Growing a Community

growing a community

Whether you’re just starting out with a new community or want to improve your existing one, growing it takes time and effort. But there are some tried-and-true strategies for growing your community from a small group to a large, vibrant group of people who love to engage with you and your brand.

1. Focus on a core purpose and theme

The core theme or central topic that your community is built around should be based on a feeling, an experience, a current issue, or a future mission for the members of the network. This will be the foundation of conversations, interactions, and relationships.

2. Create a strong foundation for growth

When you’re building your online community, it’s important to set up the right tools and processes that will help you scale quickly and effectively. These include identifying your target audience, creating community guidelines, recruiting volunteers, and implementing a system of support that will make everyone feel welcome, engaged, and empowered in the community.

3. Use data to drive decisions

The success of your community can be largely dependent on how you use data and insights. By utilizing community analytics tools to monitor and analyze how your members are engaging with the content in your community, you can make smarter business decisions that will grow your community and your bottom line.

4. Identify the biggest fans and give them a voice

As you start to see the results of your efforts in the form of community engagement, it’s important to figure out who your biggest supporters are and show them that they have a voice. This can be done in a variety of ways, from giving them a special role in the community to encouraging them to contribute ideas or content.

5. Be authentic and human

As a community manager, it’s important to remember that you are representing your brand in the online space. Providing your members with personalized, personable support is vital to their sense of belonging and connection with the brand. It also helps members to be confident in their contributions and feel like they’re getting personal attention, even if it’s just from a member of the community management team.

6. Be active and keep your members connected

The most effective community managers know that it’s not enough to have a great product or service to offer. Keeping your members connected is the most effective way to foster growth and build loyalty. By interacting with your members in an authentic and meaningful way, you’ll keep them engaged and excited about being part of the community.

7. Promote discussion-worthy content and events

Promoting great discussions on social media channels is an excellent way to boost traffic to your community and increase engagement. This will also help your members to find each other in the community and encourage them to share their comments or stories with friends and followers.

The best thing to do is create a list of all the community topics you’d like to explore and make a plan for how to execute them. Having a specific plan makes it easier for you and your team to stick to it and ensure that all of your work is getting results.