What is the Value of a Community?

I have been asked several times "What is the value of a Community?"

To put it quite simply humans are tribal animals by nature, they thrive in communities.

Traditionally communities formed and thrived to ensure the survival of the individual and to make sure each member of the collective had the knowledge of those that went before them. This continuity of the storehouse of information was a cooperative space that was beneficial to all its members (theoretically).

In modern times communities have evolved in many different iterations, however the basic premise is the same, be a benefit through collaboration and sharing to it's members. 

 I believe keeping in touch with people is even more important today than ever before... there are many tools, apps, websites, and communities to make this 'easier''.

 COVID has a created a greater need to keep in touch in the virtual space.

Businesses are using communities to learn, collaborate, as well to keep in contact with their customers and their employees.

Some businesses use platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook that make it possible for a company to create a community quickly. This quick creation and accessibility are valuable tools. The challenge with ALL social platforms is they can become very distracting. Research bears out that with a targeted focus and a dedicated community platform there are many more benefits.  

Engagement rates tend to be much higher with online communities rather than social media sites based on the targeted purpose. I, personally, I tend to reach out to my community when I have a question or challenge, I know I will be able to solve the problem from experiences from others, however, tend to get much more distracted when on social media sites, even when engaged in a group-specific activity.  

In my role as CEO of ScaleUp Edge, I often speak with VCs, there was a suggestion that having a private community helps in communicating and providing a safe collaborating environment, as well as creating a more desirable environment for success.

 So how do you know if your community is effective? Do you track engagement or just the number of members?  

According to CMX Hub research... 55% of the community professionals report that it’s difficult to consistently engage members and 44% have facing challenges when it comes to quantifying the value of online communities. The most popular metric for online communities is Monthly Active Users. 57% of the community professionals track this. The same research also stated that 80% of respondents participate in online groups to help others sharing information and experiences. (information from article here)

At ScaleUp Edge our community focus is to assist you to develop your ScaleUp Playbook by scouting plays developed by peers, sharing your ideas and expanding your network in the #ScaleUp Universe

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