Why should you build an online community?

Due to the Global Pandemic, the world has had to adjust to living in a bubble and withdrawing from connecting with its neighbors.

I don’t know about you, but the events of 2020 shifted my perspective on how I spend my time. Most people I’ve talked with in the past few years have shared that they enjoy doing more things they love, spending time with their loved ones, and building new relationships with peers with the same values, challenges, and goals.

There have been trends such as “The Great Resignation” and “Quit Quitting” that all stem from the awareness that each of us has a limited time on earth.

For some, that means thinking about personal lifestyle goals and questioning the life we are currently living and how it stacks up to our “ideal life.” In relation to our new lifestyle, new online communities have offered virtual events, masterminds, and networking opportunities to replace traditional local meetups.

According to an article by PeerBoard*, in 2022, 76 percent of internet users will participate in an online community. With over 2.9 Billion people reported to be active on Facebook, it is also the home to more than 10 million Facebook groups.

On Reddit, there are more than 130,000 active communities (subreddits), mainly in the US, due to restrictions on communication.

Although there are more ways than ever to connect digitally with others, users of platforms have reported feeling that they are not participating in meaningful conversations or feel like they don’t have a voice.

This is the key function of a community builder, to provide a voice for those who feel they aren’t being heard. Establishing the purpose is critical to creating an online community. Flexibility to the ebb and flow through community-building is vital to success.

In the book The Indispensable Community: Why Some Brand Communities Thrive When Others Perish by Richard Millington, founder of FeverBee, he describes the importance of knowing your why and the why of your members for joining. “Today’s communities are less about super fandom, creating warm, fuzzy feelings, and driving lots of engagement, but are instead more about showing a clear impact.”

In a Forbes article about why communities matter, writer Tracy Brower says: “Strong communities have a significant sense of purpose. People’s roles have meaning in the bigger picture of the community, and each group member understands how their work connects to others and adds value to the whole. As community members, people don’t just want to lay bricks; they want to build a cathedral.”

From my experience, I’ve learned that a community concept is much more than whom you bring together; it comes down to what problem this community solves.

What problem do you want to solve?

How can a community work together to solve it?

Learn more at www.FindCalmHere.com