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Starting an online community for associations: the how, what and why
How do you know if an online community is right for your association? In this blog we will tell you more about how an online community works and what the added value is for your members and your association.
We also answer 4 of the most frequently asked questions from associations considering an online community. Want to dive right in? Read our guides on choosing, building and maintaining an online community for associations.
Connecting with an online community
In essence, an online community is nothing less than a place where members can easily engage in conversation with each other. For example, they can exchange knowledge, news and experiences. The form of an online community is not fixed. For example, you can find communities on a business chat platform such as Slack, social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook or on an online forum. The medium is relatively unimportant when it comes to what you want and can achieve with an online community. Ultimately, a healthy community consists of a more or less close-knit group of members with similar experiences and/or interests. They have the need to be in contact with each other about this and your organization can facilitate that contact.
This has many advantages. Members of a community return again and again because they are heard and seen there. They can work together on a common goal or the promotion of a specific interest. Because online communities are often built around specific themes or interests, the involvement of members is quite high and real connection is quickly established. But before a flourishing community can be created, a lot of choices have to be made and work has to be done. The first question that needs to be answered is whether an online community suits your association. This question has become increasingly relevant in recent years, because communities are becoming increasingly popular.
The corona crisis has led to faster digitalisation, specifically for associations. Associations had to find means and forms to maintain the connection with members and their relevance. As a result, association life is also taking place more online. It is obvious that this will remain partly the case. Within this context, associations are looking for new ways to provide value to members. An online community is an excellent opportunity to give substance to this in a progressive way. If an association is able to effectively transfer its mission to an online community, a great new channel is opened up for members.
Community engagement is also taking place more and more online
Redenen om een online community te starten
However, not all associations benefit from starting an online community. It is therefore useful to determine for yourself whether the various functions of an online community are of value to your association. For a walking association, the translation of the mission to an online environment may not be obvious, although a community can still be an excellent platform for exchanging routes, for example. Patient and industry associations, on the other hand, are types of organisations that can provide a lot of value to members by starting an online community. Knowledge exchange, peer contact and gathering input for advocacy can, for example, easily be facilitated with an online community. It is therefore advisable to:
- Think carefully about whether your mission can be translated into an online community;
- Determine what you want to achieve with your community;
- Estimate what resources you need for this;
- Clearly define when your online community is a success and when it is not;
When do you start an online community as an association?
We briefly pointed out that due to differences in objectives and size, one association is better suited to starting an online community than another. In general, it can be said that patient associations, trade associations, professional organizations, knowledge centers, peer support associations and target group associations (for example in the field of climate) benefit greatly from an online community. An important reason for this is that there is a broadly supported mission, goal or ideal that can be translated well into an online community. Knowledge exchange, contact with like-minded people and meaningful conversations about a shared passion can take place well within an online environment that is specially designed for this purpose.
In addition, associations with branches spread across the Netherlands, Europe or the world have much to gain from starting an online community. The geographical spread and the number of members is such that it is not obvious that they will ever meet each other in real life, while that need may be there. An online place to meet offers them the opportunity to easily get in touch with each other. As an association, you can easily increase the value you provide to members by facilitating this.
What is the investment in an online community?
Starting and maintaining an online community is an investment. For example, you will have to ensure that the community remains vibrant. This means that you will have to make resources and manpower available for this. You need a community manager who is the 'owner' of the community and who arranges and organizes everything in and around the community. It may also be wise to appoint moderators, especially if you expect your community to grow quickly. They ensure that the community is used according to the rules and that members are helped if they have questions or notice things that are not right. This is often done by volunteers.
Investing in vibrancy
It is also good to realize in advance that facilitating an online community does not necessarily mean that it is also lively. You have to actively recruit users and ensure that the members of your community remain involved. Therefore, keep in mind that you also have to continue to maintain the community after the community has gone 'live'. It is therefore wise to create a growth plan before you open your community to your members. This describes, for example, how your community should develop in broad terms, both in terms of membership and content, and how this contributes to the objectives of your association.
Financial investment
The financial investment depends heavily on a number of choices you have to make. If you opt for an online community on social media, it will not cost you anything. But even there you will have to ensure liveliness and you will need administrators. If you opt for a private platform from a supplier for your online community, you will often pay start-up and set-up costs and a monthly fee. Here too, there are various options, usually depending on the possibilities that a platform offers. For example, some suppliers offer a mobile app for online communities, but others do not. Check carefully how transparent the pricing model is: you will often have to deal with certain rates based on consumption. For example, you can see in our price calculator what you pay for our online community (select the solution and/or the add-on communities).
Do you choose a restricted or open community?
Most communities are restricted, but there is also a trend to make communities public. By a restricted community, we mean a community that sets conditions for member participation. A condition can be as simple as acceptance by a community manager or moderator. Another common condition, especially with associations, is whether the person wanting to participate is a member of the association. A middle ground is that a participant does not need to be a member of the association, but must create an account to gain access.
The form of access you choose depends entirely on your objectives. For example, if your goal is to unite bird enthusiasts, it's advisable to start a closed community. This way, you have control over who gains access to your community and ensure it is primarily populated by your intended target group. However, if your goal is to provide a platform for people to casually discuss the ins and outs of the Dutch housing market, then accessibility is important. In that case, virtually everyone belongs to your target group, and you want to create as few barriers as possible.
How do you create a good atmosphere in your online community?
In addition, you will have to make sure that you keep an eye on the interactions between members and with your association. Although your own online community is usually a more secure and respectful environment than, for example, social media, the threshold for giving your opinion on the internet is still low. So you will not only have to moderate, but you also have to think carefully about your admission policy, a code of conduct and how you deal with violations of that code. Therefore, appoint at least one administrator and one moderator for your community.
Starting an online community for your association
Once you have your case for an online community and choose to start an online community for your association, a fun and exciting phase follows: building your community. You can read more about how that works in this blog.
