I’m homeschooling my 12-year-old again this fall, and I still don’t know if I’m doing it right.
I don’t think that ever fully goes away. I work. I homeschool. My house and my schedule don’t stop needing things just because we chose this. I can find plenty of advice about which curriculum to use or how to structure a day. What I actually want — what I can’t find enough of — is perspective from people who are on the other side of this. The ones who can look back after 5, 10, 20 years and tell me what actually mattered, and what turned out not to be the catastrophe it felt like at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday.
So I built it. Because that’s what I do.
Who I Am to Say Any of This
It’s easy to look like an expert right now. Buy some followers, fast-track visibility with Meta ads, ride a viral niche with content that’s good enough, and within a year you have a digital footprint that reads as authority. Most of us are too busy surviving our own lives to check whether there’s anything underneath it.
I’ve spent almost 30 years doing the underneath part.
The first community I ever moderated was a listserv in 1997. I watched Steve Jobs unveil the iPhone at MacWorld in 2007. I piloted a brand MySpace platform in 2006, moved communities off message boards and onto Facebook groups in 2012, livestreamed press conferences on Periscope, and got dragged through more than one online crisis I’d rather not relive. During the pandemic, I ran virtual conferences for organizations that had built their whole model around gathering in person and suddenly couldn’t, while coaching entrepreneurs trying to build expert businesses from scratch, in real time, online. There was one week in 2022 when I moderated 17 two-hour live events in 10 days.
And after all of that? My Facebook group has fewer than 1,000 members. My podcast gets about 200 downloads a month. My social following across every platform combined is under 10,000.
I say that not to be modest. I say it because it’s the actual point: the people who know where all the bodies are buried in an industry are usually too busy doing the work to build a following around it. That’s true in my industry. It’s just as true in homeschooling.
Last year, at Mary Williams’ CEO Summer Rebellion, a room full of us — people who’ve been at this grind for decades — sat on something called the Dino Club Panel, comparing notes on how our success for other businesses came at the expense of our visibility. That’s where this started.
My own 12-year-old, Abbie, put it more bluntly than I would have: “Mom… you never talk about homeschooling online; you’re gonna mess up your algo.” She’s not wrong. And I don’t care.
Before You Take Homeschool Advice, Ask One Question
How old are their kids?
You can’t tell me what got a family through a resistant 12-year-old if your oldest is 8. You can’t tell me which elementary-school worries turned out to matter if you haven’t reached high school yet. You can’t tell me what homeschooling did for a child’s future if yours all still live at home.
That doesn’t make newer homeschoolers wrong, or their ideas worthless. It means experience has a timeline, and a lot of the loudest voices in this space right now haven’t reached the chapters they’re giving advice about. When I’m scared I’m getting something wrong, I want to hear from someone who’s already lived the part I haven’t gotten to.
I found my way into this world years ago through Jen MacKinnon, founder of Practical by Default and the Working Homeschool Mom Club — a community with more than 30,000 members. Jen’s the reason I believed working full time and homeschooling weren’t mutually exclusive. My girls eventually went back to traditional school, but this spring I’m homeschooling the youngest again, and I went straight back to the people I trusted the first time — including Dachelle McVey, whose language arts curriculum is one of the most effective and engaging I’ve ever seen (especially for my reluctant reader).
Introducing Been There, Homeschooled That
Together with Jen and Dachelle, I designed a homeschool summit with one non-negotiable rule: Every speaker has to have actually launched at least one homeschooled child into adulthood.
And it turns out, we aren’t the only ones hungry for this sort of event. We have 18 speakers participating in a mix of themed live and recorded sessions with a few panel discussions thrown in for variety:
Sept. 1 — The Practical Side addresses the logistics nobody warns you about. You know, curriculum that doesn’t fit, schedules that fall apart, and the systems veteran homeschoolers actually use to keep the wheels on the proverbial bus.
Sept. 2 — The Human Side covers the identity shift, the isolation, the guilt, and the relationships that change when you wear the hats of teacher, parent, spouse and individual.
Sept. 3 — The Long Game addresses what actually matters by the time you’re standing at graduation — transcripts, college, trades, and the choices that turned out to count for more than you thought at the time.
You don’t need to attend all of it. Seriously. If you’re already homeschooling, feeding people, keeping up with laundry, working, and trying to remember what you meant to order three days ago, the last thing I want to hand you is 20 more things you “should” be doing. Pick the conversations that solve your actual problem this week. Skip the rest. Recordings stay up through Sept. 8, so you don’t have to rearrange your life around three specific days.
Homeschool Planet is our presenting sponsor, and everyone who registers gets a full 30-day free trial, no credit/debit card required. It’s the kind of tool that keeps your home, school, and work calendars in one place and lets you drop in lesson plans from popular curriculum companies instead of building your own from scratch. Start with the planner itself, or jump to whatever solves your current headache.
You don’t need a homeschooler in your house right now for any of this to be useful. If you’ve ever had to figure out who to trust when everyone sounds equally confident, that’s really what Been There, Homeschooled That is all about.
You’ve built your online community with high hopes. You imagined lively discussions, members helping each other, and a space buzzing with activity. Instead, you’re exhausted from posting daily content that gets crickets in response. Your notifications are quiet. And despite your best efforts, most members lurk silently if they show up at all.
Sound familiar?
Community leaders often fall into a draining cycle — constantly creating content, answering every question, and trying to be everywhere at once. Yet their groups remain surprisingly quiet despite these heroic efforts.
This approach is exhausting. And it completely misses what actually creates genuine engagement online.
In this article, you’ll discover a different path to building a thriving community that doesn’t require your constant attention. You’ll learn a practical framework that works across any platform. And best of all, you’ll see how doing less — but with greater intention — creates more meaningful connections among your members.
When Traditional Community Management Falls Short
When your community lacks real interaction, the consequences hit your business hard:
Members silently disappear, taking their potential contributions with them
Conversion rates drop when you introduce new offers
Your enthusiasm for nurturing the group slowly drains away
The power of peer-to-peer connection remains untapped
Most importantly, a stagnant community means your members miss the very thing they joined for: belonging and connecting with others on the same journey.
A Platform-Neutral Approach to Community Building
The solution isn’t more content, more hours, or more platforms. It’s about being strategic with your efforts.
What makes the THRIVE Method different is its platform-neutral foundation. These principles work equally well in free Facebook groups, paid memberships, or proprietary platforms, because they’re based on how people actually behave online, not platform-specific tricks.
Let’s dig into this framework for the proper care and feeding of your online community:
The THRIVE Method for Sustainable Community Building
T – Trust Comes First
Before members will share meaningfully in your community, they need to trust that it’s safe to speak up. This requires thoughtful design from day one:
Transparent guidelines — Create clear community standards that show not just what’s not allowed, but what’s encouraged. A nonprofit’s supporter community might include guidelines around respectful political discussion while focusing on shared values over partisan divisions.
Consistent enforcement — Apply your standards evenly to everyone. When a longtime member of an author’s community broke confidentiality guidelines, addressing it publicly (while respecting privacy) showed that no one was above the community standards.
Vulnerability modeling — Share appropriately vulnerable content that shows the type of sharing you hope to see. A course creator might openly discuss a launch that didn’t meet expectations and what they learned, giving members permission to share their own setbacks. But what we’re not looking for here is drunk crying on the shoulder of the internet. Raw is NOT the new real.
Safe onboarding — Create a welcoming process that immediately shows your community’s values. A consulting community might include a structured introduction post format that helps new members share relevant background while feeling instantly valued.
When members trust the environment, they’re more likely to contribute authentically rather than watching silently or offering shallow engagement.
H – Human-to-Human Connections Matter
The most engaging communities put relationships first. Your job as a community leader is not to be a content creator. You are a connection facilitator:
Intentional introductions — Actively connect members with similar interests or complementary skills. In a homeschooling community, for example, this might mean tagging an experienced homeschooler when a newcomer asks about curriculum choices for a specific learning style.
Highlight mutual interests — Create visibility around shared challenges or goals. A business owner community might feature a monthly “what we’re working on” thread that makes collaboration opportunities obvious.
Design interaction-first experiences — Structure events and content to help members connect with each other. A speakers’ community might host peer feedback sessions where members review each other’s presentation openings rather than just learning from the leader.
Reduce leader-centric interactions — Redirect questions asked of you to knowledgeable community members. In a parent community, this might mean responding to a question about managing screen time by tagging several parents with different approaches rather than answering directly.
Communities thrive when members form connections independent of the leader, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of engagement.
It’s not that you can’t or shouldn’t answer questions from members or build direct relationships with them. The goal, though, is for everything not to fall on your shoulders. To accomplish that, you have to elevate others in the community as being wise, insightful and worth attention.
R – Routines Create Consistency
Predictable patterns help members know when and how to engage, creating a sense of ritual and belonging:
Consistent cadence — Establish regular touchpoints members can anticipate. A nonprofit’s volunteer community might host “First Friday” virtual coffee hours that become a reliable monthly gathering.
Themed discussions — Create recurring conversation themes that give structure to engagement. A customer-only community might designate Mondays for celebrating wins, Wednesdays for troubleshooting challenges, and Fridays for sharing resources.
Seasonal rhythms — Line up community activities with natural business or annual cycles. A school’s parent community might increase activity around back-to-school and decrease expectations during holiday breaks.
Engagement habits — Develop simple routines that members can add to their regular online behavior. A coaching community might encourage a daily practice of acknowledging one fellow member’s contribution.
Members feel more connected to communities with established rhythms they can mentally schedule around, even when they can’t join every activity.
I – Invite Participation Strategically
Generic questions rarely spark meaningful engagement. Instead, design invitations that make specific contributions feel both valuable and low-risk:
Tap into expertise — Create opportunities for members to showcase specific knowledge. A consultant community might ask members to share their best client onboarding tip rather than asking for general business advice.
Graduated vulnerability — Design participation opportunities with varying levels of emotional investment. An author community might offer options from simple polls about writing habits to more vulnerable shares about creative struggles.
Recognition incorporation — Weave previous member contributions into new discussion prompts. A course creator community might reference a member’s previous insight when launching a related conversation, creating continuity of dialogue.
Response priming — Structure questions to draw out specific types of answers. Instead of asking “What did you think of the workshop?” a business community might ask “What’s one action step you’re taking based on yesterday’s pricing workshop?”
Strategic participation invitations make engagement feel both easier and more meaningful, reducing the friction that keeps members silent.
V – Value Members’ Time and Energy
Community leaders often don’t realize how their constant presence can actually suppress member-to-member interaction:
Strategic absence — Intentionally delay responses in threads to create space for peer interaction. In a coach’s community, this might mean waiting 12-24 hours before responding to questions that other members could answer.
Attention redirection — Actively highlight and raise up member contributions. A conference’s speaker community might feature particularly insightful member posts as “Community Highlights” in their weekly digest.
Celebration systems — Create structured ways to acknowledge member milestones and contributions. A homeschool community might have a dedicated channel for celebrating educational breakthroughs that doesn’t require leader moderation.
Self-service resources — Develop easily accessible resources that answer common questions. A customer community might have a searchable FAQ that empowers members to help themselves and each other.
When members feel their contributions are genuinely valued, they’re more likely to actively participate in community building.
E – Evaluate and Adjust Regularly
Sustainable communities grow based on evidence rather than assumptions:
Engagement analysis — Review metrics to identify patterns in member activity. A nonprofit’s supporter community might discover that video updates receive triple the engagement of text-only posts.
Feedback mechanisms — Create regular opportunities for members to shape the community experience. A school’s parent community might conduct quarterly “temperature checks” via simple polls to assess what’s working and what needs adjustment.
Experiment mindset — Test new approaches with a learning orientation. A consulting community might trial three different meeting formats over three months to determine which generates the most active participation.
Adaptive planning — Modify community rituals based on changing member needs. A course creator’s community might shift from synchronous Q&A sessions to asynchronous voice responses after discovering many members prefer to engage while commuting.
Communities that regularly change based on member behavior and feedback naturally become more engaging over time.
Common Misconceptions About Community Building
You might be thinking:
“I need to create fresh content daily to keep my community engaged.”
In reality, most thriving communities focus more on facilitating meaningful conversations around selective content rather than constant production. One speaker community found that deeply discussing one presentation skill weekly generated far more engagement than daily speaking tips.
