Private online communities – drive deeper brand engagement with exclusive spaces
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What are private online communities?
Private online communities aren’t a new thing, but brands have increasingly been tapping into these platforms to offer deeper brand engagement with their audiences. The irony is some of these closed, members-only areas can have hundreds of thousands of subscribers – but that’s not the point. The point is, your brand can speak to them in a much more exclusive, intimate setting, on subjects close to the individual audience member’s heart.
Some are paid, some are free. Some are heavily gated, invite-only, some are open for anyone to join. Typically, they’re not indexed by Google, so discussions remain strictly private. Most importantly, these communities bring together select members of a brand’s audience in a shared purpose.
When you set up a private community online, data ownership can vary based on the platform you choose. Set up a private community on any social media site and ultimately, they own everything. But there are some platforms which offer the benefits of owning your own data – Bettermode, Patreon and Discourse, for example. Depending on the purpose of the online community, this may be an important factor in deciding where to host your group.
We’ve spoken about building engaging online communities for brands before. In an open community, your audience knows you’re speaking to everyone, and that could comprise of hundreds of thousands of people. Whereas in these private online communities, members get the sense that they’re part of a much more intimate group, one they’re more likely to engage with.
76% of internet users participate in an online community.
GWIWhy host a private online community?
1. Tailored brand experiences
Private online communities help to segment your target audience and cater to their very specific needs. It’s a form a hyper-personalisation that provides a richer brand experience and can lead to strong brand advocacy.
2. Build brand loyalty
Private online communities experience higher levels of brand engagement when compared to open ones. They cultivate a strong sense of belonging, improving trust and brand loyalty when your brand is associated with such positive value added experiences.
3. Online privacy
Nowadays, people are acutely aware of the dangers online, so offering closed, more secure avenues to interact with a brand is highly appreciated. Members feel like it’s a safe space to chat and ask questions without everyone being able to see. And while you’re restricted to interacting with a subset of your larger audience, they’re more likely to be honest in a private setting, meaning your brand gathers valuable insight.
4. A safe space
Closed communities are easier to moderate, protecting your brand and the members within them from mistreatment. Audiences want to feel safe to express themselves online, so by having smaller, closely managed spaces, you’re nurturing your audience and showing that you care.
5. Exclusivity
Everyone wants to be part of something unique, and although some members-only groups boast hundreds of thousands of subscribers, these private channels do a good job of making people feel special. It makes your customers feel more valued in the eyes of your brand and strengthens your connection – all good things for long-lasting brand loyalty.
84% of consumers say that a brand’s community impacts how they feel about the brand.
Big Online Brand Community StudyTypes of online communities
Clubs
Think book clubs, mindfulness, art, cars, minimalism – or any hobby that comes to mind. If it aligns with your brand, it could benefit from a private online space to bring your audience together in a common interest.
Fitness brand Form has created several location based online communities around the world, promoted as ‘Find your team’. They bring together likeminded locals for community walks – enabling their already highly engaged audience to interact with the brand in their own hometown, make friends and workout at the same time.
Simultaneously merging their online brand experience with in-person, out in the real-world interactions.
By breaking down their large audience of over 250k people into smaller segments of around 200-500 per group, and associating their global brand with a highly personalised experience, Form provides the sense that they are close by, developing even stronger ties to their audience and building long-lasting brand advocacy.
Ask yourself:
- Can you offer localised brand experiences to your audience?
- Is there a common interest amongst your audience that you could nurture and add value to alongside your brand?
- Are you beginning to see any common themes or challenges arising from your wider audience that you could cater to?
Product advice and support
Some people don’t want to speak out in front of such large audiences online. Private online communities offer a closed and more, well – private – space to ask questions and seek advice on products or services.
If your brand has different ranges of products, all with their own dedicated audiences, setting up specific private communities for each allows your brand to address any questions directly, and provides a space for the community to share tips and advice.
