Virtual business communities can represent a great advantage for a business leader, whether you want to be part of a community like this or want to create your own.
What is a virtual business community?
A virtual business community is an online platform for business-related discussions where anyone can participate in general business discussions, advice and assistance.
Virtual business communities are made up of groups of people who interact with each other to exchange business knowledge.
Communities allow like-minded entrepreneurs to connect and share experiences, tips and tools to succeed in business. Joining these online communities offers the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs with different experience levels.
Advantages of a virtual business community
Some of the benefits of belonging to a virtual business community are:
- Access to a large amount of information
In a virtual business community, you can have key information, from recommendations for defining objectives and developing your company’s marketing plan to long-term growth strategies and problem-solving.
Almost every business-related topic is covered in these communities, and you have a free resource center with tons of information to help you in any area of your business.
You can also learn best practices and share and receive advice from other business owners of various sizes who have faced similar challenges to yours.
- Get support for the growth of your business
Surrounding yourself with people who support you and help you reach the next level in your business is important.
If you want good advice, listen to those where you want to be; those are the people from whom you wish to receive advice. In virtual business communities, you can seek support through discussion forums, post questions, and participate in debates.
- Marketing tool
Virtual business communities are also great marketing tools. So, when you join the community, take the time to create a strong profile and make sure your information is clear and engaging to whoever reads it.
Don’t forget to include your website address, your team members, and the solution you are providing.
- Build relationships and networks
These communities serve as a free gathering place for networking and relationship building. You can discuss your company and what you do while networking with other small business owners.
You can boost sales and create leads for your company by networking. Additionally, there are often opportunities to collaborate with network members who work in similar fields to yours, which can generate more business.
Examples of virtual business communities
Now that you know what virtual business communities are and what their benefits are, we will present some examples that may interest you:
LinkedIn Groups
If you want to connect with other business owners like yours on LinkedIn, joining a group will be a good idea to have connections and resources, but there are so many that it can take time to select one.
These groups are a little different from standard message boards, but they provide chances to network, get advice, and find answers..
Growth Hackers
It has a Reddit-style homepage that includes user-submitted articles and discussions. Numerous studies on growth and many growth marketing ideas can be found.
Consumers value the high caliber of the information and the chance to interact with professionals in the field. The group has managed to preserve the community’s worth in spite of its expansion.
Question Pro Communities
Question Pro Communities is a platform to create communities of all kinds, both virtual business and brand communities, that bring together the most loyal customers.
With QuestionPro, you can create your online panel of microentrepreneurs and implement various group dynamics and market studies, with which they can access valuable information to improve their businesses.
On the other hand, one of the most successful examples of brand community is the case of the renowned Brazilian brand Havaianas Sandals, which created a global community of fans they call “HavaLovers” to collect data and improve their customer experience.
Additionally, on the QuestionPro blog, you can have free access to downloadable e-books, case study examples, articles, videos and other sources of information from which to learn.