How to Level-Up Your Online Community
Use these 6 tips to keep your community members engaged
If you run an online community through a platform like Mighty Networks or Hivebrite, then you care about bringing people together and forging meaningful relationships. Online communities allow those in your audience with common interests to learn, grow, and form connections together. Chances are that the people who joined your community did so because they see value not only in the community itself, but in you as an expert in your field. Use these 6 tips to level-up your online community and ensure it remains a space where people want to stay.
#1: Be Responsive and Engage
The members of your community joined in because they wanted a place to connect with likeminded people—this includes you! As the head of your own community, responding to and engaging with your members is crucial. This means replying to comments, answering questions, and asking members about themselves.
A good rule of thumb is to engage with every single post and comment until this becomes too much for you to manage on your own. If the comments get too overwhelming, you could ask one of your community members to help you.
If you show your members that you care about engaging with the community, they’ll get more value out of it and feel more encouraged to engage with other members. Win-win.
#2: Showcase Your Superusers
Your community probably has some members who are more active than others. These superstars can be a huge benefit to community building because they help keep things rolling. Raise these members up! Offer to let them lead discussions, take charge of Zoom meetings, or respond to frequently asked new member questions. You can even give them a special shout out within your community or on your social media platforms. Posting about your community members on your social media can pique the interest of those who might be on the verge of joining.
#3: Repurpose User-Generated Content
Your online community is going to generate content naturally. Maybe they’ll post photos, creative tips, or advice you find meaningful. Use this content within your community or repurpose it on your social media accounts. Doing so will highlight why your community is special and worth joining. Of course, always ask for permission before sharing someone else’s content online, but chances are people will be willing to share what they’ve contributed.
To encourage new members to join, showcase your community members on your social media. People want to hear from others just like them about a product, service, or group before they take the plunge.
#4: Schedule a Weekly Calendar
We’ve already covered that engaging with your community is critical (we’re talking 11 on a scale of 1-10), but naturally, this is easier said than done. Building and sticking to a weekly schedule can be your saving grace. If you schedule time on your calendar every week to post and engage with your community, then it becomes much more manageable.
Show members you're showing up for them. Consistency is key when it comes to leveling-up your community. Prove you care by blocking out a half hour to an hour every week to reply to questions, comments, or concerns.
You can even take it up a notch and schedule weekly or monthly virtual meetings so your community can interact in real time.
#5: Offer Benefits
Hosting an online community on a platform is different than building a following on social media. Your community contains people with shared interests who have gathered together with the intention to learn and grow. Offering exclusive benefits to your engaged community that the general public doesn’t have access to is a great way to say thank you and provide added value. Examples include:
Free ebooks or digital downloads with tips, tricks, and valuable information
Free webinars
Product/course discount codes
If you can’t decide what your community would like, ask them! Then build something around their answers.
#6: Get Regular Feedback
Ask your community how you can improve and then actually make some changes. If you're not addressing their wants and needs they’ll have no reason to stay. Try creating a quick survey or simply ask within your community platform, but be prepared to take constructive criticism and run with it.