“As the leader, I should answer every question to show my expertise.”
When you answer every question, you actually train your members to wait for your response rather than engaging with each other. A consultant community that implemented a “members first” response rule—where the leader waited for at least two member responses before chiming in—saw peer-to-peer interaction increase by over 60%.
“The platform I choose determines my community’s success.”
While platforms offer different features, the basic principles of human connection work across all technology. A homeschool group that kept the same community guidelines, rituals, and facilitation approach when moving from Facebook to Circle retained over 85% of their active members despite the platform change.
Implementing the THRIVE Method
You don’t need to overhaul your community overnight. Start by picking just one element of the THRIVE Method to focus on this week:
If your community is new or rebuilding trust, focus on creating clear guidelines and modeling the vulnerability and transparency you hope to see
If engagement happens but seems leader-dependent, look for ways to connect members directly with each other
If participation is inconsistent, examine your community rhythms and create more predictable engagement opportunities
Remember, the proper care and feeding of your online community doesn’t require constant attention. It requires thoughtful design, strategic facilitation, and a basic understanding of what makes people feel connected.
Creating a Self-Sustaining Community
The best online communities share one key trait: they generate energy rather than draining it. By using the THRIVE Method, you create a space where members experience genuine connection while you maintain healthy boundaries.
When you shift from being the center of all activity to helping meaningful interactions happen between members, everything changes. Your community becomes more valuable to participants, more sustainable for you to manage, and more effective at achieving its purpose — whether that’s supporting customers, teaching students, developing professionals, or simply creating belonging.
Pick one principle from the THRIVE Method and try it this week. Then watch how a small, strategic change can spark a big shift in your community’s energy and engagement.
A great online community manager can transform your business, creating a thriving space where your audience connects, engages, and ultimately becomes loyal customers.
Or, it can be a complete waste of your time and money.
I say this as an online community strategist myself, and I’m fully aware this post may seem like a counterintuitive career move. But too many business owners hire community managers who don’t deliver meaningful results, and I’d like to help you avoid that mistake.
What Is An Online Community Manager?
The first thing to understand is that a community manager’s job probably isn’t what you think it is.
An online community isn’t just a group of people who follow you online. It’s not about accumulating members or generating constant activity. Those are tactics, not goals.
There’s a LOT of hype around online communities, and it’s easy to convince yourself you need one to succeed. It’s tempting to compare your membership numbers, engagement rates, and activity levels to competitors and believe your community strategy is failing.
But unless your community exists as a public service, your true goal isn’t community success for its own sake. It’s to build relationships that support your business objectives, whether that’s selling products, creating opportunities, or furthering a cause.
A good community manager knows the point of an online community is to accomplish a real business goal, not just to be “good” at managing a group.
So before you hire a community manager, make sure they can explain how their approach will help you accomplish your actual goals and not just improve your community metrics.
Community Metrics Don’t Always Matter
Once you recognize that the community itself isn’t the goal, you’ll discover that many community metrics are often misleading vanity metrics.
If your goal is to sell more courses, then it’s not your community size that matters. The true measure of success lies in how many courses you sell through that community.
Some community metrics correlate to business outcomes that actually matter, but often they don’t. You can triple your group membership, but if those members don’t convert into customers, then who cares?
That’s not a community success story, but too often it’s presented like it is by community managers who don’t actually know how to use communities to drive truly meaningful results for your business.
Community Strategy Is More Valuable Than Community Management
Most people overpay for community management and underpay for community strategy.
I’ve seen countless proposals from agencies offering to manage a business owner’s online community. These proposals typically include detailed plans about content posting schedules, welcome messages for new members, and comment moderation guidelines.
You know what’s often missing from these proposals?
An explanation of the strategic approach to the community, how it will help the business accomplish specific goals, who the target audience is, and how this investment will further the business’s objectives. The proposals lack any real strategic vision. This is true of most community management proposals I’ve seen.
And if all you are paying for is the proper care and feeding of your people, where is the strategy driving how the community is cared for coming from? If it’s not the community manager you’ve hired, then it’s either you or it’s non-existent.
Community managers often sell you on lightening your load by taking over the day-to-day tasks that drain you. But in doing so, they ignore the importance of community strategy. While posting content and moderating comments in volume can be time consuming, it’s not a complicated set of tasks.
What’s hard is developing a community strategy that uses that engagement to accomplish your actual business goals. Make sure you don’t pay for community management without a clear strategy behind it.
Hire A Community Manager Who’s More Than Just A Community Expert
Non-community experience is as important as community experience.
Since the strategy piece is more crucial than the management piece, look for someone who understands your industry as well as they understand community-building. Just because a community manager knows the latest Facebook Groups features or Circle platform updates doesn’t mean they understand how your industry works and what your customers are looking for.
The latter is just as important — maybe more so — than the former. The community manager you hire can only be as good as their understanding of your business.
A Community Manager Is An Amplifier, Not A Magician
If your product, service, or creation doesn’t provide actual value, the best community manager in the world won’t be able to help you.
Online communities aren’t shortcuts to success — they are a vehicle to amplify things that deserve amplification and deepen relationships with people who already see your value. So if you hire a community expert to help you, make sure what you give them to work with is worth people’s time and attention.
Your Community Manager Should Give You A Conversion Strategy
A community strategy without a conversion strategy is incomplete.
Your online community is an entry point or a nurturing ground. It’s the beginning — or continuation — of a relationship with your customer and audience. But that relationship has to ultimately lead somewhere. To a purchase or an action. To a conversion that supports your business. A community strategy that doesn’t include a conversion strategy is a beginning without an end.
The greatest community in the world is meaningless to your business if it doesn’t lead to anything tangible.
So make sure you hire a community manager who can not only tell you how to create engagement in your community, but also has a plan to convert that engagement into business results. Or, at the very least, is forthright about the limitations to their scope of service.
In case you think otherwise, I believe online communities are incredibly valuable tools when used the right way.
Since 2007, I’ve specialized in online community design and development. People hire me and my team to design strategies for their free and paid groups and — when it makes sense — to manage the proper care and feeding of their members, so they can focus on other aspects of their business.
If what I’ve said above resonates with you and you’d like help approaching online community building in an effective way, there are three ways I can help:
Get a community strategy designed specifically for your business goals. We’ll work together to create a strategic plan that aligns your community with your business objectives.
Have my team manage your community with purpose. We’ll implement your strategy with intentional management that focuses on both engagement and conversion.
Learn how to do it yourself. Through coaching and resources like my Community Content Calendar, I can equip you with the tools to build and grow your own thriving community.
If you’re interested in exploring any of these options,book a call so we can discuss your specific needs and determine the best approach for your business.
Ready for the next step? If you’ve decided hiring a community manager makes sense for your business, read my comprehensive guide:Hiring an Online Community Manager: What You Need to Know. It covers everything from costs and expectations to avoiding common mistakes in the hiring process.
As of February 19, 2025, any new Facebook Live live videos will only be available for 30 days before being automatically deleted from the platform.
This is a dramatic departure from Facebook’s historical default of storing all content until a user chooses to delete it.
If you regularly livestream onto any Facebook property — Groups included — this change affects you! While Facebook’s announcement specifically mentions Profiles and Pages, all live videos are technically attached to either your Profile or Page — even those streamed directly into groups.
What This Means for Your Content
Here’s what you need to know:
New live videos (streamed after February 19, 2025) will only be stored for 30 days
Existing live videos (streamed before February 19, 2025) will be selected for deletion in waves.
Facebook users will be notified by email and within the app when their live videos are due for deletion, with approximately 3 months to take action
All live videos on the platform are affected. This includes those in Groups, since they’re attached to your profile or page
Facebook is likely making this change to clear server space, which is expensive for any company to maintain.
How to Download Your Facebook Live Videos
Fortunately, downloading your videos is fairly straightforward:
Go to your Facebook profile
Click on your profile picture
Navigate to “Activity Log”
Filter by “Live Videos”
For each video you want to save, click the three dots and select “Download”
The video will download to your device with an automatically generated filename (not the original title), so you may want to rename files as you save them to keep track of your content.
This method is preferred because every livestream video you’ve hosted will be included in your Activity Log, no matter where you streamed it to. Alternatively, you can download the videos you want directly from each Group, Profile and Page. But that process will take longer.
You Activity Log will list all of your live videos, no matter where they were hosted.
What to Do With Your Downloaded Videos
Once you’ve downloaded your videos, you have several options:
Upload them as pre-recorded videos on Facebook — There’s no guarantee how long these will be stored
Convert shorter clips into Reels — Facebook seems to be encouraging this
Host them on another platform like YouTube or Vimeo
Store them in your own archives for future use
Your decision will be based on the role live video played in your overall Facebook and business strategy.
Stay Updated on Platform Changes
Social media platforms are constantly evolving their policies, especially regarding video content. If you’re regularly hosting live videos as part of your community building strategy, you’ll want to stay informed about these types of changes.
For more tips on building and maintaining thriving online communities despite platform changes, join my Facebook group,The Secret to Thriving Online Communities. We regularly discuss strategies for navigating platform changes while keeping your community engaged and growing.
Have you received notification about your live videos? What’s your plan for saving your content? Feel free to share your approach in the comments.
Meta’s recent announcement about ending its third-party fact-checking program and relaxing its harmful content policies has sparked intense debate. Many fear these changes will make social media more dangerous, particularly for marginalized populations. But this focus on Meta’s platform-wide policies misses a more fundamental question: Why have we outsourced the governance of our online spaces to profit-driven tech companies in the first place?
When Platform-Wide Policies Fail Communities
Consider Cath Hakanson’s That Parent Group, a space where 211,000 parents once could safely ask questions about their children’s sexual development and get expert guidance from a public health educator. The group served a vital need, providing support for parents navigating sensitive topics they couldn’t discuss elsewhere. Yet Facebook’s one-size-fits-all automated content screening system repeatedly flagged legitimate questions as conduct violations, eventually shutting down the entire group — despite its clear value to parents.
In another instance, we had a Facebook Group in my hometown during the pandemic for local families that experienced deep divisions over public safety measures. Much like the rest of the nation, members held opposing views on mask mandates, vaccines, and distance-learning. Members on both sides began reporting each other’s posts to admins and flagging them to Facebook as harmful content, fake news, false information, etc. Soon, the admin team was receiving automated warnings about the group’s content.
While the volunteer admins initially wanted to allow respectful disagreement, they felt pressured to take a more heavy-handed approach or risk Facebook shutting down the group itself. Eventually, the humans running the group decided the risks outweighed any benefits and closed it down, leaving a gap in the local news and information pipeline for families with school-aged children.
These scenarios illustrate a fundamental flaw in platform-wide automated enforcement: AI systems and universal policies can’t distinguish between predatory behavior and legitimate calls for help and advice. While every social media platform has an obligation to prevent exploitation, Meta’s broad-brush technological approach often causes more harm than good.
The False Security of Automated Platform Enforcement
We’ve grown complacent in recent years. We expect technology to shield us from harmful content and misinformation. When we see something inappropriate, we report it to the platform and keep scrolling, assuming AI or fact-checkers will handle it.
But this reliance on platform-wide enforcement creates several problems:
We become less mindful of our own behavior, assuming anything not flagged by the system must be okay
We lose opportunities to see people’s true colors and make informed decisions about relationships
We sacrifice chances for meaningful dialogue and understanding
We forget how to have respectful disagreements or engage in thoughtful discourse
These problems erode our ability to function as a community. We’ve forgotten that genuine safety comes from human connection and community-level governance, not algorithmic enforcement by distant corporate entities.
Think about it: when was the last time you saw someone directly address problematic content by saying, “That’s not appropriate here” or “I think you could get your point across without name-calling”? These human interventions have largely disappeared because we’ve been conditioned to rely on the “report” button instead of direct communication.
In the communities I design and support with my team, I encourage creating a culture where members address minor infractions directly. Instead of immediately flagging a tersely worded comment for removal, members might respond with, “Wow, sounds like you’re really going through some stuff. Can you share a little more?” This community-level guidance does way more than Facebook automation taking over to close comments or mute members. It gives community members a stronger sense of ownership and connection.
