Sense of Community has been studied in social psychology and other related fields for a few decades. Although started to examine IRL communities, there is no reason why we shouldn’t apply this concept to our online brand communities.
McMillan and Chavis theory identifies four elements for the Sense of Community - all surprisingly familiar for community managers.
Here is a quick overview of these elements and how we can use them to enhance the community experience.
Membership
Membership is shaped by a few dimensions, such as:
Emotional safety: Willingness to reveal how one really feels.
Enforce community guidelines to create a troll-free space where everyone would feel safe to voice their thoughts. Also, every now and then, run anonymous polls and surveys. This gives all members a chance to participate in shaping your brand community.A sense of belonging and identification: Expectation that I will belong and be accepted by the community.
Empower your members to connect and network in your community, share their insights and learn from their peers, and they will feel that they are “part of the group.”A common symbol system: Making shared experiences for members and creating distinctions between members and non-members.
Is there a specific emoji that you all use in your community? Do you have a recurring discussion session? Do you send swags to your super members? Think of these as your rituals and common symbols.
Influence
Community members will participate in the community only if they feel empowered to have influence over what the community does. Also, group cohesiveness depends on whether the group has some power over its members.
Have a process to communicate how members’ insights and contributions make a difference. For example, if a member shares an idea about a new community initiative or your business, let them know if their idea is approved and when it’s going to be implemented.
Also, giving everyone a chance to flag spam posts is an example of how a group can influence its members.
Integration and fulfillment of needs
Members should feel rewarded for their participation in the community. Leaderboards and badges are effective tactics to check this box.
Shared emotional connection
This is basically shared history and shared participation.
If you want higher member engagement, let them participate in community planning and strategies. Are you organizing a new webinar series? Ask your community to share their insights, report your progress to them, and make them feel being part of this launch.
A sense of Community is all about the member experience. It upgrades our community game and helps us go beyond the community’s structure and features.