How to create a thriving online community for your members

Building an online community is essential for any organization looking to increase their influence and retain their customers. But growing and nurturing an active online community requires strategic planning and long-term dedication.

Let’s explore a few features and strategies that help JUNO customers create a thriving digital hub for their members...without leading their team to burnout.

Discussion Forums:

Your members want to connect with both your team and each other, but they don’t want to make the first move! It’s important to lead by example.

JUNO’s robust discussion forums provide the opportunity for members to engage around existing conversation topics and prompts. Members can be incentivized to actively participate in these forums by assigning a point value for each interaction with JUNO’s native gamification.

To start, your team can pose thought-provoking questions or insights related to your platform’s content or past virtual events or webinars. Before you know it, everyone else will be joining in on the conversation!

Host Virtual Study Groups or Networking Sessions:

Facilitate the creation of virtual study groups or networking sessions within JUNO. These smaller, focused sessions allow your members to connect and collaborate on assignments, discuss challenging topics, and or simply connect with others on a similar journey.

Your team can moderate these sessions to provide structure and support, or let members connect on their own. If you want, you can even provide downloadable resources and session replays for those that weren’t able to attend live.

Encourage User-Generated Content and Celebrate Wins:

Reward active community members by showcasing their content throughout your platform. Whether it's a blog post, video testimonial, guest webinars, or something else, showcasing user-generated content creates a sense of ownership and pride within the community. Feature outstanding contributions and accomplishments prominently to inspire others to contribute.

Regular Webinars and Guest Speakers:

Organize regular webinars and invite industry experts or guest speakers to add value for your members. This not only enhances the learning experience but also can help you gain exposure to new audiences that may benefit from what your community has to offer.

For the highest level of engagement, be sure to publicize these events across social media platforms to drive engagement and participation from both existing and potential community members.

Responsive Community Management:

An engaged community doesn’t build itself. It requires dedicated community managers or moderators whose mission is to ensure a responsive and welcoming environment.

This way, concerns are addressed promptly, community guidelines are followed, and members feel seen and welcomed. These moderators can be a part of your staff, or you can ask some of your most engaged members to take ownership of a specific group as a moderator.

Building an online community just might be the best marketing and retention strategy you implement in 2024. JUNO is a catalyst that can help you make it happen! Schedule your personalized demo today, or join our Connect online community for a taste of what your JUNO platform could be!