A guide to online community building around your brand

10 steps to building an online community

Building a thriving online community requires planning and consistent effort. Here are 10 key steps to guide you.

1. Define your purpose and goals

Before you begin, clearly define why you're building a community and what you hope to achieve. Is your aim to reduce customer support tickets by creating a space where users can help each other? Or perhaps, like a fashion brand, you want to cultivate a deeper sense of belonging among your customers? Defining these objectives will shape your entire strategy.

2. Identify your target audience

Understand who you want to join your community. What are their interests, challenges, and motivation for joining? For instance, if you're building a community for CMOs, your content and discussions will naturally revolve around marketing trends, networking, and knowledge sharing. Knowing your audience ensures that your community resonates with them.

3. Choose the right platform

Selecting the appropriate platform is important for your community’s success. The ideal platform should align with your goals and provide all of the necessary features to ensure efficient engagement and management.

Key features to look for in an online community platform include:

• Tools to spark conversations and build connections: Look for powerful discussion spaces, support for various multimedia (images, videos), and content moderation tools.

• Fostering engagement and deeper relationships: Essential features include live-streaming capabilities, video conferencing, and real-time notifications to encourage dynamic interaction.

• Scalability: Ensure that the platform can grow with your community and it can handle increasing user activity and content without any performance issues.

• Customization options: The ability to customize your online community, create different sections, and modify layouts is vital for a unique and on-brand experience. Customizable apps are a bonus.

• User management: Look for tools that allow you to manage user roles, permissions, and facilitate content moderation.

• Integration capabilities: The platform should connect with your existing tools seamlessly for a unified ecosystem.

• Mobile-friendly design: A responsive design is crucial because many users will access your online community from their smartphones.

• Analytics and reporting: Built-in tools to track user activity and engagement metrics will help you understand and continuously improve your community.

• Gamification tools: Features like badges and leaderboards can incentivize participation and boost engagement.

• Robust security: The platform should offer strong, enterprise-grade security measures and data protection.

• Search functionality: An effective search feature will allow members to find relevant information and discussions within the community easily.

4. Develop a content strategy

Plan the types of content you'll share and what you'll encourage your members to create. This can include formats like discussions, polls, articles, videos, and events. A cooking community could feature weekly recipe challenges, live cooking demos, and food photos submitted by members.

5. Recruit and onboard members

Begin by inviting your existing customers, email subscribers, and social media followers to join. Provide a welcoming onboarding process to help them get started. Consider offering early access or a special welcome gift to your first members to generate excitement.

6. Boost engagement and participation

Actively participate in discussions yourself, asking questions to spark dialogue. Run contests or challenges, and consistently acknowledge and appreciate member contributions. The goal is to encourage vibrant peer-to-peer interaction. For instance, start a weekly "Ask Me Anything" session with an expert or run a contest related to your product.

7. Cultivate inclusivity

Work towards creating an environment where every member feels valued and a part of the community. Encourage diverse perspectives, celebrate milestones, and mediate connections between individuals. This sense of belonging transforms a group of users into a community.

8. Establish clear community guidelines

Create clear rules of conduct to ensure a respectful and safe environment. These guidelines should include rules around respectful language, no spamming, and constructive feedback.

9. Empower your community advocates

Identify your most active and positive members and empower them by giving special recognition. Granting special badges or access to exclusive content can be a powerful motivator.

10. Measure and analyze

Regularly track key metrics and use them to refine your strategy and continuously improve the community experience. For example, if you notice a drop in overall engagement, analyze the types of content that performed well previously and adjust your approach accordingly.