5 key factors in building a strong community

In my previous post, I emphasized the many benefits that come with being part of a community, such as personal growth, a sense of belonging, and happier life in general.

We know that it's beneficial to be part of a community, but the challenge is - many communities die eventually. In fact, the failure rate of communities is similar to startups and companies which fail 90% of the time.

So what are the key factors we need to build a strong, sustainable community? In order to answer this question, I interviewed 9 Community Builders from different parts of the world and summarized their insights into 5 key factors:

1. A clear purpose behind the community

Every community is made up of people who come together for a common purpose or goal, whether it’s to meet like-minded people who share the same interests or hobbies, or to exchange information and opportunities.

Typically, a community provides some kind of value to its members. For instance, a volunteering community provides a place where its members could meet fellow volunteers and perform social work together. In my own community, Apiary Academy , Product Managers get to meet with and learn from fellow PMs who would share their experiences and challenges in growing a Product.

Irfan (Fanbul) Prabowo , Initiator of Minutes of Manager (a support-circle of brand, creative and marketing managers), said that the strength of a community can be determined by how many people benefit from joining it. If only a few individuals feel the benefit, the community may not be sustainable. He also pointed out that it is important for community organizers to be clear and transparent from the beginning about the purpose of the community. Whether it is a non-profit, for-profit, or something else, the purpose should be communicated to members so that they wouldn't feel taken advantage of.

When I asked Shahar Matorin , Director of Startup Grind (a community of startup enthusiasts), about the lessons he learned from community failures, he shared several reasons such as a lack of clear direction or purpose and inadequate communication. Like Irfan, he also stressed the importance of having a clear community vision and mission, fostering clear and open communication, as well as asking for regular feedback from the members to avoid such problems.

Therefore, community leaders have to clearly and regularly convey to their members: 1) the objectives of the community, and 2) the benefits that the members would get.

2. Passionate, dedicated leader(s) who manage the community

A person building a community could be called different names - Director, Community Leader, Chief of Community, or Community Manager, but essentially, this person has to take 100% ownership of the community. They must have a clear vision of what the community is about, and how they can provide value to the members. They should also be able to articulate this vision to others and inspire them to join the community.

Glenn Karela, MM, CPM (Asia) , the initiator of Marketing Enthusiast Community (MEC) (a community of marketing practitioners from Indonesia's top companies), has built several communities in the past and has learned that when a community lacks strong leadership, it would not grow. He recalled that one of his communities failed when he handed it over to another person. Glenn believes that a hands-on leader who can exert influence on the members is the X factor in developing a community successfully.

From a different view, Stephanie Arrowsmith , Regional Lead APAC of Impact Hub Network (a global network of impact-driven entrepreneurs, creators, innovators, and intrapreneurs), shared that one of the biggest challenges in building a community is the tremendous emotional energy and labor it requires. Community building requires deep empathy, lateral thinking, and connecting the dots. That’s why the mental and emotional well-being of the Community Managers have to be well-supported. In order to build a successful community, it is important to have a support system in place, both for the leaders and for the members.

Building a community is not easy. Even if there's an influential leader managing the community, it may not be sustainable in the long run if they don't receive any support. Without a well-supported, committed leader in charge, problems like unclear decision-making processes, unresolved conflicts, and difficulty attracting and retaining members may arise and eventually lead to the death of the community. In Stephanie's case, to prevent this issue, Impact Hub provides a community leaders' circle, in which leaders could have mutual support and share their challenges with one another.

3. A set of rituals and programs that are held consistently 

Once a community has set a clear vision, the next step is to create a set of plans to achieve that vision. The challenge with organizing a group of people to stay active in a community is that their motivation fluctuates, especially because community involvements are usually voluntary without monetary benefits.

When a community is first created, there may be a big buzz and euphoria, Irfan said, but without any clear program plans and benefits for the community, the initial excitement can quickly fade away, and the community may eventually dissolve. He pointed out that having a structured program in place can keep the community engaged and motivated.

Aside from programs, it is also important to maintain consistency within the community. Communities that lack consistent engagements can quickly become idle, and it would be difficult to reactivate them once they have been inactive for a period of time. Engagements don’t have to be grand and elaborate. Even something as simple as new member introductions, monthly meetups, or birthday greetings can help keep members engaged. I like to think of these engagements as rituals that generate a sense of togetherness in the community.

We can apply James Clear 's Atomic Habits methodology to establish consistency in the community: choose small, consistent habits instead of hard ones. As shown in the graphic above, it'd be easier for us to stick to easy, regular habits (B) instead of hard habits that require high motivation (A). Organizing monthly, casual dinners are much easier than organizing a yearly gala dinner, yet it would result in consistent, higher engagement among members.

Dian Hasan and Cynthia Satrya-Hasan from Coworkinc (A collaborative platform for purpose-driven communities) added that on top of rituals and programs, it'd be beneficial for a community to set short-term goals that are achievable. Celebrating small wins whenever a milestone is achieved can help create a sense of belonging and ownership in the community. For example, if a member finishes an 8-week strength bootcamp in a cross-fit community, or if a community leader successfully grows a community from 100 to 1,000 members, it is vital to acknowledge their achievements.

