What are the biggest challenges you faced while building a community and how did you solve for it?
Yashvi Dhruv
21 replies
Replies
Aaron O'Leary@aaronoleary
Product Hunt
I think the biggest challenge is going from 0-1, where to start with community building is so overwhelming!
Share
Bluelearn
@aaronoleary True! That's also when the cold start problem kicks in badly.
Pitchery
For my clients, usually I start with identifying a niche and conversations around that niche on open platforms to get a sense of what is already out there and is a good benchmark to create a differentiated content and value that I can deliver to the community by filling the gap.
This followed by doing things that don't scale. Reach out to first 100 or so community members personally, get feedback, brainstorm - make them the ambassadors for the community.
Adding to what's been said already, my personal challenge is to disengage (which is kind of funny, because the concept of engagement is so important for us all). Anyway, sometimes you are so connected to the community that you tend to empathize with them, especially when something challenging happens, rather than holding the middle ground between your product and all those nice people who believe in it.
get the people in my niche to realise that there is a community being built which is great
I think everyone has a common problem, how they can make that community more engaging and participating.
First of all, finding a meaningful hook for all users is vital. Then you have to figure out how to reach your audience and boost always-on engagement. You may benefit from various tools (feedback, discussions, events, games, etc.) to improve your communication with your community. The best part, once you've built a highly engaged community, it becomes easier to grow in numbers because community-led growth dynamics will emerge.
Bluelearn
@cagan_yildirim Makes sense! Any tips for creating the always-on engagement system?
@yashvidhruv Set a meaningful purpose for the community. Never stop creating engaging content. Use a combination of gamification & loyalty dynamics to automize and analyze :)
BeeDone
Before chatGPT and OpenAI the bigest challenge was the wording translation but now it's not a problem anymore so that cool :)
I'm building in public an app named Beedone
Scalenut
Building a community can be one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. The biggest challenges I faced while building a community were around engagement and retention. To address these issues, I focused on creating a strong sense of belonging in the community by providing resources that would help members feel connected and included. I also made sure to foster relationships within the community by encouraging members to interact with each other and share their experiences. Additionally, I worked hard to ensure that members felt heard and respected by actively listening to their feedback and addressing any concerns they had. Finally, I created incentives for members to stay engaged such as exclusive discounts or giveaways. By taking these steps, I was able to successfully build a vibrant and engaged community.
Continuous engagement of users and near perfect information muda free communication.
This was achieved by assigning to the most competent people in our team communication duties. Communication guidelines were drawn and user friendly channels were deployed to allow the dissemination of information.
In addition we built from scratch a roadmap regarding user engagement which covers the first year.
Lastly the software itself allows for frictionless community engagement and collaborative work.
Users are inspired by each other's works and are seemingly eager to work as a collective mind.
Bluelearn
Activation of users, I think, is the biggest problem most communities suffer from. There is no perfect solution I have figured out yet, but engaging activities can help for a re-activation at times
@riya_jain11 Can you give an example of how you've done it?
Bluelearn
@riya_jain11 Engagement that provides value to the members can have good results yeah!
I think good content is what keeping the community. So content strategy and content planning is what I do quarterly
Building a community can be quite a ride.The biggest challenge I faced was finding the right balance between growth and engagement. 🤔 You want to attract as many people as possible, but at the same time, you don't want to sacrifice the quality of interactions. 🧐 I solved it by focusing on providing value to my community first and foremost, whether it be through helpful resources, interesting discussions, or fun events. 🔥 I also made sure to listen and respond to feedback, so I could continue to improve and provide a great experience for everyone! 💡 Building a community is all about finding that sweet spot between growth and engagement, but with a little effort and determination, you can definitely make it work!
Bluelearn
Building an atmosphere that encourages everyone to participate in the same set of activities.
Building a strong community can be a real challenge, but it is rewarding work. When I first began the process of creating a shared online space, I faced a few key hurdles. One of the most difficult things was getting people involved in the conversation and keeping them engaged. To help address this, I focused on providing quality content that would help spark discussion and encourage people to express their own thoughts.
Additionally, by creating fun events and competitions within this space, it created more reasons for people to return often, helping to ensure the ongoing vitality of our community. It didn’t happen overnight, but with consistent effort and dedication my efforts paid off! Now we have an amazing group with vibrant conversations taking place every day - which I couldn’t be more excited about!
Alconost Localization
In my opinion, building a community can be challenging due to diversity in backgrounds, perspectives, and motivations. Solving for low engagement and participation involves providing interesting content and making it easy for members to connect and share 📣 Building trust and fostering a friendly atmosphere also helps!
I can say that one of the biggest challenges is definitely attracting and retaining members. It can be difficult to not only get people interested in joining the community, but also to keep them engaged and active once they're a part of it.
To overcome this challenge, I have found that it's important to have a clear and compelling value proposition for the community, and to constantly communicate that value to potential and existing members. This can be achieved through compelling messaging, regular and relevant content, and creating opportunities for members to connect and engage with each other.
Another challenge I faced was managing conflicts within the community. It's inevitable that not everyone will have the same opinions and viewpoints, and conflicts can arise. To mitigate this, I made sure to have clear guidelines and rules in place, and to have a dedicated moderation team to enforce those rules and help resolve conflicts as they arise.
Building a strong and engaged community requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to listen to and respond to the needs and feedback of members. By staying focused on the value and benefits the community provides, and continuously seeking ways to improve and enhance the experience for members, I have been able to overcome these challenges and build a thriving and successful community.