cohesive, safe, confident, prosperous and happy place.
What is essential to nurture an online community? ›Ultimately, the key to effectively nurturing your online community is to be genuine about it. In the world of business we all know that companies are using social media to try and generate leads, but if you provide value to your audience they will be happy to engage with you.
What are the 10 elements of community that we have discussed? ›- Housing. The housing element sets standards for new and existing homes in the community, covering everything from size to style to color.
- Design. ...
- Transportation and transit. ...
- Circulation. ...
- Public buildings. ...
- Public services. ...
- Recreation. ...
- Historical.
...
The 5 Types of Online Community Members
- The Lurker.
- The Social Butterfly.
- The Critic.
- The Troublemaker.
- The Tech Challenged.
Why are communities so important? Strong communities are critical because they're often an important source of social connection and a sense of belonging. Participating in a community bonded by attitudes, values, and goals is an essential ingredient to enjoying a fulfilling life.
What is the purpose of community? ›It enables us to share personal relatedness and support perpetual growth of each other, ourselves and our environment. A community can be anything from a physical place where geographically people connect, or via a virtual space such as social media groups or private community platforms.
What are the benefits of online learning for students? ›
- Flexibility. ...
- Reduced Costs. ...
- More Free Time. ...
- Increased Course Variety. ...
- Career Advancement Opportunities. ...
- Increased Collaboration. ...
- Personalized Education. ...
- Enhanced Time Management Skills.
Essay on Online Education: Online learning is one of the imminent trends in the education sector around the globe. This mode of learning is done through the internet. With advanced and upgraded technologies, this mode of learning has been made simpler. Online Education is also preferred in higher learning Institutions.
What are the 10 benefits of Internet? ›- Information, knowledge, and learning. ...
- Connectivity, communication, and sharing. ...
- Address, mapping, and contact information. ...
- Banking, bills, and shopping. ...
- Selling and making money. ...
- Collaboration, work from home, and access to a global workforce. ...
- Donations and funding. ...
- Entertainment.
It's where you join a tribe and wipe them from the inside.
How much does Insided cost? ›| Level | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| ALL COURSES | $750.00 per Month. | Select |
| Community Development Program | $1,100.00 per Month. | Select |
| Director of Community | $8,770.00 per Month. | Select |
| Community Accelerator (founding members) [monthly] | $25.00 now. | Select |
There are three main types of communities; urban, suburban and rural.
What are online social communities? ›An online community, also known as an internet community, social community, or digital community — is a community hosted over the web that allows people with a common interest to interact online.
What is another name for an online community? ›An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests.
What is Circle social network? ›The all-in-one community platform for creators & brands
Bring together engaging courses, discussions, members, live streams, chat, events, and memberships — all in one place, all under your own brand. Start your 14-day free trial. Home. Members.
For example, you can't create an online course on Circle. If you want to offer a course, you'll need to use a separate platform and then integrate it into your Circle community space.
Is mighty network free? ›
Is a Mighty Network really free? Absolutely! Your 14-day Free Trial is 100% free and there's no credit card required. Plus, you can continue to use The Free Plan forever after your trial ends.
What are the characteristics of a learning community? ›Common relational characteristics of learning communities are (1) sense of belonging, (2) interdependence or reliance among the members, (3) trust among members, and (4) faith or trust in the shared purpose of the community (Lenning and Ebbers 1999).
How do online platforms help you as a student your family and the community? ›Online learning platforms allow all of those things as well as provide a tool for students and teachers to keep a record of progress made. ... Essentially, they allow learners to have more ownership of their learning which helps them learn better.
How do you create an online learning community? ›- Create a Platform to Establish Presence. ...
- Categorize Groups Around Similar Interests. ...
- Work on Social Networking and Display Online Users. ...
- Utilize Activity Feeds. ...
- Make The Most of the Chatting Features. ...
- Add in Some Blogs. ...
- Create or Enable Forums. ...
- Encourage Students to Use the App.
A Virtual Community is a network which work within a social network of individual by any specific media and which have no limit about geographical area as well as political restriction.
When did the first online communities form? ›Where it all began. About 31 years ago, back in February 1985, one of the first virtual communities — and now the oldest, continually run virtual community — launched. It was called the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, otherwise known as The WELL.
What is a virtual community give an example and share a link with your classmates? ›Here are some common examples of virtual community types: Forums, online chat rooms, specialized information communities, email groups. These are made up of people who either discuss or share about a common topic/theme. They may also act as a place to ask experts in a specific field for help.
What are the 6 types of community? ›- Knowledge and learning communities.
- Expert networks and advisory communities.
- Event communities.
- Membership communities.
- Brand communities.
- Communities of action.
There are two types of communities Rural and Urban communities, due to different social conditions in both rural and urban areas.
How do you build a successful community? ›- Find Ways to Support & Celebrate Your Organic Ambassadors. ...
- Bring Your Followers Into the Business-Building Process. ...
- Encourage Connections Within Your Community. ...
- Stay Guided by Your Why.
How do you build an online engagement community? ›
- Set up an interesting overriding topic. ...
- Discuss your personal life. ...
- Communicate consistently and regularly. ...
- Avoid using research language. ...
- Use surveys when you can. ...
- See where they stand. ...
- Encourage journaling.
A good community is one where neighbours take pride in their living environment, respecting and supporting one another regardless of age, gender, race or creed. A good community is a cohesive, safe, confident, prosperous and happy place.
What is essential to nurture an online community? ›Ultimately, the key to effectively nurturing your online community is to be genuine about it. In the world of business we all know that companies are using social media to try and generate leads, but if you provide value to your audience they will be happy to engage with you.
What creates a strong community? ›Strong relationships exist between people in the community. People come together to work toward shared causes. People trust one another. People trust in and feel represented by institutions.
What makes a successful and progressive community? ›We can say that being progressive means embracing change, implementing new solutions but not starting a revolution at the same time. A good community is one where neighbours take pride in their living environment, respecting and supporting one another regardless of age, gender, race or creed.
What do you understand by online community? ›Online community definition
Also known as a social community, virtual community, or internet community, an online community is a group of people held together by a common interest or purpose who interact with each other online. There are three types of online communities: Discussion Communities.
...
The 5 Types of Online Community Members
- The Lurker.
- The Social Butterfly.
- The Critic.
- The Troublemaker.
- The Tech Challenged.
Building communities. According to Dorine C. Andrews, author of Audience-Specific Online Community Design there are three parts to building an online community: starting the online community, encouraging early online interaction, and moving to a self-sustaining interactive environment.
What are the 4 components of community? ›Sense of community has four elements: 1) membership, 2) influence, 3) integration and fulfillment of needs, 4) shared emotional connection.
What are some qualities of good community? ›Other important, but somewhat less influential factors included leadership, economy, safety, social capital, and civic involvement. Taken together, this and other research provides strong evidence for communities to pay close - and specific - attention to the social as well as economic conditions in their communities.
Why is a community important? ›
Why are communities so important? Strong communities are critical because they're often an important source of social connection and a sense of belonging. Participating in a community bonded by attitudes, values, and goals is an essential ingredient to enjoying a fulfilling life.
What is the purpose of community? ›It enables us to share personal relatedness and support perpetual growth of each other, ourselves and our environment. A community can be anything from a physical place where geographically people connect, or via a virtual space such as social media groups or private community platforms.
What is online community engagement? ›Although there's no commonly agreed definition, essentially community engagement is about mutual decision making, where people, governments and organisations work collaboratively to create sustainable visions for their community's future.