Bianca Fung , who is the Founder of Quantic Asia Society (a community of Quantic students & alumni around Asia), shared that when she first started the community, she faced several hurdles in getting people together whether it was through the chat group, online, or offline events. "This took time and effort, but it was a necessary repetitive grind to build momentum for a newly established community. Once that rhythmic ebb and flow are achieved, the community can simply enjoy the ride."

4. A solid community culture

Culture is the glue that holds a community together. Just like any organization, it’s important for a group of people with diverse backgrounds to share similar values so they can work together well. It’s best for founders and/or community leaders to figure out what kind of culture they envision for their community for the members to adopt and be inspired by from the beginning.

Some questions that may help you to form a community culture are:

• What are the main objective and goals for your community?
• Which values would contribute to those goals and objectives?
• What kind of behaviors would you discourage/punish?
• What kind of behaviors would you encourage/reward?

Having a robust culture would help filter out community members who don't believe in the same values. Georgina Ariela Warganegara shared that in her case, as an active member in one of the CrossFit communities, she appreciates that there's a competitive environment that would build survival of the fittest, where the people who value the struggle would stay and those who don't, will leave, thus filtering the members most suitable for the community. She added, "People want to belong to a group that they aspire to be or a group that would shape them that way"

Thus, It's crucial to guard the community culture by implementing ground rules. Cynthia Satrya-Hasan , for instance, told a story about expelling a person in her community who was causing trouble by violating the community's code of conduct. In some unregulated communities, spam and hoax spread around like wildfire without intervention, slowly killing the community. Going back to point 2, the role of leaders in a community is vital to preserving the community culture.

5. Regeneration of the Leaders and the Community

Succession is an essential concept to ensure the longevity of a community. If a community relies too heavily on just one or two key leaders, it can become vulnerable to inactivity and disengagement if those leaders leave or are no longer able to manage the community. That's why it's critical to have a plan in place for new leaders to take over and continue the work of the community. By doing so, the emotional exhaustion that leaders often face can also be managed more effectively.

Nuniek Tirta Sari , Initiator of Startuplokal (one of the earliest startup communities in Indonesia) said that to ensure the regeneration of her community, she trains potential community leaders called "apprentices" to take over the community after a period of training.

I found it odd at first that Nuniek naturally used the word "regeneration" to describe her community because the term is typically used in biology to refer to cells. Interestingly, Dian Hasan and Stephanie Arrowsmith also view a community as a living, breathing organism that requires attention and care. They both advised that we have to be responsive to the needs of the community and avoid the temptation to push programs or ideas onto the community without first understanding their needs and desires.

Stephanie shared an analogy that a great community leader is like a gardener who observes and sees how the plants are growing and sprouting, feeding them with as much care as they need, whereas a poor community leader is like a landscaper, simply putting things in boxes.

There are 2 main points here, we can't only regenerate the leadership roles, but we also have to regenerate our community in response to their needs. After all, the end goal of community building is not to sustain a set of ideas or programs, it's to gather a group of people with common interests to do something great together.

Last tips from the Community Builders

• Bianca on persistence: We often get discouraged by small numbers of signups. She said "even with small numbers, go ahead and do the events...whether it was 3 pax or 20 pax, enjoy the opportunity of creating an experience for them. Focus on those signed up. Focus on those who gave you a chance to have fun with you."
• Nuniek on investing in relationships: Utilize your community as a platform to get to know people and expand your network without underestimating anyone. When Startuplokal first started, early-stage founders joined our events to learn and meet other founders and potential investors. 10 years later, these "early-stage founders" turned out to be the founders of the largest startups in Indonesia. You'll never know whom you meet at every community event.
• Stephanie on joy: After all of the hard work of community building, don't forget to bring joy and have fun!

💡 Questions for you to reflect on: From all the communities that you know, which one do you think is the most successful and unsuccessful (in whichever way you interpret these words)? What can you learn from them?

Thanks for reading! 🙋🏻

I'm Jess, currently building Indonesia's Product Ecosystem Apiary Academy, also running Startup Grind Indonesia Jakarta Chapter. I'm attempting to write every month to learn about the subjects I'm interested in and practice my writing skills.

Feel free to connect with me on Linkedin! I'd appreciate any constructive feedback and topic suggestions from you :)

See you next time!

💌 Special thanks to:

• Bianca Fung from Quantic Asia Society
• Georgina!
• Glenn from Marketing Enthusiast Community (MEC) - Join their community to meet like-minded marketing experts!
• Mama C and Papa D! Visit them at Impact Hub Jakarta. Dian is also running fun, guided urban tours at the Other Side Experience.
• Irfan Prabowo from Minutes of Manager - if you're a community, marketing/ branding, or creative manager, check out their cool community!
• Mba Nuniek Tirta from Startuplokal
• Shahar Matorin from Startup Grind
• Stephanie Arrowsmith from Impact Hub Network