Platform-wide enforcement is fundamentally reactive. A post has to exist before it can be flagged by AI or fact-checkers, which means potentially harmful content still appears — it just gets taken down later. This approach is both ineffective and expensive. Cath was paying nearly $3,000 monthly to a team of human moderators in addition to relying on Facebook’s automated screening tools.
Money isn’t the only form of currency involved in community management. Community owners who don’t have the budget to pay a team invest their own time. It’s not uncommon for an active, highly engaged community to require 10-15 hours a week of management and moderation. And while you can recruit volunteers, you still have to invest time in training and managing them.
For many professional community managers, we appreciate a reduction in workload when it comes to managing the proper care and feeding of members in large, active groups. But we also know that reduction in workload comes at its own price. Facebook flags posts as potential spam and holds them for automated review, which is helpful when it’s true. But when it’s not, we get members who keep reposting because they don’t understand why their post isn’t showing up, or get angry because they think the admin team unfairly pulled their post.
More concerning is how dependence on platform enforcement creates an “us vs. them” mentality and increases polarization. When automated systems immediately remove content instead of allowing human conversation about differing viewpoints, we lose opportunities for understanding and growth.
Building Communities That Govern Themselves
While I’m a fan of taking advantage of as much support as I can get in providing safe, inclusive spaces that facilitate deep connection online, heavy-handed platform-wide enforcement misses the mark. Instead, the best solution is taking ownership of our online spaces through intentional community design and active governance.
Trust Through Transparency and Vulnerability
Trust forms the foundation of any thriving community. In Clutter Free Academy, a community I’ve managed since 2016, we build trust through transparent leadership that acknowledges mistakes, shared vulnerability where leaders model appropriate disclosure, and consistent enforcement of boundaries so members know what to expect.
This creates psychological safety that encourages authentic participation. When members trust the space and its leadership, they’re more likely to engage meaningfully rather than lurking or posting superficially.
Fostering Genuine Human Connection
Connection happens when members relate to each other, not just to content. In The Secret to Thriving Online Communities, we welcome new members by introducing them to others with similar interests based on information they provide when joining. Weekly training sessions allow members to learn alongside each other and support one another in facing current challenges. We also regularly recognize our most active members so everyone knows who’s most likely to be checking in if they have questions.
These structural elements create connective tissue between members in ways no platform policy could.
Responsive Yet Sustainable Engagement
Sustainable community management requires systems that allow consistent engagement without burnout. In Clutter Free Academy, an active community of 16,000, we use post approval to ensure every question gets an initial response from an admin or moderator as soon as it’s published. We review pending posts twice daily during the week and once daily on weekends, so members aren’t waiting long before their posts go live.
Making sure each post gets a first response sets the tone for others to follow, strengthens community culture, and reduces the need to mediate conflict because fewer misunderstandings occur.
Intentional Design That Serves Purpose
Every element of your community should serve its purpose. Journey Homeschool Family Support and Encouragement is a customer-only Facebook Group with a clearly communicated purpose: to foster a vibrant and supportive environment for parents whose families use Journey Homeschool Academy science curriculum.
That single sentence guides every decision, from content planning to conflict resolution. When posts stray from this purpose, it’s easy to redirect the conversation by focusing on what makes the group most supportive of families who prioritize quality science education.
Creating Value Exchange
Thriving communities ensure value flows both ways. Members should receive tangible benefits from participation, while leaders gain insights that inform their work. When leading a statewide community for public health workers, we implemented a “spotlight” feature that invited members to showcase successful initiatives in their communities. This provided visibility to the featured member and their agency while delivering insights to others — creating a virtuous cycle of contribution.
Empowering Members
The ultimate goal is member self-sufficiency. In a public service group that struggled with consistent violations of community standards, we created a three-tier approach to governance: private message for first offenses, public reminder for repeated patterns, and temporary removal for persistent issues. This transparent system resulted in only two permanent removals in three years — proof that clear expectations paired with member empowerment can prevent the need for heavy moderation.
Industry Validation
It’s not just community leaders observing the limitations of platform-wide enforcement systems. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian recently called Meta’s decision to end third-party fact-checking “very pragmatic,” noting that “it is impossible to do fact-checking at scale, let alone in real time, as Facebook was trying to do.”
As the creator of a platform that pioneered community-centered governance, Ohanian understands what Meta is now being forced to acknowledge: centralized, automated enforcement simply doesn’t scale effectively. Reddit’s approach of “community-specific rules” across individual subreddits has proven more sustainable than top-down, algorithmic enforcement.
“It is impossible to do fact-checking at scale, let alone in real time, as Facebook was trying to do.” — Alexis Ohanian, Reddit Co-Founder
Essential Skills for Community Leaders
Fast Company’s Henry McCracken rightfully observes that in light of Meta pulling back its platform-wide content moderation, Facebook Group leaders are our last, best hope for a quality online community. This policy shift undoubtedly places an additional burden on community managers — particularly challenging since the vast majority of Facebook Groups are run by volunteers who stepped up to fill a need they saw, not professional moderators with formal training.
Yet despite this added pressure, the reality remains: if you build a community, you have both a responsibility and an obligation to govern it effectively. Regardless of whether you’re paid or unpaid, working from altruism or self-interest, you can’t abdicate this core duty to the platform or simply let members determine their own standards.
To create truly safe spaces, community leaders need to develop:
These skills are foundational to effective community leadership. When we rely too heavily on platform-wide enforcement, we allow these muscles to atrophy. Many community leaders aren’t comfortable with direct intervention because they’ve been conditioned to defer to automated tools.
Developing these skills requires intentional practice and a willingness to engage when things get uncomfortable. It means understanding the difference between silencing someone through automated systems and having meaningful conversations about impact. Most importantly, these skills transfer across platforms. If you can successfully navigate conflict in your Facebook Group with minimal reliance on platform enforcement, you’ll be well-equipped to build thriving communities anywhere.
Start by critically assessing your community design:
Map your ideal member experience from day one through year one
Evaluate whether support processes are clear
Check if community guidelines are visible and consistently enforced
Assess whether members feel safe being authentic
Consider platform features that might enhance psychological safety
Review resource organization and accessibility
In a recent community audit, I discovered that a client’s onboarding process mentioned their rules but never explained why those rules mattered. By adding short explanations connecting each rule to member benefits (“We prohibit promotional posts so you can focus on learning without distraction”), you center the member experience.
In communities focused on sensitive topics, anonymity options make the difference between complete silence and active conversations by members who feel safe sharing their true experiences.
Above all, though, remember that you can do all of this while still asserting and maintaining healthy boundaries. You owe your community proper care, but you don’t owe members everything. Be clear about what you can provide within your resources and boundaries, and feel good about sticking to your limits.
The communities that will thrive in the next decade won’t be those with the strictest moderation policies or the most advanced AI tools. They’ll be the ones that have built the invisible architecture of trust, connection, responsive engagement, intentional design, value exchange, and member empowerment that no algorithm can replicate.
We’re entering an era of “community sovereignty” — where successful groups operate with increasing independence from their hosting platforms. Platform policies will become less relevant as communities develop their own governance structures, culture, and enforcement mechanisms. Especially when those communities are operating with even greater health and vibrancy than under the rule of platform-specific oversight.
It’s already happening. Well-designed communities have weathered platform changes, algorithm updates, and policy shifts with minimal disruption. Their strength comes not from rules imposed from above, but from connections cultivated within.
The communities that struggle most with Meta’s policy changes will be those that have outsourced their safety to the platform. The ones that thrive will be those who’ve been building intentionally all along, treating the platform as infrastructure rather than governance.
So while others debate the implications of Meta’s policy changes, I challenge you to ask a different question: How can you build a community so resilient, so deeply connected, that it doesn’t matter what Meta does next?
When you design with intention, facilitate with care, and lead with values, you don’t need to worry about what Mark Zuckerberg decides. You’ll have built something that transcends any platform’s policies — a truly safe space where connection flourishes because of your leadership, not despite a platform’s limitations.
Managing conflict in online communities makes a lot of professionals want to vomit.
If you’re like many good people on social media, the thought of coming under attack for something you’ve said — or something you didn’t say but someone inferred from your post — is enough to make you want to hide under your bed and gorge on ice cream.
As a professional community strategist and manager, I’ve seen more than my fair share of conflict on just about every social media platform you can imagine. Free communities, paid communities, Facebook groups, membership sites — conflict shows up everywhere.
Online Conflict is Practically Unavoidable
Conflict is inevitable. Just like roses usually come with thorns, it’s tough to have an active, thriving community that doesn’t somehow, somewhere come with conflicts.
They’re natural. They’re normal.
I’ve had conflict bubble up in a community because a member mistook the community leader and me as mother and daughter. While I jokingly replied that my client’s children were younger and much more adorable than me, the member went into defense mode. They leaned in hard to convince everyone that we were to blame for their error:
We were standing too close together to not be related
We both wore glasses and had curly hair
To them, it was obvious that we were more than client and service provider. Meanwhile, it was an uncomfortable situation for other members who were confused by the refusal to let the situation die.
Lesson learned: You can’t please everyone all the time. But that doesn’t mean you have to armor up or gird your loins like you’re preparing for battle every time you post something online. That’s no way to live and will interfere with the authentic connections you deserve to have online.
What you need is preparation and a plan.
Your Three Choices When Conflict Arises
When conflict surfaces online, it’s normal to feel backed into a corner with only one way out. But the truth is you have three choices:
Ignore it — Wait and see if it goes away on its own
Shut it down — Close comments, delete comments, ban users, or leave the group if it’s not your community
Monitor and mediate — Allow the conflict cycle to complete itself while staying ready to step in if needed
In most cases, I find the monitor-and-mediate approach most effective, but I’ve had years of practice handling online conflict. Few people are as comfortable managing tense online conversations as I am. But if you want to learn the monitor-and-mediate approach, keep reading. I’m breaking it down for you below.
The Art of Monitoring and Mediating
After managing countless conflicts across various online communities, I’ve developed a tried-and-true process that works in most situations.
Here’s my detailed approach to monitoring and mediating conflict:
1. Allow the Conflict Cycle to Complete
Every online conflict follows a natural arc, much like a story:
Initial trigger (the post or comment)
Conflict ramps up as more people engage
Reaches a peak of activity and emotion
Begins to decline as interest wanes
Eventually fades into community memory
Many conflicts resolve themselves within 24 hours. The first day indicates how things will go in most cases. But timing varies. Some situations build slowly and peak for weeks, while others flare up and die down in a matter of hours.
Rarely does a conflict become so significant that it’s remembered long-term, but it can happen. Usually, though, that happens with larger brands. But even then, what seems major in the moment naturally dies down over time.
Think about it. Do you remember the “United Breaks Guitars” scandal? How about the discovery that UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi spent at least $175 million university dollars to scrub negative posts from the internet related to a campus pepper-spray incident? Likely not. But these were intense case studies when I was in grad school, big enough that they made their way into public relations and crisis communications textbooks, research journal articles and professional case studies.
The key to effective monitoring is finding the right balance. You want to stay informed without becoming obsessive. Here’s how I approach it:
For Fast-Moving Situations…
Set up notifications for key terms or threads
Check several times an hour
Take screenshots of concerning comments (they might get deleted)
Track who’s involved and how the conversation is evolving
For Slower-Building Tension…
Check in a couple times daily
Watch for pattern changes
Pay attention to member reactions and engagement
Note if new people are joining the conversation
Stay ready to step in, but don’t rush. If you have a strong culture, you’ll find that the community will rise up to police itself – but they need the space to work things out.
3. Step In Strategically
When you do decide to intervene, how you do it matters as much as when. Here’s my approach:
Frame the Intervention Positively — Start with something like: “What I love about this group is that we all have different perspectives and we feel comfortable working through our disagreements. That takes courage.”
Set Clear Boundaries — Remind members that while this issue matters now, it may not be central to why your community exists. I often say something like: “Let’s remember that just last week, we all liked each other. Maybe we can keep liking each other while we work through this.”
Match Your Community’s Tone — Your intervention style should align with your community culture. In some groups, I can say, “How old are we? We don’t need to call each other names.” But in others, that would feel condescending and make things worse. So know your audience and adjust your tone and style of response accordingly.
