The Power of Online Communities

Online communities are extremely important for you and your brand. When you are part of the right online communities, you can keep up with the latest news in your industry. You are also able to find out what problems your target market is facing and the types of solutions they are looking for. Finally, online communities are a great way to educate potential clients about the problems you solve and the products and services you offer.

There are three types of communities that you need to belong to. First, you need to have your own online community. This could be a Facebook group, LinkedIn group, or private forum. This group should be for people who have the problem that you solve. So, if you are an author who writes fiction, you should consider having an online community of people who love to read fiction. Your online classes should have a corresponding group where you can engage with your clients right where they spend a good deal of time, on social media.

Second, you should belong to other online communities where your target market hangs out. If you are a relationship coach, you should be in online communities geared towards relationship building. Finally, you should be in online communities where similar entrepreneurs are, so that you can stay on top of what is happening in your industry.

Unfortunately, most business owners are only in online communities with other business owners, who do the same thing. Authors will join groups with other authors, or speakers will join speaker’s associations. While this is very helpful in staying on top of what is happening in the industry, it doesn’t get you in front of your target audience.

Answer the questions below, to see how effectively you are using the power of online communities.

• Do you have your own online community?

• Do you belong to online communities that your target market belongs to?

• Do you belong to online communities that fellow-small business owners belong to?

• Look at all the groups you belong to on Facebook. How many groups do you belong to?

• Look at all the groups you belong to on LinkedIn. How many groups do you belong to?

• How often do you offer non-promotional value to the group?

Online communities can serve as a great source of information and potential leads for your business.

Here are some tips for improving your online community engagement.

• Make a list of all online communities you are a part of. Group them into the following categories: Run by Me, Members of My Target Market, and Fellow Entrepreneurs.

• Prioritize which groups you will become the most involved in. Don’t pick more than 5 or 6 groups other than the ones that you run. More than that will be too time-consuming.

• Schedule time each week to participate in the groups. Don’t just post your stuff. Answer questions and become a respected expert in the community. If you do this, people will seek you out to do business with you.

Action Item: Post a piece of non-promotional, valuable content in an online community today.