An online community could be a forum, discussion board, blog, social media page, social media groups or anything that allow people to connect, learn and share content. Online communities are any platforms on the internet where people connect, learn, and share. For example, Facebook is a community where you can connect, network and broadcast content. Well, it is common to identify Facebook as a social media platform, it is actually a community for networking. While it is common to call platforms built with community software as communities, discussion boards or forums, there are a lot of social media sites that work in the same way. For instance, Reddit is the poster child for discussion boards.
While creating a community like Reddit may not be possible, we can certainly build a niche community within social media platform, for instance SubReddit, Facebook Group, Discord Channel, etc. The major issue with these communities is yo do not have full control, you are under the mercy of the platform you use. For example, your Facebook Page can be blocked at any time. Therefore, a better alternative is to created your own self hosted community. It won't happen overnight, it will take a long time, and if you deliver value and nurture a positive culture, you can cultivate a thriving community.
Once you have got there, what do you do? Well, one of the primary aim could be generating revenue or marketing products and services. Here are a couple of things you can do:
While creating a community like Reddit may not be possible, we can certainly build a niche community within social media platform, for instance SubReddit, Facebook Group, Discord Channel, etc. The major issue with these communities is yo do not have full control, you are under the mercy of the platform you use. For example, your Facebook Page can be blocked at any time. Therefore, a better alternative is to created your own self hosted community. It won't happen overnight, it will take a long time, and if you deliver value and nurture a positive culture, you can cultivate a thriving community.
Once you have got there, what do you do? Well, one of the primary aim could be generating revenue or marketing products and services. Here are a couple of things you can do:
- Connection and Belonging: Your communities can bring like-minded individuals together for a common purpose, thus, facilitating connection and shared learning.
- Content sharing: Online communities offer discussions and content sharing. It can become a resource site for information, education, as well as entertainment. Online communities provide a platform to share valuable information and help members learn from one another
- Marketing: Online communities have user engagement and user generated content, thus, it can be a platform for marketing.
