Why Do You Need an Online Community?

Often, I’m approached by prospective clients to set up social media channels for them which always makes me feel good.

Then I ask them how much time to do they intend to put into their social media and I don’t feel so good.

Let’s talk about this!

The reason for the sudden change in how I feel is simple.

Many people think all they have to do is just hang out their shingle and the world will beat a path to their door.

No disrespect to Kevin Costner and his Field of Dreams, but social media doesn’t work that way.

(If I had a dollar for every prospect who’s said to me, “Build it and they shall come!” well, I wouldn’t need this gig!)

Why isn’t that enough?

Well, when you start thinking about the billions of people and organizations on multiple channels on social media clamoring for our eyeballs and a slice of our wallets, you begin to realize how difficult it is to get attention.

That’s why building your own online community is so critical.

The Happy Times in the early days of the Internet when there was so little content that traffic would literally show up on your website because there was no place else to go are long gone.

Honestly, most of that traffic was probably pretty useless to wherever it was that they showed up. 

You want your online community to be there with you because they want to be there with you and you have to give them a reason to be there with you.

That’s where content and engagement come in.

Now, let’s go back to my original question, “Why do you need an online community?”

Not to sound flip, but that’s going to depend.

It’s going to depend on why you’re on social media in the first place.

Are you there to find new customers? Support existing ones? Promote your brand? Establish yourself as a subject matter expert or influencer? Some other reason?

Whatever your reason for being on social media, your online community needs to reflect that.

That’s why having 100,000 Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts following you isn’t so great unless you’re striving to make inroads into that community.

Good engagement and content can help improve your position in search engine results which can help your community grow and assist you in achieving your goals.

Another very good reason to have a robust, dynamic online community is to be ready when the unexpected happens.

Like the current pandemic.

Those folks, who had solid online communities when all this began where able to leverage them to assist their businesses.

They could easily and affordably stay in contact with their customers.

Have I made my point?

If you don’t work to grow and maintain your online community then why are you even on social media in the first place?

In future blogposts, I’ll discuss how you can attract followers and keep them.

Stay tuned!

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself! In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.