How to create an online community in 2022

Wondering how to create an online community in 2022? The good news is that the same core principles we discussed in our previous articles still apply today.

So what’s changed in 2022? As forums, blogs and social online communities become more advanced, the expected standard becomes higher. As with everything digital, online communities and the digital tools available to facilitate them become more advanced, the way we interact with them and understand them becomes more intuitive and second-nature, and so the methods and best practices used to build these communities become more focused and refined.

So how does this translate to creating a community from the ground up?

Be an expert in your field: create an online community

While we previously we said that to produce authoritative content and actively engaging in your community was important, for creating an online community in 2022, you should be establishing yourself as leaders and experts in your industry, and this can be done by having recognizable, regular participants that your customers can trust to provide the right kinds of information.

This may be easy for established businesses with thriving communities with hundreds of Q&A resolutions, blog articles and active conversations under their metaphorical belts, but what about if you’re just starting out on your online community journey? The answer: start building now. There’s no time like the present and every great content provider and forum, community, blog etc had to gain their customers through trust building. So find those future experts in your company, nurture them, start to push out content and engage with customers, and before you know it, they’ll be the reason people keep coming back for more.

Encourage democracy within your community’s boundaries

With the right sort of forum members naturally gravitating towards your platform and filtering through, communities can flourish when left to self-serve, self-resolve and discuss freely amongst themselves. Of course, when it’s necessary to intervene and offer expert advice or resolutions to issues, that’s when to step in. But if you’ve implemented solid rules, and regularly moderate your forum, then allowing a feeling of ‘free speech’ and togetherness within your community will encourage members to start conversations and return back again.

Retain rules where necessary

Of course behind every free community with an open feeling and experience, is a carefully-curated strategy. When you launch your community, execute a search engine optimization strategy to only bring in the right kind of members and users based on the keywords you target. Then, over time as your community flourishes, employ moderators to, when necessary, keep a close eye on activity that may step outside of any rules and guidelines you have set for members. The combination of allowing users to interact freely, whilst monitoring the fringes of your forum, is key to creating a thriving online community.

Use the best tools for the job

In order to properly execute and create an online community, having the right digital tools at your disposal is key. Our Verint Community product, are packed with feature-rich capabilities, such as blogs, discussion forums, Q&A forums with Verified Answers, private messaging and more.

Speak to our dedicated team of experts today for advice on how to create an online community in 2022.