#1. RESULTS CAN BE GATHERED QUICKLY.

Ad hoc research projects can have a lengthy timeframe from project kick-off to delivery of the final report, and projects may take several months. With online communities (depending on the size and level of member engagement), a research question can be answered in days rather than weeks or months.

#2. RESULTS COST LESS.

Online communities allow costs to be lower. After the initial costs of the community tool and recruitment, numerous projects can be run within a community in place of several ad hoc projects.

#3. Companies can instantly connect with their customers.

Branded communities allow a brand to tap into one of its most important resources: the customer. Customers who join the community are interested and invested in the brand and provide a range of feedback. Some members may be extreme brand loyalists, while others may be less willing to champion the brand. In either case, feedback from these customers is extremely valuable.

#4. Richer data can be obtained.

Depending on the size of a community, both surveys and discussions can take place within a community platform. A survey can be sent to community members, and then, rather than relying on open-ended questions alone, follow-up questions can be asked. This allows the researcher to opportunity to reveal the “why” behind quantitative data.

#5. Organic feedback can be gathered.

Communities that have engaged members may contain discussions regarding the community brand or topic. Without implementing any specific research questions, unique insights can be obtained by listening to and observing the community.

#6. Demographic profiles can be explored.

Online communities allow researchers to compile and track community members’ demographic variables. Given a community where both customers and non-customers are recruited, profiles of each group can be created and explored to understand target demographics more fully.

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” Albert Einstein. When it comes to sharing business content with your online communities, offering information to others that is of value will ultimately make your business successful.

There are many reasons why being a part of online communities contributes greatly to the success of your business.

UNIVERSAL EXPOSURE

As part of an online community, you are able to reach people around the world and it is as though you are all in a room together, interacting on issues that are important and interesting to all of you.

This allows you not only to market your business easily and successfully but also lets you do a large number of other things connected with your business. You can now share valuable information with them. You are educating the other people in your online communities about what you do and what you offer. You are allowing them to get to know you and your business.

LEARNING FROM OTHERS

As a member of an online community, you have the opportunity to learn new ways to market your business from other marketers. You should take advantage as much as possible of the expertise of other people who are members of your online communities and put their principles into practice, where appropriate.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

You will have many opportunities to form strategic partnerships with other members of your online communities. There will be a lot of synergies between you and others and if you find that your skills and expertise compliment those of people in your online communities, you should approach them and see how you can work together most effectively.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR ONLINE COMMUNITIES

Remember that you need to market yourself and your business through your online communities. Make sure that your online profile is complete, which means that you need to include more details about yourself than your business. You should include a statement about your business but a more comprehensive discussion about your business offerings will occur after you have posted and syndicated your content.

BUILD YOUR ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS

It is very important to continue to develop relationships with those people with whom you interact online. A good way to do this is by continually sharing information with them that you feel they will find valuable and that will help them in some way. Not only will your online connections want to interact with you but they will also speak favourably about you to others online. The more comfortable and the closer your relationships with them become, the more opportunities you will eventually have of selling them your products and/or services.