Use Diffusion Techniques
Sometimes the best approach is to validate multiple perspectives while redirecting the energy. Here’s an example from a cookbook author I observed:
When conflict arose between vegans and plant-based eaters over honey, she stepped in with: “John here is one of the good guys. He owns more of my cookbooks than anyone, and yes, he’s right. Honey isn’t vegan. And you all are also right. This is a whole foods plant-based group where honey is okay to discuss. Both things can be true.”
4. Be Ready to End It
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you need to take more decisive action:
Delete comments that violate community guidelines
Close comments on inflammatory posts
Ban users who consistently create problems
Remove posts that are causing ongoing harm
If you do need to end things abruptly, be prepared to:
Explain your actions clearly
Stand firm on your decisions
Handle potential backlash about censorship
Support team members who may face criticism
The key is to always act in alignment with your community’s stated values and guidelines, even when making tough decisions.
Think Before You Respond — Put more thought into your conflict response than you might have put into your initial comment.
Frame Rules of Engagement — Be clear about how disagreement should happen in your community.
Consider Context — What works in one community might feel condescending in another.
Be Ready to End It — Sometimes you need to close comments or delete posts, but be prepared for potential backlash about censorship. Humans are imperfectly human. You can control your behavior but not how others perceive it.
Own Your Mistakes — If you need to delete a problematic post, acknowledge it publicly: “I deleted my earlier post because [reason]. I’m not trying to pretend it didn’t happen, but I can’t leave it up to continue causing harm.”
Moving Forward
Preparation doesn’t mean paranoia. Having a plan for handling conflict allows you to build and maintain a thriving online community without living in fear of the next blow-up.
Eliminating conflict is impossible. But you can handle it in a way that maintains community health and respects all involved. Sometimes that means stepping in quickly, other times it means letting the community work it out themselves while you watch the magic happen.
What matters most is staying true to your community’s purpose while keeping the lines of communication open. After all, the most engaged communities are the ones that handle conflict with grace and clarity.
Hiring an online community manager is a big step in your business. And while hiring help isn’t hard, it’s not as easy as some would lead you to believe.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a coach or consultant tell a community leader to offload the proper care and feeding of their people to a virtual assistant (VA), I’d have vacation property on at least two continents. The reality of building a team to support the management of your online community is nuanced.
As someone who has designed and developed online communities professionally since 2007, I’ve seen firsthand how the wrong hire can actually create more work for you in the long run. But I’ve also witnessed the transformative impact of bringing in the right support at the right time.
The goal of this article is to provide a high-level overview of what it means to hire help, how to know if it makes sense for you, and how to go about it if you are serious about hiring an admin or moderator team.
Online Community Management is More Than Just Time Management
The biggest challenge in community management isn’t just finding time to do it all. It’s navigating the competing priorities of operational efficiency and authentic connection.
You can automate post scheduling or outsource member approvals, but you can’t delegate the heart of your community: the relationships you’ve built with your members. They joined your group for access to you, your resources and your perspective. And while you deserve healthy boundaries between work and life, this creates a paradox that can leave you feeling stuck:
You need help to serve your community better, but you can’t afford to compromise the relationships and connections that make your community special.
And if you’re being honest with yourself, you know you’re overwhelmed but you don’t really know what kind of help you need.
You can hire help for your community whenever you want. There are business owners who hire moderators or teams of moderators before they even build their community. However, most community leaders start their groups as a solo endeavor. And that means they are a one-person show until that approach becomes unsustainable.
Every community leader runs into situations when bringing in support is not just helpful, but necessary. Sometimes, the need is for short-term help. Other times, you need a long-term solution.
Not every problem is permanent, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need support to get yourself to the other side of it. Here are some cases where short-term support makes sense:
You’re dealing with illness or recovery
You’re going on vacation
You need to focus your efforts on a major project or launch
You are managing a personal emergency
For these situations, a professional community manager might not be necessary. A trusted team member or veteran community member can often step in to maintain basic operations until you’re able to resume your normal routine.
Think of this like house-sitting — they keep things running but aren’t making major improvements or decisions.
Not too long ago, a family emergency forced me out of the office for a week without much notice. I reached out to the five most active members in the busiest communities I managed at the time, asking if they could step in to cover for me.
Knowing I didn’t have time to provide formal training, I asked them to handle the proper care and feeding of members by responding to questions, facilitating connections between members, welcoming new members, and alerting me directly if any bad behavior was detected.
Every person enthusiastically agreed to help, feeling privileged to be trusted with the task. And I could focus on my family, confident that the communities were in good hands while I was away.
Meanwhile, members were none the wiser about my absence. While the communities value my presence and insight when they are stuck, their top priority is getting the help they need in a timely fashion. These veteran members were just as capable as me, and they added even more value since their lived experiences are different from mine. It was beautiful to see how the community flourished under their temporary care.
Long-Term Support (1+ months)
If the problem preventing you from caring for your community like you want to will persist for more than three weeks, you need to consider long-term support. Situations where a semi-permanent or permanent solution is required include:
Your business is growing rapidly, and you’re having a hard time keeping up with the growth
You’re spending more than two hours a week on basic community management tasks (approving member requests, answering questions, enforcing community standards, etc.)
You are unable to show up consistently in your community two to three times per week
The volume of member posts, questions and comments have outpaced your capacity
These scenarios call for professional community management support.
Just like you wouldn’t ask a house-sitter to renovate your kitchen or manage your household operations, you need skilled help to maintain and grow your community’s momentum.
Hiring a volunteer or virtual assistant in these situations will likely only add work to your already-overflowing plate. What you really need is someone who can truly step into your shoes with minimal direction and oversight. Only a trained professional can create strategic initiatives, determine the best tactics to execute those initiatives and analyze results to make data-informed decisions.
What Professional Community Management Actually Involves
Before you hire help, make sure you understand what community management is and is not. Too many people — even so-called experts — confuse social media management and community management. Understanding the difference will help you ask the right questions and set the right expectations in the hiring and training process. Likewise, a true online community specialist does a lot more than approve member requests and celebrate members.
Here’s what comprehensive community management typically covers:
Basic Support
Several virtual assistants who offer community management services provide fundamental support. They will handle the day-to-day operations that keep your community running smoothly.
Think of this like basic housekeeping — they maintain order and cleanliness based on the priorities you set. Your community manager will handle member request approvals, welcome new members into the group, and monitor for questions that need attention. They’ll also handle basic moderation to ensure everyone plays nice and schedule regular content to maintain consistency.
At this level of support, the community manager will expect you to provide the content for them to post, the resources they should reference and the tasks you want them to perform. But within that scope, they should be able to operate with minimal supervision.
Advanced Support
This is where community management transforms from basic maintenance into true cultivation of your community’s growth and development. An advanced community manager is a strategic partner in the design, development and day-to-day management of your group.
As a communities expert, they should be able to create content that specifically addresses member needs and facilitates deeper connections between community members. They can produce and manage live broadcasts, track important metrics, and use that data to make informed strategy adjustments.
They should also be prepared to handle crisis situations and actively work to develop and maintain your community’s culture. Think of this like having a house manager rather than just a housekeeper — they’re actively working to improve and enhance the community experience.
Expectations are a Two-Way Street
Setting clear expectations is crucial when bringing in professional help for your community. You need to be specific about what you want from them, and they need to clearly articulate the scope of service they are able to provide.
The term “community management” means different things to different people. It’s up to you to ensure alignment of expectations so everyone agrees on which results will define success.
What You Can Reasonably Expect from a Community Manager
A professional community manager should become a true advocate for your members, deeply understanding their needs and ensuring those needs are met. They’ll implement your community strategy with expertise and maintain consistent engagement standards that keep your community active and valuable.
They should support your business objectives by creating an environment where members naturally progress toward becoming clients or customers. You can expect them to provide professional insights based on their experience and handle the day-to-day operations that keep your community running smoothly.
What’s Not Reasonable to Expect from a Community Manager
Your community manager won’t be your clone or replacement. In fact, trying to make them act as you can backfire, coming across as inauthentic to your members.
They should be participating in your community under their own name and operating as a bridge between you and your members. Think of them as the collective voice of your members.
Don’t expect a community manager to grow your group externally, either. Their role is to nurture the members you bring in and strengthen the group culture, not to recruit new members. They also won’t design your offers or sales strategy. While they can support your sales process, they can’t create it for you. You still need to be the owner and visionary charting the course for your business. It’s up to you to determine and communicate how the community fits into your overall business model.
It’s also not reasonable to expect a paid community manager to have the same emotional investment in your community as you do. They can care deeply about your members and your mission, but this is still a job for them, not a passion project.
And perhaps most importantly, don’t expect premium results on a minimal budget. Just like you can’t expect a $25 haircut to look like a $250 one, you can’t expect full-service community management for the price of a part-time off-shore VA.
Common Mistakes to Avoid as You Build Your Team
If you’ve never built a team before or hired help in a key function of your business, you will make mistakes. It’s part of being human. However, there are some common errors I see community leaders make when hiring admins and moderators to run their groups.
The Disappearing Act
The most common mistake community leaders make is thinking that hiring help means they can disappear. In their mind, they are paying someone to lead the community and that means they no longer have to worry about it.
However, there is a difference between delegating the role and responsibilities associated with the management of your group and abdicating your ownership of it. If your community is a key part of your business model, you can’t afford to be absent from it.
Your members joined the community because of YOU. While a community manager can maintain engagement and facilitate connections, they can’t replace the unique value you bring. Your presence and leadership remain essential to your community’s success.
So instead of thinking that hiring help means you can ignore the group, recognize that it means you get to be more strategic about the time you spend in it. Your community manager can help you determine which efforts are most likely to move the needle toward your goals, so you focus attention there instead of on the busy work of keeping the community running.
The Budget Mismatch
Community management isn’t a “Task Rabbit” assignment. While you might fit your community into open pockets of time here and there, a professional community manager has a system by which they ensure your community is as successful as possible.
If your group is large, busy or the primary driver of revenue in your business, it may always require 10-15 hours a week of active management (40-60 hours a month).
While the hours required for success are pretty standard, there is no hard and fast rule about who performs all the tasks associated with your community.
If you want to take responsibility for strategy, content creation, and nurturing members along the customer journey, you might only need 10 to 20 hours of support from your admin team each month. So consider that when figuring out your budget for hiring help.
While some community managers bill hourly, most offer package rates. A strategic plan can cost between $2,000 and $10,000, depending on whether implementation support is included. Basic management averages $500/month for up to 10 hours of work. Advanced management can run between $1,500-$3,000/month.
Some tasks that affect service costs include whether you expect the community manager to connect with members via direct messages (DMs), create your content strategy, moderate livestreams and group calls, run group calls and events themselves, provide strategic guidance or metric analysis.
The Strategy Gap
No matter how much professionals charge for the help you want them to provide, the amount of money and time you invest in your community has to make sense within the complete picture of your business. If your community is only 5% of your business, it doesn’t make sense to spend 30% of your operating budget on it.
Before you ever think about hiring help, first get clear on what function you want your community to fill within your business. Then decide how much of your operating budget to invest in that function. From there, you can either create your own community strategy or hire an expert to create the strategic plan.
But under no circumstances can you skip over having a strategy in place.
Hiring help without a clear community strategy is like hiring a housekeeper with no plan for what parts of the house you want them to clean. You’re setting everyone up for frustration and failure. Your community manager needs to understand your vision, goals, and the specific ways you want to achieve them. Without this foundation, they have no way to define success, or project what’s possible.
Making the Right Choice for Your Community
After years of both managing communities and leading a community management agency, I’ve learned that success comes down to asking the right questions before you hire. As you think through whether to hire a community manager, consider the following criteria.
Understanding Your Support Needs
First, get crystal clear about what specific tasks need support. Are you struggling with day-to-day moderation? Content creation? Member engagement? Does everything feel scattered with no common thread? Understanding your pain points helps identify the level of support you actually need.
Evaluating Required Expertise
Different community management needs require different levels of expertise. Basic moderation and member approvals might be handled by a VA who specializes in communities, but strategic community development requires a strategic mindset and depth of experience in online user behavior and psychology. Be honest about what your community needs to thrive.
Setting a Realistic Budget
Remember that old saying, “You get what you pay for”? It’s especially true in community management. Consider what you can realistically invest and what return you expect from that investment. Don’t forget to factor in the value of your time that will be freed up.
