Community is often the heart of membership sites but working out the best way to introduce it to your membership isn’t as easy it might seem.

Often, we see debates around how to host membership communities that end up focusing on quantity of engagement, rather than quality.

Quantity isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not always what you’re actually aiming for.

If you want to find the signal in the noise and determine the right community model for your membership site, you’re going to need to dig a little deeper into your purpose, your membership structure, and the goals your audience have.

This episode of The Membership Guys podcast will help you do that digging!

Essential Learning Points:

• What the Signal vs Noise ratio is in communities and why understanding the differentiation is important
• Why understanding your membership and its purpose is key to deciding the role your community should play
• What we have learned (and are still learning) about our own experiments with forums and Facebook groups

Important Links & Mentions:

• Should I use a Forum or Facebook Group for my community?
• Do You REALLY Need to Add a Community to Your Membership?
• How to Add an Online Forum to your Membership Website
• Membership Mastermind from The Membership Guys

Key Quotes:

“It is crucial to understand that activity and engagement are not the same thing.”

“The importance of your signal to noise ratio will depend on how important community is to your membership.”

“We’ve clearly defined the role of the forum and the Facebook group, and how the two connect. Because of that, we’re not experiencing any problems.”

 “The type of role that your community plays is entirely up to you and it’s going to be dependent on what you know will work best for your audience.”