In 2023 60% of the population use social media and the average daily use is 2 hours and 24 minutes. Social media platforms attract so many people and hold to them for a long time. They have so many things to offer such as friends, connectivity, entertainment, and more. These days social media platforms are so good whether to build brand awareness or sell your products. Creating a social community website can help you get your potential audience that will take your business to the next level.
So building a social media community can benefit you in many ways. Let’s discuss one by one how a community website helps you to reach your goals.
Benefits of Social Media Community
- Community websites help you to engage with people, who are interested in the same topic or things.
- Growing active members means growing conversion for your brand.
- You create a brand awareness within the community.
- Your community can find you more potential customers.
- You build trust between your community people.
- If you get more followers and engagement as a community that means your brand is trustworthy.
- An extra benefit of the social media community is you can monetize your brand.
What a Social Community Website Must Have?
A social community typically includes a wide range of features and functionalities designed to facilitate user interaction, engagement, and content sharing. The specific features can vary depending on the platform’s purpose and target audience
- User profiles
- News feeds/activity streams
- Groups
- Notification
- Friendship
- Private massaging
These are basic features that a social media website must have but you need more features to increase your site engagement.
How do you build a community?
If you want to build a social media community website WordPress.com can help whether you are a developer or not. Creating a social media website is not that though so build your own social media platform.
Before going any technical let’s first discuss who your target audience is and what is your niche.
1. Decide your Niche
To find out about your niche ask yourself a few questions “Who is your social media for?” and “How it will benefit your business?”
There are the most popular social media niches:
- Communication (Like Twitter)
- Professional (Like Linkedin)
- Institutional Social Network Sites
- Entertainment
- Dating
- Media
If any of these niches match your goals you can choose that niche and research more about it. Find out what your competitors are doing and what is their design and then build your social media website.
2. Choose Hosting Provider and Domain
Choose a hosting provider and domain before installing WordPress. Decide on a hosting provider that suits your needs and budget. Some popular options include Bluehost, SiteGround, and HostGator. Choose a hosting provider according to your website database, and how big your website going to be. If you don’t have a domain name already, you can either register one through your hosting provider or use a domain registrar like Namecheap or GoDaddy
3. Setup WordPress
WordPress setup is an easy process if you don’t have a technical background you can still create your website on WordPress. Setting up WordPress involves several steps, from choosing a hosting provider to configuring your website. Most hosting providers offer a one-click WordPress installation process. Log in to your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel) and look for the WordPress icon or installer. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up WordPress
4. Install BuddyPress Plugin
There are plenty of websites that help you build a community website but I recommend BuddyPress. It is a free plugin and the most popular plugin with easy to setup process.
Install BuddyPress by going To the left-hand menu on Your WordPress dashboard, hovering over “Plugins” and clicking on “Add New.”
After the installation is complete, you’ll see an “Activate” button. Click it to activate the BuddyPress plugin. Once activated, BuddyPress will guide you through a setup wizard to configure basic settings. You’ll be prompted to configure components like user profiles, activity streams, and group creation. Choose the options that best suit your community’s needs. Follow the on-screen instructions, and don’t worry too much about the details for now; you can always adjust these settings later.
5. Install Theme For Community Website
A theme will give a face to your website, find a good BuddyPress compatible theme that fulfills your requirements. There are many plugins in the market such as BuddyX Pro and Astra. You can do your own research and then choose the theme.
Selecting the right theme for your BuddyPress-powered social community website is a crucial step in creating an appealing and functional site. The theme you choose not only provides a visual identity but also influences the user experience. You need now a few points to find a perfect theme for you.
- Understand Your Needs
- Compatibility with BuddyPress
- Research and Review
- Premium Themes
- Demo Sites
- Mobile Responsiveness
- Customization Options
- Performance and Speed
- Support and Updates
- SEO-Friendly
- Community Feedback
- Test Compatibility
The theme you choose can significantly impact the overall experience of your community members. Take your time to research, evaluate, and select a BuddyPress theme that not only meets your functional requirements but also aligns with your community’s vision and identity.
BuddyX Pro Theme: Unleash the Speediest WordPress Theme for BuddyPress and BuddyBoss Platforms, Ideal for Crafting Community, Membership, Social Learning, and Social Marketplace Websites. Unlock endless possibilities with seamless BuddyPress integration, combining LMS, marketplace, events, gamification, and membership WordPress plugins.
Extra Features Of Social Community Website
BuddyPress provides a solid foundation for creating a social media community website, offering essential features to get you started. The real power of BuddyPress lies in its extensibility through various add-ons and plugins available in the market. These add-ons can significantly enhance and tailor your community site to meet your specific needs and preferences.
Whether you’re looking to create a niche community, a professional network, or an engaging social platform, there’s likely an add-on or plugin that can provide the extra features you desire. These add-ons cover a wide range of functionalities, such as integrating forums, adding event calendars, enhancing messaging systems, and even introducing e-commerce capabilities.
Conclusion
Building a social community website can give a lot more exposure to your business. By creating a dedicated online space where customers, fans, and like-minded individuals can connect and engage, you’re essentially fostering a loyal and interactive ecosystem around your brand.
One of the key benefits of a social community website is that it provides an exclusive platform for your audience to connect with your products or services on a deeper level. Members can share their experiences, ask questions, and offer insights, creating a sense of ownership and belonging. This sense of community fosters brand loyalty and trust, which can lead to increased customer retention and advocacy.