Private online communities can be a great way to offer support direct from your brand and act as an advice line. Host videos, tutorials and documentation on these channels, so members have access to the information they need, plus a community to call upon when they have further questions.
It’s a great channel for your brand to practice active listening – learning common issues that irk your audience and being able to solve them quickly. The community element of the private channels also enables shared learning and self-solving to happen, which can streamline processes for your brand.
Using online channels in this way requires investment – you’ll need a team to be on hand to moderate and answer any questions quickly (people expect very up to the minute advice online today), and these channels require more effort to grow and sustain the community. But when carried out well, these members-only communities bring a lot of value to your customers.
Ask yourself:
- Do your products or services have dedicated audiences with individual needs that could be served via a members-only online community?
- Could you realistically implement a private online community as a support channel alongside any other support lines you run?
- Do you have the resource (time, staff, expertise) to effectively grow a support channel like this?
Internal communication
Setting up a dedicated, private space online for your internal team can greatly boost employee engagement. This can be as simple as setting up WhatsApp groups, either business-wide or based on departments and smaller teams, to having a bespoke online platform requiring login details to access.
AirBnB have a private community for hosts to facilitate sharing and support. They’re nurturing the very audience that makes their entire business model run effectively. And by providing a safe space, away from spammers and competitors, AirBnB encourages open dialogue, to build higher trust and engagement.
Although traditional channels work for most employees and situations, some might not feel comfortable broaching a subject in this way. Private online communities provide employees with an area to discuss with their peers, de-escalate issues, celebrate successes and share learnings.
Your brand can also run team engagement exercises on these channels – they can be a great method of bringing people together. And when paired with in-person activities, can promote and sustain engagement levels even further.
By offering a closed space for your employees, much like your external audiences, they will appreciate the privacy and safety of these channels. It shows your brand cares to invest in them and builds trust and a stronger sense of belonging. Ultimately, when you have a happy workforce, this translates to happy customers and a better balance sheet.
Ask yourself:
- Are you providing a safe space for your employees to engage with their peers?
- How can you best add value to your internal audiences to improve their working lives?
- Is a business-wide approach suitable, or would you benefit from segmenting your internal audiences to personalise their community experience?
For 8 in 10 consumers, being a part of an online brand community makes them more likely to purchase new products/services from the brand.
Big Online Brand Community Study
Any negatives?
While there are obvious benefits to setting up closed communities, there are some drawbacks:
- Groups can be seen as tribal, and have a negative effect on brand perception. This needs to be managed carefully, and is where a strong moderator presence is required. It’s rare this happens, but you don’t want other members of your audience to feel excluded.
- By its very nature, any information within these private spaces can’t be used in your external marketing efforts.
- They can be very resource intensive to manage. A lot of private online communities fail within the first year of set up because they don’t have the optimum team to help build and sustain momentum.
52% of online community members are inactive.
The State of Community Management Report, 2020In practice
Think carefully about whether private online communities are suitable for you. There are companies who manage members-only spaces online, which can take some of the pressure off your team, but it’s important these spaces feel authentic to your brand, so be careful when engaging a third party – so long as they are clear on your brand vision and personality, this can work really well.
Private online communities offer a powerful way to deepen brand engagement by providing a more personalised, secure, and exclusive environment for your audience. When managed effectively, these spaces bring a strong competitive edge for your business, and build a loyal army of followers – something open platforms often struggle to achieve.
Whether you’re looking to offer tailored advice, nurture a shared interest, or strengthen internal communication, these communities can provide significant value. However, it’s important to assess your resources and ensure you have the right team in place to sustain these spaces effectively. Done right, private online communities can become a cornerstone of your brand’s strategy, encouraging long-term relationships that extend deep beneath the surface.
Do you need help building a private online community for your brand? Get in touch – we’d love to help. Alternatively, for the latest insights on brand engagement strategies, take a look at our Articles page.