The ultimate community content guide for managers

Community content is the contributions, interactions, and discussions within an online community either posted by a community member or the community manager to spark engagement. It can be a blog post, an event, a how-to guide or video for your product, a survey or poll, user-generated posts and comments, or simply a group message sent to members. 

Community content should be exclusive to the community, as it incentivizes members to actively participate in the community as they gain access to valuable information that’s unavailable elsewhere. This exclusivity fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among community members, as they’ll feel special and privileged to be part of a group with unique benefits.

Creating community-focused content is crucial because, without it, engagement levels may decline, potentially leading to a struggling community. Online communities offer opportunities for deeper connections and support, but your content is really what increases and sustains engagement levels. Plus, community content serves as a valuable tool for gathering insights and feedback, aiding brands in understanding customer needs, preferences, and pain points more effectively. It also helps to demonstrate expertise, establish thought leadership, and position brands as trusted authorities, which can attract new customers and enhance brand reputation. Over time, community content can also become a self-service knowledge base to answer questions about your products and services.

No matter the type of content you create for your community, you should first establish what you’d like to achieve from the piece of content — whether it’s new member growth, product demo sign-ups, or simply sharing knowledge. Next, choose the topic and then the format: blog article, post, survey or poll, video, event, etc.

If you’re unsure of where to start, engage in discussions with your community members. Find out what they are interested in learning more about and which formats they prefer. You can do this through an interactive post, a survey or poll, or through community listening. Community listening is helpful for larger communities, helping you spot trends in conversations.

With Khoros community management software, you can instantly surface conversations that matter the most, gaining insights that help your brand address issues and find new opportunities quickly. You can also easily identify influencers, advocates, and detractors.

Once you have the data you need, you’re ready to craft the content, which may involve delegating to other teams, such as marketing or content writers, especially for articles. It’s also important for a community manager to commit to a frequent content cadence. This looks like a set schedule of how often you will post content such as a weekly question to the community or a blog post.

As a community manager, you have the power to encourage community members to contribute their own content as well. Here are a few ways you can do just that:

• Welcome new members: A simple post to welcome new members and introduce them to the community can help new members feel comfortable participating.

• Foster a positive community culture: A positive community culture can allow members to feel safe interacting with content.

• Reward contributions: Acknowledge and reward your top contributors for their contributions. This could look like a shout-out, badges, points, or even free products and branded merchandise.

• Promote highly engaged users to moderators and brand advocates: Encourage top contributors by giving them special roles. They could create user-generated content or announce challenges and contests.

• Offer subgroups within the community: Subgroups focused on specific topics can be less daunting and lead to more discussions and interaction.

• Host contests: Encourage member participation by hosting contests with prizes for contributions or points-based contests for post interactions and creations.

• Post discussion prompts: Boost interactions by posting discussion prompts, encouraging members to comment and potentially create their own posts.

Now that you know how to create community content, here are a few brand community examples with excellent content strategies to take inspiration from:

Fortinet, a hi-tech software company, utilizes an online community as a centralized hub for consolidating its support knowledge, enabling customers to access self-service options seamlessly when they require assistance. Within this online community, customers can search or browse for topics within their dedicated knowledge base. A noteworthy example of this approach is how staff members consistently share technical tips alongside informative articles as you can see in the above image, which educates community members on various topics. Fortinet's emphasis on educational content has proven highly beneficial, as it empowers its community members to independently address their queries and stay informed about relevant industry developments.

Zoom's online community serves as a comprehensive resource hub where users can easily find the support they require. In addition to promptly addressing user inquiries posted in the forum, Zoom moderators actively engage the community by organizing events like live webinars with interactive Q&A sessions. These virtual events are open to all users at no cost, offering valuable insights into the product and sharing relevant tips within the niche.

The community content process doesn’t stop after you’ve shared it. It's essential to measure the effectiveness of that content as well to ensure it aligns with your initial goals. One of the most efficient ways to do this is by using community management software equipped with analytics features such as dashboards, reports, and benchmark data. These tools help track key metrics like content effectiveness, visits, usage, trending topics, interaction preferences, and agent responsiveness.

However, remember that the community's success hinges on meeting the needs of its members, not just achieving business objectives. It's crucial to gauge whether members are receiving the value they sought when they joined the community. Regularly solicit feedback from members to understand their thoughts on the content and their level of satisfaction.

Effectively managing an online community requires the right tools to ensure both your business goals and members' needs are met. Khoros’ community management software helps you build and maintain a community that lasts. With its comprehensive suite of features — such as robust analytics capabilities, AI-powered moderation, community listening, built-in formats for building content, and content management tools to seamlessly tag, review, edit, and schedule content — you can create a thriving online community.

Trusted by top brands like Zoom, Bell, and Cisco, Khoros can help you foster meaningful connections, enhance user satisfaction, and drive the long-term success of your online community.

Get started by scheduling a demo of our online community management software today.