Building an online community marks a significant milestone, Whether you’re just now starting an online community or already have one ready to expand, we’re here to provide 10 tips on how to grow an online community.

Firstly，Set community goals，To begin, ask yourself these questions: Why are you trying to grow an online community? What are the outcomes you hope to achieve from your online community? What purpose does the community serve for members?

Once your goals are outlined, identify several community key performance indicators that align with these objectives. These KPIs may include metrics such as active members rate or new member acquisition.

Secondly, Conduct a community assessment， If you have already built an online community, a crucial initial step is to assess its performance. You can do this by conducting a community assessment, look at engagement metrics such as active members, post frequency, comments, and likes to understand the current state of your community

Third, Create a community engagement strategy，you need a step-by-step plan on how to entice members to keep coming back for more. Some ideas include: Weekly challenges Polls, surveys, quizzes Giveaways or special offers exclusive to the community Reward programs to incentivize participation

Fourth. Utilize a community manager， While a community manager can significantly contribute to the growth of your online community, they can truly make or break the community’s culture. Therefore, selecting a community manager requires careful consideration

Fifth. Welcome new members，it’s important to have an effective onboarding process to welcome new members and familiarize them with the community’s dynamics. Consider incorporating some of the following elements into your onboarding process: Personalized welcome videos. Welcome posts introducing them to the group. Sharing community guidelines and helpful resources. Providing a tutorial on how to use the community

Sixth. Analyze the competition，Simply start by researching your competitor's online communities and identify their unique approaches. This process can provide insights into setting your community up for long-term growth, such as features to include and topics to cover.

Seventh, Be authentic， Authenticity is a key driver of community growth. It builds trust, encourages participation, and strengthens connections among members. This also creates a welcoming environment where individuals feel more comfortable sharing thoughts, asking questions, and engaging in discussions.

Eightth. Identify top contributors and reward them， It's crucial to ensure that every community member feels valued, but those who consistently contribute and engage should be recognized and rewarded. This could involve inviting them to become community moderators, acknowledging their efforts as early responders to questions, or giving badges to highlight their involvement in the community like Samsung does with their leaderboard.

Nighth. Cultivate engaging content， To ensure current and new members stay engaged and stick around, it’s important to create high-quality content in a variety of formats that are exclusive to the community. Content can range from resources, webinars, live Q&As, industry news, and hosting community events.

Tenth. Use the right community management software， Choosing scalable software with robust features and integrations is vital to effectively support and grow your online community. Khoros Communities is a community management software for brands that makes it easy to build and grow an online community, offering all these features and more.

To discover how Khoros Communities can help you build or expand an online community, take a tour of our platform or schedule a demo today.