This challenge – and the need to address it – is all the more acute for businesses that revolve around communities. This includes members clubs, social media platforms, and online networks. It’s familiar territory for our team at Mobilise, where we’ve built one of the UK’s largest communities of unpaid carers.

As the number of carers using Mobilise has increased, we’ve refined a number of techniques to help ensure that each one is able to make meaningful connections, and feels part of a close-knit community no matter when they join us. Here’s how other scaling community-based startups can do the same.

Make users decision-makers

There’s no better way to build a sense of belonging than by giving community members a seat at the decision-making table. For example, at Mobilise, we host regular meetings where our community has the opportunity to share suggestions and feedback.

This gives people a voice, and offers an additional channel for them to connect with each other and our team. Beyond this, it gives the community a chance to help shape the direction of our business, and enables us to grow in line with the insights members share into their changing wants and needs.

Get new joiners involved from the get-go

When you’re building your community, it’s important to make new members feel welcome straight away. Carefully considered onboarding processes can help.

For example, when new members join Mobilise, we encourage them to add an image and short bio to their profile page, and introduce themselves in our community hub. This helps to integrate new joiners quickly, and kickstarts connections with others. The quicker your community members feel involved, the more likely they are to stick around.

Connect members in similar circumstances

As communities grow, so can the differences between members. This is a natural and positive thing. It gives individuals who have different backgrounds but similar experiences a chance to connect which they may not have had otherwise. Dedicated spaces can help these individuals find each other.

At Mobilise, we’ve created "Similar Situations" messaging groups for this purpose. One space is dedicated to those looking after loved ones with Parkinson’s, for example, and others are based on location to make it easier for members to meet in person if they choose to. Smaller, specialised spaces like this can help promote more meaningful conversations. To identify common themes to build these spaces around, try drilling down into your user demographics or survey members on their preferences.

Host events that cater to everyone

Events are a great way to unite communities, and can be tailored to provide options for everyone. For example, communities can vary start times and host in-person as well as online events, to make meet-ups as accessible as possible for members with different needs, responsibilities, and schedules.

Set the tone

Setting clear guidelines from the beginning can help ensure that communities continue to be safe and welcoming spaces for all members as they grow. Be clear about any language that should be avoided and behaviour you want to encourage. As the number of conversations grows, automated moderation tools can help the team to focus on any issues quickly. Engaged members who already love the community will also be keen to help keep it thriving. You could reward these members for championing the right behaviours, encourage them to alert any issues to staff, and ask your own team to act as role models too.

Most Mobilise team members are carers themselves, and are active members of our community as a result. Their kind approach, respectful interactions, and willingness to share trickles through to fellow users, who are more likely to contribute their own experiences and tips as a result. And personal stories shared in these moments are the most powerful way to maintain that authentic community feeling.

Community-based businesses needn’t sacrifice their human side as they scale. Thriving communities that promote meaningful connections are key to their success. And whilst it takes constant work to maintain this sense of community as customers and users grow in number, it’s more than worth it for both sides.

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