Defining Success Metrics
How will you know if bringing in help is working? Establish clear metrics for success before you hire. This might include engagement rates, member satisfaction, or specific business goals your community supports.
Assessing Your Systems
Finally, take a hard look at what systems you have in place. Do you have documented processes? Clear community guidelines? A content strategy? Having these fundamentals in place makes it much easier for someone to step in and help effectively.
Next Steps in Hiring Help
If you’re considering hiring help for your community:
Document your current community management processes
Identify specific areas where you need support
Define your budget and expectations
Create or update your community strategy
Research potential solutions that align with your needs and budget
Whether you decide to hire help or continue managing your community solo, the key is being intentional about your choice and clear about your expectations.
Need help evaluating your community management needs?Book a strategy session to discuss your specific situation and explore your options.
In a time dominated by artificial intelligence and automated content, human connection has never been more valuable – or more challenging to cultivate. As we move into 2025, the pendulum is swinging back toward authentic relationships and genuine engagement in online spaces.
Recently, I shared my thoughts on this shift during two conversations about what lies ahead for content creators – first with Mary Williams of Sensible Woo, and then on the Writing at the Red House podcast with Kathi Lipp and Tenneil Register. Drawing from my 16+ years of experience in online community design, development, and growth, I see some significant changes coming in how we approach content creation and community building.
Here are my three key predictions for 2025:
1. The Rise of Craft and Authenticity in the Age of AI
With AI-generated content becoming increasingly prevalent in areas like show notes, newsletters, and social media posts, content creators will need to work harder to differentiate themselves. The key differentiator will be showcasing your unique voice, perspective, and – perhaps most importantly – your credentials and lived experience.
While AI can generate content on virtually any topic, it cannot replicate your personal journey, professional experience, or the nuanced understanding that comes from years in your field. This emphasis on craft and authenticity will become crucial as generic, AI-generated content becomes more common and easily identifiable.
If you want to take advantage of this trend, start publishing your own perspectives in public spaces. For instance, AI can offer features comparisons of the most popular community platforms, but it can’t provide the kind of insider knowledge I have gleaned through years of experience. And that’s why my article on where to go next if you’re planning to move your Facebook Group is so popular.
2. The Shift to Intimate Communities
We’re seeing a significant trend toward smaller, more intimate communities rather than large, public followings. Content creators, especially writers, are recognizing that having 100,000 Instagram followers doesn’t necessarily translate to book sales or event attendance. Instead, there’s growing value in cultivating smaller, deeper connections.
I’m predicting a surge in communities of 100 members or fewer, where participants can develop meaningful relationships and engage on a deeper level. This trend reflects a broader desire for authentic connection and meaningful interaction over surface-level engagement.
3. The Evolution of Voice Search Optimization
As voice-activated devices become more prevalent, we’ll need to adapt our writing to accommodate voice search patterns. This means moving away from traditional keyword optimization toward natural language patterns that mirror how people actually speak when using voice search.
From my experience working with agencies, I’ve seen how incorporating natural speech patterns into written content can significantly impact traffic. One client doubled their website traffic in just three months by adapting their content to match natural speaking patterns, demonstrating the growing importance of voice search optimization.
Looking Ahead
These predictions all point to a common theme: the humanization of digital content and communities. Technology might be getting more sophisticated, but it will never have a beating heart. The most successful content creators will be those who can maintain and showcase their humanity.
What’s particularly interesting is how these trends interweave. The rise of AI is pushing us toward more authentic expression. The challenges of building large followings are encouraging us to focus on deeper connections. And the evolution of search technology is pushing us to write more naturally.
For content creators, this means:
Focusing on sharing unique insights and experiences that AI cannot replicate
Building meaningful connections with smaller, more engaged audiences
Adapting content to match natural speech patterns
Prioritizing authenticity over perfection
Creating content that facilitates genuine human connection
As we explore 2025, it will be interesting to see whether my predictions become reality. Here’s to fostering genuine connections, sharing authentic experiences, and creating content that truly resonates with your specific audience!
Your Facebook group’s engagement rate might be higher than you think. The key lies in understanding how Facebook counts your total members – and more importantly, which accounts shouldn’t be counted at all.
The Hidden Numbers Affecting Your Engagement Rate
Facebook includes inactive and unavailable accounts in your total member count. These could be:
Disabled accounts
Accounts that have blocked you
Suspended accounts
Temporarily deactivated profiles
While these accounts inflate your total member number, they can’t engage with your content. This artificially deflates your engagement rate when calculated using total members as the denominator.
How to Find Your True Member Count
Go to your Facebook group’s member list
Scroll down past “Members with Things in Common”
Look for the “Unavailable” section
Note how many unavailable accounts are listed
Calculating Your Real Engagement Rate
Let’s say your group shows:
850 total members
339 active members
6 unavailable accounts
Traditional calculation: 339 ÷ 850 = 39.8% engagement rate
While this example shows a modest difference, groups with more unavailable accounts can see significant changes in their engagement metrics when calculated accurately.
Maintaining Clean Member Data
Set a monthly reminder to:
Check your “Unavailable” section
Select all unavailable accounts
Remove them from the group
Note your new, accurate total member count
This simple maintenance task ensures you’re working with accurate data when evaluating your group’s performance and planning your engagement strategy.
Why This Matters
Accurate engagement metrics help you:
Set realistic growth goals
Evaluate your content strategy effectively
Understand your true conversion potential
Make informed decisions about group management
Note: This doesn’t actually change your engagement – it just gives you a more accurate picture of how your community is really performing. Once you know your true engagement rate, you can make data-informed decisions on getting more of the interaction you want in your group.
Want More Tips for Creating a Thriving Online Community?
Join The Secret to Thriving Online Communities — my FREE Facebook group where I share weekly live trainings on community strategy, design and development. Group members get access to:
Weekly live workshops on community management
A supportive network of fellow community builders
Actionable strategies you can implement immediately
Thinking of leaving Facebook is practically a national pastime in the US. And since 2025 started, thousands of people — and businesses of all sizes — are actually doing it.
According to Meta, of its over 3 billion users, “More than 200 million businesses use our apps every month to create virtual storefronts and reach customers.” And that was in 2022.
That’s a lot of businesses relying on one quirky tech billionaire’s whims to be able to maintain their operations. And that’s not sitting right with people. Even if only 10% end up exiting for somewhere else, that’s a few million Facebook Groups ranging anywhere from 10 to a million people, and another few million business pages with potential advertisers.
According to TechCrunch, breakout searches for how to leave Facebook are up 5,000%. New platforms are getting the door-buster treatment, and almost everyone is wondering where to go — to hang out, to advertise, to get news or meet friends, but most of all — to find community.
Sliding Into Your Next Chapter Like…
As someone who has designed and managed online communities since 2007, I’ve guided numerous businesses through platform transitions. In the early days, I was helping business owners transitionfrom forums, message boards and pricey custom-built solutions to Facebook after the social network launched its Groups feature in 2010. But since 2016, that trend has reversed.
The key to a successful move is a strong strategy. When you understand what your community needs to thrive and the experience you want to foster, selecting a platform that aligns with those needs is an easier task. My goal with this guide is to help you make an informed decision about your community’s future home.
*Note: This article contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase through these links.
Business Owners Are Leaving Facebook — Some Not by Choice
The desire among business owners to leave Facebook is not new. Even as someone who hosts my own community on Facebook, I believe the decision to stay or go is worth considering at least once a year.
The most objective reason to leave Facebook? It’s rented land. You don’t own it. You can’t control it. That’s a sizable risk for any businesses, especially ones that rely on their communities to attract, nurture and convert leads, or to deliver paid content or services.
I have seen business owners with huge Facebook communities lose their groups and accounts with no warning.
Worried about your group’s future and not sure what to do? Let’s talk. Schedule a session so we can walk through your business case together.
That Parent Group with Cath Hakanson had 211,000 members relying on it for age-appropriate sex education when Meta shut it down without warning. Cath, a public health educator and nurse, found herself scrambling to correct the error that led to her account being banned and the group taken offline. A primary source of lead generation for Sex Ed Rescue, the group contained years of resources and a robust FAQ library. A key pillar of Cath’s business went up in smoke overnight.
Kelly Holmes used Facebook Groups to host communities associated with her paid courses. Right in the middle of launching a new cohort of her Sticky SEO course, she lost all access to her communities. So while she should have been welcoming new students in her program and supporting their success, she was stuck seeking out Facebook alternatives and rushing the migration of her communities to a different platform.
These are two stories among thousands, and they should prompt all of us to think through the impacts we might face if we lost access to Facebook.
In 2025, Meta’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program in favor of a community-driven moderation practice has led to another Facebook exodus. Not only is Meta eliminating its use of professional fact-checkers, it’s rolling back its policies on harmful content to pre-pandemic standards.
While this change likely would have saved Kelly and Cath from losing access to their groups, other business owners find their values no longer align with Meta’s policies on protected speech.
How to Manage Risk With Preparation and Reflection
Love it or hate it, one thing you can’t deny is that half the world’s population has a Facebook account. They understand how it works.
That means Facebook is likely already part of their everyday lives and your group is only one click away from whatever brought them there in the first place.
So when evaluating whether to leave, don’t make the mistake of thinking your options boil down to Facebook vs. “not Facebook.”
You need to think about what other platforms your members are already using, what they consider easy to use, and what might be most convenient.
Next, you need to create a list of your requirements. Which features are non-negotiable necessities for your community? Do you need to host live calls, upload recordings, and organize content by topic? Do you need threaded conversations, the ability to tag members, and the option for private messages?
Also think about what you don’t want your community to have. For instance, some platforms allow for complete anonymity and others require identity verification. Maybe you want a text-only platform that doesn’t support images or video. Or maybe you don’t want private messages of any sort — between you and members, or between members and each other.
And finally, think about cost. While most of us think of cost in terms of dollars invested, time and energy are currency as well. Few free platforms offer the rich portfolio of features available in Facebook groups. But even if you do find a zero-fee platform, you need to figure out how much time it’ll take to set up and migrate your members over.
Understanding your “must have,” “may have,” and “must not have” requirements will narrow the number of platforms to consider and give you a standard to use in evaluating them.
If there is even a tiny chance you might consider moving your community from Facebook, take steps now to get ready.
Increase the portability of your community:
Get community members on your email list
Back up all content in your group (especially videos) to your hard drive or cloud-based storage account
These are good practices no matter what you decide to do. Even if Facebook is your favorite place to play, the platform goes down from time to time. Meta experiences global app outages a couple of times a year. Anyone with a major community event during those outage periods can tell you how devastating they were without a back-up plan.
The Biggest Cost of Moving Your Facebook Group May Be Dropoff
Migration between platforms is always a challenge. No matter how hard you try to prepare, there is almost always going to be at least one unexpected consequence of your move.
For most community leaders, the biggest issue is member loss. It takes intentional effort and clear, consistent communication to manage the change associated with moving a community from one platform to another, and you can’t force people to move if they don’t want to.
The most common reasons members don’t move with the group to a new platform are:
Resistance to change
Perception of difficulty
Overwhelm
Unawareness
We have to acknowledge it is always easier to stay put than it is to move. Most people are already overwhelmed by the amount of logins and passwords they have to remember. The idea of learning a new platform and managing new login credentials is too much of a burden.
Many community leaders who migrate their group away from Facebook believe that their true fans will follow no matter what, so they aren’t worried about those who stay behind.
One client of mine recently closed her free Facebook group in favor of starting a paid membership on a different platform. While it was hard for her to leave behind an active, engaged group with thousands of members, making the switch allowed her to downsize her community management team.
While only 100 people joined her paid community, those 100 people were responsible for $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue. By contrast, she was paying $2,800 per month for moderation of her free group.
So while losing members might not feel good, it’s not always bad. Take some time to objectively consider whether your business would suffer with fewer people in your community.
If you’re relying on your Facebook Group for recurring revenue, you have a different level of risk to consider than someone who is hosting public-service communities.
5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Next Community Platform
With dozens of community platforms available, choosing your next online home can feel overwhelming. Rather than getting caught up in feature comparisons or falling for persuasive sales pitches, start by evaluating platforms through the lens of what matters most: your community’s needs and your business goals.
