Skip to content
Find Calm Here
find calm here icon
Subscribe on LinkedIn

Community Purpose

Community Purpose is essential to the success of an online community. 

The biggest mistake I see community leaders make is not clearly defining the purpose. Due to the Global Pandemic, the world has had to adjust to living in a bubble. Many new online communities have offered virtual events, masterminds, and networking opportunities to replace traditional local meetups.

In 2022, 76 percent of internet users participated in an online community. According to a recent article (January 2022) by PeerBoard*, Reddit hosts over 130,000 active communities (subreddits). Due to restrictions on communication, this is mainly in the US. 

Over 2.9 billion people are reported to be active on Facebook. However, users of these platforms feel like they need a voice. Establishing the purpose of an online community is the most crucial aspect. 

The purpose and vision of a community concept can change over time. Flexibility to the ebb and flow through community-building is vital to success. Let’s talk about what an online community is and isn’t. 

Community Purpose​: What is a community?

An online community is a group of people who gather virtually through platforms, apps, and other software. 

These people have similar interests, goals, problems, or ambitions. They want to connect, find and offer solutions, and inspire each other virtually. This can be done through video calls, interactive polls, prompting questions, and curated content. 

We define an online community hosting site as a platform off of social media. It offers a private or exclusive virtual space for specific members to connect. They will be able to collaborate and cultivate a sense of belonging.  

Here are a few examples of what we believe are online communities: 

A single virtual event (workshop, webinar, conference) that offers members a space to connect.  

An email with a group of people who communicate with each other occasionally or regularly. 

A forum or text chat where users can share photos, images, graphics, video, audio, or other content. 

A platform that invites specific people for connection and conversation. 

What an online community isn't

We don’t consider social media an online community as these are public. Still, even when private, the person, brand, organization, or company usually has a business purpose that may or may not be aligned with the members. It also doesn’t offer the ability for a member to honestly and authentically be seen, heard, and valued. 

Social media aims to distract and create an environment of urgency, comparison, and algorithms to serve the platform’s desires. It does not care about the business owner’s needs. 

Consider the last time you logged into Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. The experience usually doesn’t bring calm. How many groups are you a member of? Of these, how many are you active as a member? Of these, what do you consider to be the most important reason WHY you participate? 

According to Hivebrite, a software company that helps organizations build and manage a community, there are fewer distractions, stricter controls, and less spam inside an online community from social media. 

“All of this facilitates authentic self-expression and a feeling of belonging. Members are more likely to reach out to share ideas, opinions, and best practices, ask and answer questions, and take action.” 

Not only do online communities offer members a sense of belonging, but they also give the community host ownership. 

When Facebook went down for several hours in October of 2021, some business owners received a gut punch and reality check that sales took a nose-dive due to the outage. 

“While the IG outage was mildly stressful, it did reaffirm some of the concerns and thoughts I’ve been hearing from many brand founders: namely, that IG rarely rewards us for the time we invest and that relying on a 3rd party to mediate our relationships with customers is risky business,” said Rachel Jones, founder of underwear and bralette company Jonesey to Mashable. 

What's the why? How is it intentional?

Some leaders start an online community to bring together resources in one place. This allows peers to offer their experiences to support each other, elevating and empowering others to feel seen, valued, and heard. 

Coaches, consultants, and leaders can benefit from scaling a business by offering group coaching in one place and by connecting their clients to provide elevated support. There are many community structures.  

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. Each group member understands how their work connects to others and adds value. 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 who you bring together; it comes down to what problem this community solves. 

An online social media community supports diversity and brings together individuals from different cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds, fostering a sense of unity. This is listed as a benefit in the Top 7 Impacts of Social Media Advantages and Disadvantages article by Simplilearn

Questions to consider

Starting with your “why” is the most powerful step you can take to cultivate meaning and connection in your own life that, when discovered, will help you flourish as a leader. 

What’s your “Why” for considering leading an online community? 

What’s their why for wanting to be a part of this community? 

What problem will this community solve, and how does a community solve this? 

How passionate are you about this “why”? 

Would you do this for yourself? 

Do you feel others relate to the problem you want to solve? 

What do you want to feel as the leader of this community? 

How do you want members of this community to feel? 

How much time do you want to dedicate to an online community? 

How many online communities do you participate in and why? 

What are the outcomes that would make this community worth your time? 

What are the potential challenges of this community?

Why do you think this community is needed right now?

Are there other communities like this one? If so, what are they? 

Why would people want to give time and energy to the communities’ mission or purpose? 

What do you envision this like in two, five, or ten years? 

 

Bonsai is an all-in-one business organization tool to help you organize proposals, contracts, leads, expenses, keep track of client projects, and more! Run your entire business in one place with the help of this business management tool that combines CRM, invoicing, accounting, and bankingDeliver an outstanding client experience and win more work!

Find Calm Here © 2024 Find Calm Here LLC, All Rights Reserved.

Skip to content