membership communities: facebook groups vs forums
TRANSCRIPT
FACEBOOK GROUPSVS FORUMSWHICH IS BETTER FOR CREATING YOURMEMBERSHIP COMMUNITY?
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Members will come for the content,but they'll stay for the community
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FORUMS: THE PROS
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Keeps members onsite
Easy to search for information and previous discussions
More advanced features such as text formatting, private messaging, statuses
Full member profiles specific to the site
Signatures at the bottom of posts for non invasive promotion
Automated access – no having to manually approve or remove members
Better categorisation of topics and posts
Fully focused on your brand and product
Members are there specifically to talk about your product and content
FORUMS: THE CONS
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Need to consciously login to the site to access the community
Learning curve is high if member is unfamiliar with forums
More chance of members having technical issues
Can be harder to get engagement initially
More members needed for a ‘buzzy’ atmosphere
More complicated to set up and more tech implications to think about
FACEBOOK GROUPS: THE PROS
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Most people have an existing Facebook account
Many people will log in daily or at least weekly
Can be easier for initial engagement
‘Known’ platform and most people know how to use it already
Quicker responses to posts
Apps available for easy phone and tablet use
Instant notifications of posts and responses
Quick and easy to set up
FACEBOOK GROUPS: THE CONS
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Difficult to keep track of topics and discussions
Personal profile needed, potential privacy issues
Poor search functionality
Offsite and away from your content
Quick post turnover – easy for things to be missed
No automated access – members need to be approved or removed manually
Playing on Facebook’s turf, so you're subject to their rules & decisions
Competing with other Facebook ‘noise’
Members not necessarily in the right mindset to learn
No control, can't backup or export your member data
Still not sure which to use?
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Is the community an "add‐on" to yourcourse or membership site?
(i.e more for general questions and support than an integral part
of your product)?
If so, a Facebook Group is your best bet.
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Is the community a core part of yourmembership site and a major selling point?
If so, then it should be something that YOU control.
As such an on-site Forum should be your first choice.
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If in doubt, ASK your audience.
You might think a forum is a great idea, but if your members won’t
use it, you’re wasting your time.
Similarly, you might presume members would prefer Facebook,
but actually they crave an easy to read and search forum where
they can have more in-depth discussions.
Get more advice for creating and growinga successful membership website:
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