“WhatsApp looks like a good solution, but the majority of my members dislike that it’s a Meta product and don’t want to use it,” she said. “An equal amount dislikes Slack because they use it at work. Others refuse to use Discord because of bad experiences. Strong feelings abound.”
Here are five key factors to consider when selecting your next community platform:
1. Member Experience
You can’t have a community without members, which makes member experience the most critical factor in evaluating potential platforms for your group or membership.
The first question to ask yourself is how tech-savvy are your members? Technical comfort level is important to consider because if members can’t figure out how to log in, or navigate the platform, they will never be able to participate. If your members already struggle with basic Facebook features, a more complex platform will be intimidating.
You also need to think about how and when your members access your community. If they are relying heavily on phones or tablets, you need a robust mobile experience that’s quick and easy to use. But if they are desk workers who spend a majority of their time in front of a desktop or laptop computer, you need a browser-based platform or one with a full-featured desktop app. And if your members are on the go, you need to look at platforms that make it easy to navigate between mobile and desktop interfaces.
Finally, think through your members’ engagement preferences (i.e. how they interact in the community). If they favor real-time communication, you probably need a platform that supports livestream video and private messaging between members. If they want to have text-based topical conversations, threaded discussion features will be important. Understanding how your members like to engage helps narrow down platform options that support their preferred communication styles.
2. Feature Requirements
After you’ve designed your non-negotiable member experience, you have your own custom set of criteria to drive platform selection.
Not every platform excels at content management, for instance. Some prioritize the flow of conversation. So when you look at your ideal member experience, think about whether you need organized resources, searchable content archives, or the ability to categorize discussions.
Also think about the volume of content you need in your community. Communities with years of archives have different platform needs than those whose focus is on recent content or limited-time access to content. Likewise, communities that lean heavily on video or robust guides need different upload and storage space limits than others.
If live events are central to your community engagement strategy, you’ll need a platform that supports streaming or virtual events without requiring multiple third-party tools. You might also need features that support event scheduling, calendar integration, attendance tracking or even ticket sales.
For communities focused on education or skill development, you might need course delivery features like modules and lessons, progress tracking, quizzes, gamification, or certificate generation.
If you charge for access, you need to decide if you want payments integrated into your community platform or not. If the answer is yes, you’ll need a platform that supports secure payment processing and member management. Platforms that can track your member-related revenue, lifetime member value, and average membership lifespan help you make well-informed business decisions.
While tools like Zapier and Pabbly Connect will allow you to integrate various software tools to automate your community workflows, they add complexity. And complexity adds expense. So if simple is your goal, you’ll want to look at platforms with direct integration to the tools and features you value most.
Your business model also determines the measurements of success you rely on for your community. When you figure out which metrics matter most to your business goals, you have the criteria you need to evaluate the analytics and insights offered by alternative platforms.
Being able to track content performance supports any goals around learning and application for your members. Platforms with features that measure content effectiveness make it easier for you to refine your strategy.
4. Budget Considerations
While it’s important you understand the true cost of community platform migration, don’t make the mistake of assuming that Facebook is free. Hosting and leading communities carry a cost regardless of platform. Facebook may not charge you a fee to build a community, but every Facebook Group requires an investment of time and energy from its leaders. And if your group is large or requires payment for access, you might need to hire staff to support you in delivering the member experience you want.
Though the costs of running a group on Facebook can be hidden, alternative platforms are usually explicit in their fee structures.
Platforms base their fees on a variety of factors:
Features (video hosting, white labeling, customer support, payment processing, etc.)
Number of community spaces
Member capacity
Size of admin or moderator team
There are freemium models that offer free access to a basic level of service, charging for additional features. Some platforms offer lifetime licenses, while many charge monthly or annual service fees. Remember to factor in pricing tiers as your community grows.
If you need additional software to support community functions, include those costs in your budget considerations. And don’t forget to factor in whether you’ll need professional help with design, migration, setup, or customization.
Time (along with energy) is its own form of currency. Every new system has a learning curve for you, your team and your members. Moving existing content and setting up new systems takes considerable effort. So does supporting your community through the transition.
6. Growth Plans
Before going through the effort of migrating your community to a new platform, make sure to mentally kick the can down the road. Don’t be shortsighted in your evaluation. Think beyond your current needs and find out how well the alternative platforms can support your potential growth. You’ll want to think through not just member capacity but also how well features scale as the community grows.
Take a look at each platform’s roadmap for feature expansion. If platforms regularly update with new and improved features, they have a greater chance of growing with your group. Also, a platform lacking a desired feature might still be a good choice if they are actively working to add that feature in the next year or two.
It’s normal to look at whether platforms integrate with your current tech stack, but don’t forget to investigate whether they connect with tools you might need in the future as well.
New platforms are emerging all the time. New isn’t always a bad thing, but if you’re moving an established community to a new platform, make sure you’re confident the platform has the stability and sustainability you need.
Once you have your own custom set of criteria to use in evaluating alternative community platforms, it’s time to make your decision.
Create a requirements list with your must-have features, use free trials to take each platform for a test drive, factor all expenses — including hidden costs — and then plan your migration.
Need guidance on planning your platform migration?Book a session to discuss your community needs, desires and timeline.
Managing a Successful Transition for Your Community Requires Time and Intention
The decision to leave Facebook often comes at the same time an alternative community platform is selected, but not always. You can decide today that you want to move your group away from Facebook without knowing where you want to go from here.
What you can’t do, though, (at least, not well) is move successfully without a transition plan.
If you have already selected your chosen software platform, you can complete your community migration project in three to six months. If the move is confirmed but the platform is still up for discussion, you might need 12 to 18 months for your migration project.
No matter what, make sure you have a timeline mapped out that includes content back-up and transfer, internal and external communication strategy, member support plan and how you’ll approach migrating the content.
For some communities, you can flip a switch from closing one group to starting another. Other communities might require you to run the group simultaneously on two platforms as you work to transition members from Facebook to their new home before phasing out Facebook completely.
Top Alternative Community Platforms to Consider for Free and Paid Groups
The landscape of community platforms has evolved significantly in recent years, offering more options than ever for community builders. Gone are the days when your choice was between Facebook, an antiquated forum, and a custom-built solution.
We now have several choices of third-party platforms and customized solutions of varying complexity and investment cost. Each platform comes with its own strengths, limitations, and ideal use cases.
Rather than providing an exhaustive list of every available platform, this article focuses on the most feasible alternatives to Facebook based on standard community models across industries.
I’ve organized these platforms into three categories:
Free Communities — for groups that don’t require monetization features
Paid Communities — for membership programs and premium offerings
Emerging Platforms — newer options showing promise for specific use cases
When evaluating each platform, consider not just the features and pricing, but how well it aligns with your community’s culture and your members’ technical comfort level.
Free Alternatives to Facebook Groups
While Facebook Groups are free, they’re not the only no-cost option for building an engaged online community. The platforms in this section offer robust features without requiring payment, though some have paid tiers for premium features
As already mentioned above, look beyond the “free” label to consider the total cost of ownership with free platforms. Think about the time investment required for setup and management, any limitations that might affect your community’s growth, and whether premium features may become necessary as your community evolves. “Free” shouldn’t mean sacrificing the core features you need to build meaningful connections among your members.
The following platforms have proven track records for hosting active, engaged communities without requiring upfront financial investment. Let’s explore each option to help you find the right fit for your community’s needs.
Originally built as a game in 2015, Discord has evolved into a versatile platform that excels at fostering active, engaged communities. Its channel-based organization, combined with voice and video capabilities, makes it feel more like a virtual hangout than a traditional forum. While the platform’s casual nature and gaming roots might not suit every business, communities that embrace Discord’s unique culture often find their members developing stronger bonds through its interactive features.
Perfect for:
Tech-savvy communities catering to students, creatives, gamers, and tech experts and enthusiasts.
Key Features:
Voice and video channels
Live chat with threading
Role-based permissions
Server customization
Rich bot ecosystem
Screen sharing
File sharing
Strengths:
Excellent mobile experience
Highly customizable
Strong community tools
Robust features
Active developer community
Weaknesses:
Steep learning curve for non-technical users
Can feel too casual for professional communities
Chat-first format can make content hard to find later
LinkedIn Groups, which date back to 2004, leverage the power of the world’s largest professional network to create focused spaces for industry-specific discussions and networking.
These groups benefit from built-in professional context — members are already on LinkedIn for business purposes, with their professional profiles readily available. While the platform’s engagement features are relatively basic compared to dedicated community solutions, LinkedIn Groups can excel at facilitating professional discussions and thought leadership.
They’re particularly effective for B2B communities, industry associations, alumni groups, and professional networks where members’ career identities are central to their participation.
Slack is another community platform that rose from the ashes of a failed video game. Launched in 2013, Slack was designed to transform productivity by eliminating the need for emails and meetings in the workplace.
Known primarily as a business communication tool, Slack’s clean interface and robust organization features make it an excellent choice for professional communities that value structured discussions. The platform’s powerful search capabilities and integrations with business tools create an environment where meaningful conversations can be easily referenced later.
“I like it because I am already used to it for client work and other groups,” she said. “It’s easy to have threaded conversations and create separate channels for different conversations. However, I don’t like that it’s very manual to remove people once they leave the community.”
Though designed for workplace teams, community-focused groups can leverage Slack’s familiar interface to create spaces where professionals naturally engage during their workday.
Perfect for:
Professional networks
Industry groups
Project-based communities
Support communities
Key Features:
Channel-based organization
Robust search capabilities
Rich integrations
Direct messaging
Video/audio clips
Custom emoji/reactions
Strengths:
Familiar to professionals
Excellent threading
Strong file sharing
Clean, professional interface
Enterprise-grade security
Weaknesses:
90-day message history limits on free plan
Per-user pricing gets expensive
Basic community features
No native video events
Limited member discovery
Can get unwieldy with more than 1,000 members
Cost: Free plan available, paid from $7.25/user/month
Telegram offers a unique blend of messaging app convenience with powerful broadcast capabilities, making it especially appealing for information-sharing communities and international audiences. It’s not designed for two-way, interactive conversations. The platform launched in 2013 as a vehicle for communication without government interference. Telegram’s commitment to privacy and security, combined with its ability to handle large groups, creates an environment where members feel safe while staying informed.
While Telegram may lack some of the sophisticated organization features of dedicated community platforms, its speed, reliability, and support for rich media make it particularly effective for communities that prioritize rapid information sharing and mobile-first communication. The platform’s bot ecosystem also allows for creative automation of community management tasks.
Perfect for:
Distribution of news and information
International communities
Privacy-focused groups
Large broadcast channels
Key Features:
Encrypted messaging
Broadcast channels
Large file sharing
Polls and quizzes
Voice chats
Bots for automation
Strengths:
Strong privacy features
Excellent mobile apps
No content algorithm
Fast and reliable
Large file sharing
Weaknesses:
Limited community tools
Basic content organization
Hard to foster deep discussions
No native monetization
Limited analytics
Cost: Free, with premium features available
Platform Options for Paid Communities
When your community is core to your business model or requires premium features, paid platforms offer sophisticated tools and greater control over the member experience. These platforms typically combine community features with additional functionality like course hosting, content management, and monetization options.
While the monthly costs may seem significant compared to Facebook’s free offering, paid platforms often provide value through purpose-built features that can enhance member engagement, simplify administration, and create new revenue opportunities. The key is choosing a platform whose features align with your specific needs and revenue model, rather than paying for capabilities you won’t use.
The following platforms each excel in different areas, from comprehensive business solutions to specialized community tools. Consider your budget, technical requirements, and growth plans as you evaluate these options.
Circle represents the evolution of purpose-built community platforms, designed specifically for creators, course providers, and membership site owners. It strikes a balance between sophisticated features and user-friendly design, offering the structure of a learning management system with the engagement features of a social platform.
Circle’s spaces concept allows you to segment discussions and content in a way that feels natural while maintaining clear organization. The platform’s focus on professional community building is evident in every feature, from its clean aesthetic to its powerful moderation tools.
Heartbeat brings an intimate, boutique approach to online community building. The platform’s design philosophy prioritizes meaningful connections over massive scale, making it ideal for premium communities and high-touch coaching programs. Its clean, modern interface removes common friction points that can hinder engagement in other platforms.
