The latest catchphrase in the online business is "community." But what does the word "community" actually mean, and why is it important? The most straightforward way to tell an audience apart from a community is. Community can have many too many members while the audience can have one too many.
Regular audiences include those that follow you on social media, listen to your podcasts, read your blog, and sign up for your newsletter. When we talk about content producers, they frequently release something that their wider audience then consumes. as though it were a one-way street.
On the other side, community facilitates or creates environments where audience members can interact, connect, and generate value for one another. Forums, Slack groups, Facebook groups, Discord servers, and live events/conferences are a few examples of the same. In the aforementioned cases, the community can continue to exist and flourish even if the originator is not present or producing material.
The area in-between these two things is rarely mentioned, yet there is a strong sense of connection among the audience.
You might not be prepared to start a committed community, but anyone with an audience should or will be interested in building an active group of ardent supporters.
The first benefit of trying to build a community is that each participant recognizes the potential for a greater effect. They feel more effective as a result. Additionally, involvement levels rise. Everyone wants to be a part of a community that is expanding.
According to the second school of thought, a community suffers from growth. The issue is likewise dual in nature. Too rapid a growth is also undesirable. You get less familiar with each member of a community when there are more of them. The distinct identity of the community starts to fade as well. The tone, familiarity, and citations of earlier discussions and events all deteriorate. Anything that draws in new members can disappear very soon.
Without any preparation, growing too large can be problematic. These include issues like information overload, members' attention spans shortening, and a lack of volunteers to continue carrying out all the necessary community chores. The neighborhood eventually turns into a numbers game. appointing x moderators to manage x comments daily.
You must defend current members. Make sure the level of familiarity doesn't abruptly decline by allowing members to form smaller groups based on more specialized interests.