How-to Guide: Managing a Community with Limited Resources

Building and managing an online community is crucial for businesses of all sizes, but it can feel overwhelming, especially when resources are tight. Community management might seem like a luxury, whether you’re a startup, a small to medium enterprise (SME), or a C-suite executive leading a growing business.

However, even those with limited resources can build and sustain a thriving online community with the right strategies.

This guide will show you how.

Why Building an Online Community Matters

An online community isn’t just a collection of followers on social media. It’s a powerful tool for customer engagement, brand loyalty, and business growth. Here are some reasons why you should invest in community building:

• Customer Engagement: Engaged customers are 23% more likely to spend money with your brand.
• Brand Loyalty: A strong community increases customer retention by up to 25%.
• Cost-Efficient Marketing: Word-of-mouth and community-driven referrals can reduce your marketing costs by 50%.

Step 1: Define Your Community Goals

Before diving into community management, clearly define what you want to achieve. Your goals will guide your efforts and ensure you’re not wasting resources on activities that don’t align with your business objectives. Common goals include:

• Customer Support: Providing a space where customers can ask questions and get support.
• Brand Advocacy: Turning your customers into brand ambassadors who spread the word about your products.
• Product Feedback: Gathering feedback directly from your community to improve your offerings.

Example: Buffer, a social media management tool, set up a community to gather feedback on their product. This not only saved them money on formal surveys but also created a loyal customer base that felt involved in the product’s development.

Step 2: Choose the Right Platform

Choosing the right platform is essential, especially when resources are limited. You don’t need to be on every platform; instead, focus on where your audience is most active. Popular platforms include:

• Facebook Groups: Ideal for creating community and facilitating discussions.
• LinkedIn Groups: Great for professional networking and B2B interactions.
• Reddit: Useful for niche communities with specific interests.

Tip: Slack and Returning.AI are excellent for creating private communities where members can engage in real-time discussions.

Step 3: Leverage User-Generated Content

One of the most effective ways to manage a community with limited resources is by encouraging user-generated content (UGC). UGC saves you time and boosts engagement by making your community members feel valued.

Here’s how:

• Create Challenges: Encourage your community to participate in challenges related to your brand. For example, a fitness brand might ask members to share their workout routines.
• Host Contests: Offer small rewards for the best content, such as a feature on your social media pages.
• Showcase Testimonials: Share positive feedback from your community on your website or social media.

Example: GoPro has mastered UGC by encouraging customers to share their videos and photos taken with their products. This strategy has built a massive community and provided GoPro with a constant stream of marketing content.

Step 4: Automate Where Possible

Automation is your friend when managing a community with limited resources. Here are a few tools to consider:

• Social Media Scheduling Tools: Use tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Later to schedule posts in advance. This frees up time for more critical tasks.
• Artificial Intelligence: Implement AI on your website, social media platforms and in your online community to handle common customer queries and support issues. This can reduce the workload on your community managers.
• Email Marketing: Automate your email campaigns to keep your community informed and engaged. Use tools like Mailchimp or HubSpot to segment your audience and send personalized content.

Tip: Automating routine tasks can save you up to 10 hours a week, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities. Returning.AI has the best features for automating community management with AI Managers and maintaining engagement with AI Users.

Step 5: Engage with Your Community Regularly

Consistency is key in community management. Engage with your community regularly to keep them interested and active. Here’s how you can do it:

• Respond Promptly: Always respond to comments, questions, and messages as quickly as possible. This shows that you value your community members.
• Host Live Q&A Sessions: Regularly host live sessions where community members can ask questions and interact with you directly. This not only boosts engagement but also builds trust.
• Share Valuable Content: Regularly share content that provides value to your community, such as blog posts, videos, or industry news.

Example: HubSpot regularly engages with its community through webinars, live Q&A sessions, and sharing valuable content on its blog. This has helped them build a loyal, active community of marketers and sales professionals.

Step 6: Measure Your Success

Finally, it’s essential to track your progress and adjust your strategies as needed. Here are some key metrics to monitor:

• Engagement Rate: Track how often community members interact with your posts. An engagement rate of 1-5% is considered good on most platforms.
• Growth Rate: Measure the growth of your community over time. A steady increase in members indicates a healthy community.
• Retention Rate: Monitor how many members remain active over time. A high retention rate shows that your community is providing value.

Conclusion

Managing a community with limited resources is challenging but entirely possible with the right approach. By defining your goals, choosing the right platform, leveraging user-generated content, automating tasks, engaging regularly, and measuring your success, you can build a thriving community that drives business growth.

Building an online community is not just about creating a space for your customers to gather; it’s about fostering connections that lead to long-term business success. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see the benefits. So, take the first step today and watch your community—and your business—grow.

Sources:

1. Customer Engagement Statistics: [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/03/01/how-to-improve-customer-engagement/)

2. Brand Loyalty Insights: [Harvard Business Review](https://hbr.org/2023/05/the-future-of-brand-loyalty)

3. Cost-Efficient Marketing Tips: [MarketingProfs](https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2023/49535/how-to-lower-your-marketing-costs-with-community-driven-referrals)

4. Buffer Case Study: [Buffer Blog](https://buffer.com/resources/community-building)

5. GoPro UGC Strategy: [Social Media Examiner](https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-gopro-leverages-user-generated-content/)

6. Time-Saving with Automation: [HubSpot Blog](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-automation-statistics)

7. HubSpot Community Engagement: [HubSpot Academy](https://academy.hubspot.com/community)

8. Engagement Rate Benchmark: [Sprout Social](https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-engagement/)