“I love Heartbeat for the rich community-focused features and supportive owners who know how to listen to their community of users,” she said. “The app offers easy navigation to discussion threads, video course libraries, documents, and links. As an added bonus, you can set up voice rooms for members to engage with one another using voice & video without having their own Zoom account.”
STTOC members can watch a free Heartbeat tutorial from Jolene inside the group.
The Playhouse, hosted by brand strategist and designer Deanna Seymour, is one of my favorite Heartbeat communities.
While it might not offer the extensive feature set of larger platforms, its focused approach to fostering genuine connections makes it perfect for community leaders who prioritize quality of interaction over quantity.
Kajabi stands out as a comprehensive business platform that includes community features as part of its larger ecosystem. It’s built for creators who want to run their entire online business — from courses and coaching, to marketing and community — in one place.
Author/Speaker Kathi Lipp hosts her Red House Writers Collective and Clutter Free for Life membership communities on both Kajabi and Facebook. All paid membership content and coaching call recordings are uploaded to their respective Kajabi platform membership portals
Its community features aren’t as sophisticated as dedicated platforms and the interactivity is limited. For Kathi’s communities, members prefer the interactivity of the Facebook groups over the community features of Kajabi.
However, Kajabi’s strength lies in its integration of community with other business functions. It allows for almost seamless automation of membership enrollment, onboarding and fulfillment. This makes it particularly valuable for course creators and digital product sellers who want to build some level of community around their offerings without managing multiple platforms.
In 2024, the Searchie platform rebranded to Membership.io. Co-founded by membership expert Stu McLaren, Membership.io provides a unified experience that revolutionizes how communities interact with content through its AI-powered search and organization capabilities.
The platform excels at making large amounts of video and audio content discoverable and accessible, which is particularly valuable for knowledge-based communities. Its ability to transcribe and index multimedia content sets it apart from traditional community platforms. While community features are evolving, the platform already makes it easier to navigate extensive learning resources or multimedia content libraries.
Perfect for:
Membership communities with robust content libraries and learning pathways, especially those that rely heavily on video content.
Mighty Networks positions itself as a comprehensive community platform built for creators and brands who want to bring courses, content, and community together in one place under their own brand.
The platform emphasizes the power of bringing members together through shared interests, learning, and community-driven experiences. Unlike social media platforms that prioritize content feeds, Mighty Networks focuses on fostering genuine connections through features like member categories, sub-groups, and location-based networking.
Its native mobile app capabilities and course integration make it particularly appealing for course creators, coaches, and membership site owners who want to build a branded alternative to Facebook Groups. While the learning curve can be steeper than some platforms, Mighty Networks’ robust feature set supports sophisticated community design and monetization strategies.
Perfect for:
Course creators, membership site owners, and brands building comprehensive communities
Podia delivers a streamlined, all-in-one solution for creators who want to sell digital products while maintaining an active community. The platform’s strength lies in its simplicity — everything from your courses to your downloads to your community lives in one place, with a single login for your members.
“They’re budget-friendly and the community portion functions similarly to Slack. But there are a lot of small settings that can make it messy to implement. The good thing is that you can also sell paid products, offer coupons, and invite an affiliate network to sell for you. The email function is best saved for students of your products. For email marketing, I would still use Kit.”
While its community features aren’t as extensive as dedicated community platforms, Podia’s integrated approach means you can seamlessly combine community engagement with content delivery. You can even use it for your website. This makes it particularly attractive for course creators and digital product sellers who want to reduce complexity in their tech stack while still fostering meaningful connections among their customers.
Emerging Online Community Platforms Worth Watching
Like anything in the technology space, the community platform landscape continues to evolve. Innovative new solutions emerge every year to address gaps in the market. What these platforms lack in established history, they make up for in innovation. A new platform usually brings a fresh approach to current community trends.
Weigh the potential benefits of emerging platforms against the risks. Expect attractive pricing and innovative features. And prepare for growing pains as the platform matures. Some community leaders find success by being early adopters. Others prefer to wait until platforms are more established.
The following platforms show promise. Take a look to see if their unique features align with your community’s needs.
MemberVault takes an innovative approach to community engagement by gamifying the member experience. The platform’s unique progress tracking and engagement-based access features make it especially appealing for digital product creators and course providers who want to encourage active participation.
Designed as a content delivery platform, MemberVault’s community features are new. However, you can already see the focus on creating an interactive experience where members feel rewarded for their engagement. This gamification approach can transform passive content consumption into an active learning journey.
Skool reimagines online communities through the lens of accountability and learning. The platform combines traditional community features with tools specifically designed to support goal achievement and skill development. Its built-in gamification and progress tracking features create natural engagement opportunities while helping members stay motivated.
Though relatively new to the market, Skool’s fresh approach to community engagement makes it worth considering for groups focused on personal or professional development.
WhatsApp via Nas.io offers an interesting hybrid approach, bringing monetization and management features to the familiar WhatsApp environment. This combination makes it particularly appealing for creators who want to monetize their community while maintaining the informal, accessible nature of WhatsApp conversations.
The platform leverages WhatsApp’s ease of use, while adding the structure needed for running a professional community. This approach can be especially effective for international audiences or markets where WhatsApp is the primary communication tool.
When it comes to choosing the best platform for your online community, I always say: start with your people. The perfect platform is the one that works for you and members while fulfilling the purpose and promise of your community.
Here’s what I recommend for next steps if you decide to take your community off of Facebook:
Go Where Your Members Already Are
Consider your members’ existing digital habits and comfort level. If they’re active LinkedIn professionals or Slack power users, those platforms might feel more natural than a standalone community site. And if they aren’t active on other platforms, think about which alternatives offer a similar experience to Facebook Groups. If you want to avoid unnecessary barriers to participation, you need to do what you can to reduce the friction your members experience.
Choose Features That Support Your Strategy
While features are important, they should serve your community’s purpose. Does your strategy rely heavily on live video? Make sure your platform supports quality streaming. Do you need organized resource libraries? Look for strong content management. Let your community goals drive feature requirements, not the other way around.
Align With Your Business Model
Your platform should support how you monetize your community, whether through membership fees, course sales, or other revenue streams. Some platforms make it easy to charge for access or integrate with your existing offers. Others might require cobbling together multiple tools, increasing both cost and complexity.
Maintain Appropriate Control
Different platforms offer varying levels of moderation and governance capabilities. Facebook’s AI moderation can flag innocent conversations. Private platforms will give you greater control, but that might require active hands-on management. Consider the nature of your discussions and your compliance requirements when evaluating moderation tools.
Plan for Sustainable Growth
Choose a platform that can grow with your community. Will it support your projected member count? Can you add features or integrations as needed? The right platform evolves with you, supporting new offerings and engagement strategies without requiring another migration.
At the end of the day, your community platform is just a tool. What really matters is how you use it to create connection and foster belonging. So pick something that works for you and your members right now, with potential to evolve as your group grows. But know that nothing is forever. You can always switch if your needs change down the line.
Want help evaluating your options? Reach out to book time and discuss your community goals and priorities.
That question is one that comes up several times a month inside The Secret to Thriving Online Communities, our free Facebook Group focused on human-first community strategy and the soft skills of community management.
But choosing the right community platform isn’t really about technology and features. It’s about finding the right fit for you and your members.
Let’s explore the real pros, cons, and quirks of today’s leading community platforms to help you make an informed choice for your specific situation.
Start With Strategy, Not Features
One of the biggest mistakes I see community leaders make is thinking choosing a platform is the first place to begin when starting a group. They look at features and benefits and create their community experience within those boundaries.
So they invest in Kajabi (or Circle, Mighty Networks, etc.) and then try to make their community fit within what the platform provides.
I get it – especially when you’re just starting out and feel like there are only two options to consider: Facebook and “not Facebook.”
Years ago, when Facebook was one of the few community platforms available, I ran a membership that had free and premium tiers. To manage that experience on Facebook, I needed two separate groups — one for all members, and one exclusively for the members who paid for the premium experience. This meant two separate onboarding processes, duplicate welcome posts, managing two sets of rules, and constantly checking to ensure premium content stayed in the premium group
Members had to join two groups, remember which group to post in, and sometimes ended up posting premium questions in the free group by mistake. It also meant twice the moderation load for my team.
The separation also created an “us vs. them” dynamic among members that I never intended. Free members felt like second-class citizens, while paid members sometimes resented having to switch between groups to participate in both communities. Even worse, it was harder to demonstrate the value of the paid membership when free members couldn’t see any of the premium discussions.
Platforms like Mighty Networks – which allow for tiered access to a single community – solved these problems. Everyone could be in the same community, with premium content visible to everyone but only unlocked for those who paid for access.
This created a more cohesive experience, streamlined our moderation, and made the upgrade path clearer for free members. Instead of an arbitrary division, members could see exactly what additional value they’d get by upgrading. And there was no longer any issue with members posting in the wrong space.
The Playhouse, hosted by Deanna Seymour, is an example of a Heartbeat community that’s both well designed and managed.
The Truth About Platform Migration
When migrating from one platform to another, technology is an important consideration. Unfortunately, too many community leaders spend more time obsessing over platform features than planning how they will support members through the transition.
I’ve learned this from being on both sides – as a member in communities that migrated and as a strategist helping clients migrate successfully.
My best example also happens to be how I was introduced to Heartbeat.
I joined a high-priced community (hundreds per month, not per year) where I was sold on “amazing community features” but never told I’d need to create a new login on an unfamiliar platform. The onboarding was clunky, the navigation was confusing, and the community design made finding relevant content nearly impossible. As a member paying significant money, I felt frustrated and angry.
Initially, I blamed the platform. I thought Heartbeat had a bad user experience and that its features weren’t user-friendly.
It took being in half a dozen other Heartbeat communities to realize the problem wasn’t the platform – it was how that first community was designed. Some Heartbeat communities I joined later (like The Playhouse) were beautifully organized, easy to navigate, and genuinely enjoyable to use.
The difference was that the first community was not created with any intention around my experience as a member. It was all about what the membership owner thought was important. And the membership owner mistakenly believed that their content and expertise was valuable enough that we members would figure it out.
I’m sure some did but I wouldn’t know because I canceled during the refund period.
3 Tips to Remember When Choosing Your Community Platform
Your first experience with a platform (good or bad) can unfairly color your perception of its potential. I almost wrote off Heartbeat entirely based on one poorly executed implementation.
The platform matters far less than how you use it. I’ve seen thriving communities on “clunky” platforms and ghost towns on “perfect” ones. Success depends more on your community strategy and how well you support members through change.
Migration (moving from one platform to another) is really about change management. You need to recognize members have to learn new technology while adapting to a new way of engaging with your community. The more you focus on managing that change rather than just the technical transition, the more successful your migration will be.
Mari Smith’s bright graphics give her community on Mighty Networks a different look.
Platform Breakdown: What You Really Need to Know
Let’s explore the major players in the community platform space. I’ve spent hundreds of hours in these platforms – both as a user and as a strategist helping clients make the right choice. Rather than giving you a feature checklist you could find on their websites, I’ll share what it’s actually like to run a community on each platform, including the quirks and considerations that only become apparent after extended use.
Mighty Networks vs Circle: The Premium Platform Showdown
These platforms are like fraternal twins – similar DNA but distinct personalities. At first glance, they look nearly identical: both offer custom branding, integrated payments, courses, and community spaces. They’re both folder systems at their core, just dressed up in modern interfaces. But spend enough time on both platforms, and you’ll notice crucial differences that could make or break your community experience.
Let’s peek behind the curtain of some real communities to understand these differences.
The Multi-Community Experience
The biggest difference hits you as soon as you join multiple communities. In Mighty Networks, each community exists in isolation.
When I want to check Mari Smith’s Superstars community and then hop over to the Strategize and Shine podcast membership, I have to navigate to different URLs or apps – even though both are Mighty Networks communities. Circle, on the other hand, lets you toggle between communities seamlessly, similar to how Slack handles workspaces.
Caroline Hull’s minimalistic design on her Strategize and Shine membership prioritizes the written word. You can see the skeletal structure of Mighty Networks here, but it looks unique.
