People join communities for benefits, not belonging. They want to learn something new, to achieve a goal, to grow status, to be entertained, to have fun, etc. They only find and value belonging after they've been a member and formed relationships.

Most people don't join communities for belonging. They join to solve a problem or achieve a goal. It's only once they form relationships that they'll cite belonging as their motivation. Lesson: to grow your community promote benefits, not belonging.

Your customers are going to join your community because of benefits, not belonging. Belonging comes after someone has been a part of a community and formed relationships. What’s going to get them in the door in the first place is a clear understanding of how the community will help them solve a problem or achieve a goal.

We all seek a sense of belonging. It's what inspires our desire to seek out groups of like-minded people. Once that fit is established, there's status in being a community leader. The most direct example here is Reddit: the moderator of a particular subreddit holds status to those engaged in the community. Even a contributor that writes a popular c... See more

The best way to create & capture value within a community is by helping members find companions/teams/groups and work on something together. Everybody wants to belong and the only way you can retain community members for a healthy period is by facilitating meaningful connections and helping them build something together. This could mean multipl... See more

community members should “feel a sense of belonging (membership), feel like you make a difference to the group and that the group makes a difference to you (influence), feel like your needs will be met by other group members (integration and fulfillment of needs), and feel that you share history, similar experiences, time, and space together (share... See more

Community is more than just a feeling of belonging. In the context of business, it’s a structure for creating value. A simple way to understand it is to compare “community” to an “audience.”