Professionals in all sectors get value from online communities. But what they need from a community varies considerably.
Experienced professionals are often pushed for time - they may want to be part of efficient, authoritative conversations. On the other hand, people just starting their career need accessible, approachable content and want to spend time building relationships with mentors and peers.
How can you effectively engage both types of member?
This is one of the topics covered in our most recent Community Conversation, between Faith Nacional-Rahi, Success Manager, The Health Sciences Academy, and Blaise Grimes-Viort, Guild Community Collective host and founder of community consultancy Is The Answer.
The Health Sciences Academy (THSA) is the world’s largest 100% science-based, nutrition-focused online educational institution. It launched in 2012 and has trained over hundreds of thousands of health and wellness professionals, from career switchers to level 7 certification.
Faith and Blaise discussed:
- why privacy and meaningful connection and conversation are harder to achieve in mainstream social media
- how creating additional communities for professionals helps The Health Sciences Academy increase global visibility and reach
- how online community can enrich learning and support learning outcomes for students
- the power of simple engagement techniques like quizzes and polls
- the benefits of running a range of exclusive communities to cater for different audience needs
- strategies to boost recruitment and retention through engagement and feedback
- how a dedicated online community builds loyalty and advocacy
- how subject matter experts can learn to become effective community managers
- the role of mentorship in communities, allowing experts and stakeholders to build visibility through sharing knowledge and experience
- how clear guidelines and procedures can encourage engagement and effective conversations
See the full recording here:
Further resources
Read The Health Sciences Academy (THSA) case study
Join the THSA Community
Join Nutrition Professionals Worldwide
Read about hosting an alumni group on Guild
Get 30+ tips for creating engagement in your online community
Check out our Community Strategy and Community Management resources hub
Join community peers
Want to connect with peers and experts in community and discuss your own challenges around migrating community platforms?
Apply to join Guild Community Collective, a free online community for community and social media professionals, however experienced you are.
Join Guild 🤝
See for yourself how the Guild experience is different to WhatsApp, Slack, LinkedIn or Facebook Groups.
Guild is a safe space to connect, communicate and collaborate with others.
Join us on a platform that is purpose-built for creating groups, communities and networks on mobile.