Design Impact on User Experience
Looking at Mari Smith’s community versus Caroline’s (both on Mighty Networks), you can see how design choices dramatically impact user experience. Here’s what’s fascinating: the platform features are identical. The difference in user experience comes entirely from design choices. Your platform choice matters less than how you use it.
The Hidden Costs of Features
Both platforms offer similar pricing tiers ($41-360/month for Mighty Networks, $49-360/month for Circle), but here’s what those prices don’t tell you:
Mighty Networks charges extra for your own mobile app, while Circle includes it in higher tiers
Circle’s integrations are more robust out of the box, while Mighty Networks often requires additional tools or workarounds
Circle’s interface feels more modern but might overwhelm members who prefer simplicity
Course Integration
Both platforms let you host courses alongside your community, but they handle it differently:
Mighty Network
Courses feel more integrated with the community
Better for cohort-based learning
Limited assessment options
More rigid course structure
Circle
Cleaner separation between courses and community
More flexible content organization
Better for self-paced learning
More customization options for course delivery
The Free/Paid Content Balance
One area where both platforms sometimes struggle is managing the free/paid content mix in the same community. In Circle, I’m part of a community where I can see all the paid content titles but can’t access them as a free member. It’s meant to showcase value, but some members find it frustrating. Mighty Networks handles this more elegantly, though the trade-off is less visibility of premium offerings to free members.
Making Your Choice
Choose Mighty Networks if:
Your community revolves around courses and learning
Your members prefer simplicity over features
You don’t mind separate spaces for separate communities
Choose Circle if:
You need robust integration with other tools
Your members are relatively tech-savvy
You run multiple communities
You want more flexibility in how you organize content
Neither platform is “better” – they’re just optimized for different community styles and leader preferences. The key is understanding your specific needs and choosing the platform that best aligns with your community goals.
The arrows here point to two different communities hosted on Circle.so. Though the communities are independent of each other (hosted by different individuals), Circle’s interface makes toggling between them simple and easy.
WhatsApp: The Global Community Dark Horse
WhatsApp is fascinating because it challenges everything we think we know about community platforms. While most platforms focus on fancy features, WhatsApp succeeds through simplicity and accessibility. But here’s what makes it really interesting: combined with Nas.io, it offers one of the most flexible pricing models I’ve seen.
Instead of charging community owners a monthly fee, Nas.io takes 8% of membership fees plus a small processing fee. The brilliant part? You can choose whether you or your members pay those fees. Want to charge $100 for your membership? You can either pay the fees yourself and receive $88, or pass them on to members who’ll pay $112 while you get your full $100. This model eliminates the risk of paying platform fees before you have members.
However, WhatsApp comes with clear limitations. Content organization is basically non-existent – it’s more like a group chat on steroids than a traditional community platform. I’m part of Matt Navarra’s Social Media GeekOut Pro community on WhatsApp, which has thousands of members. They’ve had to create separate channels for different types of discussions (news alerts, work chat, general discussion) just to keep conversations manageable. While it works, it’s not ideal for content-heavy communities or those requiring structured discussions.
If I’m offline for a bit, I don’t even bother trying to catch up on messages I’ve missed. I pick up where I’ve left off.
The phone number requirement is another consideration. Members must use a phone numbers to participate, which some find too invasive. However, this same feature makes WhatsApp incredibly popular outside the U.S., where people are more comfortable mixing personal and professional communication channels.
Discord is like the teenager of community platforms – misunderstood by many adults but absolutely beloved by its core users. It originated in gaming communities, and that DNA shows in its interface and features. Think of it as a mix between Slack’s organization and WhatsApp’s instant messaging, with voice chat thrown in for good measure.
I have to chuckle when parents tell me they feel safer with their kids on Discord than other platforms. While Discord has made strides in content moderation, its governance around minors isn’t as robust as many think. The platform’s strength in real-time communication can also be its weakness – it’s incredibly easy for users to create private servers and direct message channels that bypass parental controls.
From a community management perspective, Discord offers powerful tools but requires careful setup. For example, you can create roles with specific permissions, set up automated responses through bots, and organize discussions into channels. However, the learning curve is steep. My middle-school daughter navigates Discord effortlessly, while many of my professional clients find it confusing and overwhelming.
One unique aspect of Discord is how it handles engagement. Unlike Facebook or other traditional platforms where posts can stay relevant for days or weeks, Discord conversations feel more ephemeral. When someone responds to a week-old message, it often feels awkward – the platform is built for real-time interaction rather than asynchronous discussion.
The free price tag makes Discord attractive, but consider these trade-offs:
High learning curve for non-tech-savvy members
Limited content organization compared to dedicated community platforms
Real-time nature can make it challenging for global communities in different time zones
Strong gaming association might not align with your brand
Excellent for voice chat and screen sharing, but these features might go unused in professional communities
Both WhatsApp and Discord can be excellent choices for the right community, but they require a clear understanding of their strengths and limitations. WhatsApp shines in small, engaged communities with a global reach, while Discord works best for communities that value real-time interaction and don’t mind a more casual, chat-based atmosphere.
Making Your Choice: What Really Matters
After years of helping clients choose and migrate platforms, here’s what I’ve learned matters most:
Member Experience Beats Admin Features — I can’t stress this enough. Your beautiful admin dashboard means nothing if members can’t figure out how to post or find content.
Consider Your Time Investment — Some platforms (like Mighty Networks and Circle) require more initial setup but can run smoothly once established. Others (like WhatsApp) are quick to start but need more ongoing management.
Price Isn’t Everything — While Hivebrite’s pricing model might seem outrageous, there are situations where it makes sense – like large, paid communities needing extensive customization. Similarly, free isn’t always better if it means sacrificing features that could help your community thrive.
Trust Your Gut — If you’re getting frustrated during the trial period, your members probably will too. Nobody wants to feel stupid in a community. When members can’t figure out the platform, they don’t blame the technology. They blame you.
The Bottom Line in Choosing Your Community Platform
The “best” platform is the one that aligns with your goals, fits your budget, and makes sense for your members. Don’t get paralyzed trying to find perfection. Instead, focus on finding a platform that supports the kind of community you want to build.
You can create an amazing community on almost any platform if you’re intentional about your design and clear about your goals. I’ve seen thriving communities on every platform we’ve discussed – and struggling communities, too. The platform is just the container; what you put inside makes all the difference.
Want to see these platforms in action or get more specific advice? Join me in The Secret to Thriving Online Communities where we regularly dive deep into platform comparisons and community strategy.
When launching something new in your business — whether it’s a podcast, course, or membership program — your existing community can be your greatest asset. But there’s an art to involving them effectively without keeping everything under wraps until the “big reveal.”
As someone who has designed and managed online communities since 2007, I’ve learned that launches with a splashy “big reveal” approach rarely serves small business owners well. While major corporations like Coca-Cola might benefit from secretive product launches, entrepreneurs need to ensure their offerings resonate with their audience before investing significant time and resources.
The best way to do that? Bring your community along for the journey.
The Reality of Two-Way Communication
While podcasts, emails, websites and books create mostly one-way communication streams, true community thrives on reciprocal interaction. When you already have an engaged community, you have a built-in advantage: established trust and two-way dialogue. This foundation makes your community the perfect testing ground and launch pad for new initiatives.
When you test in your own community, you also filter through feedback more effectively. You know who is a current client or former client, who is brand-new, and who has been in your ecosystem for a long time but never made a purchase.
Let’s take the example of surveying the group about pricing tiers for an upcoming offer.
If several members respond that a potential price is too high, you might second-guess your plan. However, if upon deeper exploration, you realize those individuals have never paid for any of your products or services, you apply different context to their feedback. Your price may be too high, or it could be that they aren’t the target market for the offer.
For an example from an author’s perspective, check out this short from Elisabeth Wheatley. Note: if you try crowdsourcing ideas and feedback from your community but feel like the responses aren’t useful, you might need to ask your questions differently. It takes some practice, but it’s worth figuring out how to ask questions in a way that drives responses you can use and apply.
Start with Small Tests
Before going all-in on a new project, look for ways to test key elements. When my client wanted to launch a podcast with a potential co-host, we first ran a six-episode livestream series. This allowed us to evaluate their on-camera chemistry, test topic resonance, and understand the time investment required – all before spending money on podcast production.
This test proved invaluable.
While viewership grew from 40 to over 100 viewers across six episodes, we discovered our original name “BizOpsExposed” attracted operations professionals rather than our target audience of business owners needing support with operational challenges. We also discovered that while my client enjoyed live on-camera discussion, she felt trapped by the requirements of making herself available at the same time each week for a livestream broadcast. Better to learn this through a limited test than after a full launch.
The Art of Progressive Feedback
Instead of keeping everything under wraps until it’s “company ready,” involve your community throughout the development process. While your ideal timeline will vary according to your schedule, community, and the timeliness of your offer, here is one approach:
6+ Months Out
Ask broad, exploratory questions like “If I were to launch a podcast/course/membership, what would you want to learn?”
Share early concepts and ideas through polls and discussions
Gather initial reactions and input about potential formats or approaches
Post twice-monthly updates about your progress and learnings
3-5 Months Out:
Present limited choices (start with 4 options, narrow to 2)
Test specific elements like names or branding
Begin building anticipation through weekly updates
Share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your development process
Final 6 Weeks:
Share detailed behind-the-scenes content
Provide specific ways to help
Communicate 2-3 times weekly about the launch
Create opportunities for early access or special involvement
Keep in mind that while this timeline includes aspects that are critical to the development of your offer, the time it takes to actually create the offer and set up fulfillment is separate. The purpose of this timeline is to show you what it looks like to socialize an offer throughout the ideation and creation process so that when it launches, your community is already hungry for it.
Listen Between the Lines
Sometimes the most valuable feedback isn’t explicitly stated. These indirect insights often prove more valuable than direct answers to our questions.
When exploring a potential group training program in my own business, one-on-one conversations with interested community members revealed that while they preferred individual coaching, they were considering group programs purely for budget reasons. This insight helped me realize the timing wasn’t right for the program I had envisioned.
In another instance, podcast listener feedback revealed that they valued my community-focused perspective on general business topics more than pure community management content.
Make Sharing Simple
Never assume people know how to help promote your initiative. Even my podcast co-host initially didn’t realize our press kit was meant for her use, too! Create a comprehensive resource that includes:
Sample social media posts
Email templates with clear subject lines
Key talking points and show description
Visual assets in multiple formats
Direct links to all platforms
Specific instructions for reviews or ratings
Multiple levels of promotional activities to fit different comfort zones
Clear explanation of how to use the resources
When launching The Business You Really Want, providing these resources led to features in five newsletters, coverage in a trade publication, and multiple podcast interview opportunities — all because I told supporters how to be most helpful and made it easy for them to take action.
Maintain the Momentum
Interestingly, our podcast’s fourth week saw higher engagement than launch week. Why? Because initial supporters had time to share with their networks, creating a second wave of interest. Keep the energy going in your launch by:
Sharing milestone celebrations
Highlighting community member contributions
Creating new ways for people to participate
Maintaining consistent communication
Being transparent about what’s working and what you’re learning
Don’t let your own launch fatigue stop you from continuing to promote. While you might feel tired of talking about your initiative, remember that your audience isn’t hanging on your every word. They need multiple touchpoints to stay engaged.
And even if your offer is closed, continuing to talk about it while you’re delivering adds on another layer of marketing to pique the interest of community members who didn’t buy. This can bolster results if you decide to offer it again.
The Power of Closing the Loop
When community members provide input, show them how it has influenced your decisions. This demonstrates that their participation matters and strengthens their connection to both you and the initiative. Even if you don’t use their specific suggestion, explaining your thought process keeps them invested in the outcome.
For example, when community members give feedback on logo options, don’t just announce the winner — explain the factors that influenced the final choice.
Let them know which design was your favorite going in and whether you were surprised by the results. Tell them how the votes stacked up. Was there a clear winner or was the difference in votes between Option A and B close?
This level of transparency builds trust and encourages future participation.
Remember: your community will only be as excited as you are.
Generating buzz is important when launching anything, but that’s not where the true power of leveraging your community comes from. It’s the partnership of co-creation. When you bring your community along for the journey, they become invested in its success because they helped shape it. That’s the kind of authentic support no marketing budget can buy.
