Community Sites -vs- Content Sites

February 25, 2013Comments Off on Community Sites -vs- Content Sites

Look at these two platforms; HR.com and the HR Business Network.

Both cater to the same audience, yet one is designed as a content site and the other a community site. 

HRBusinessNetwork
HR Business content, above, is a content site. It gives full priority to giving people information. It features content in the most prominent areas of the community. Members will visit when they want information. 

HR.com, below is a community site. It's designed to connected HR professionals with one another. When you visit the community you seek the contributions of other members in the most prominent positions.

HRdotcom
Both are perfectly fine, but produce very different results. 

If you create a content site, you're in the content business. You're not building a community, you're building an audience. You're competing against every other source of information on the topic. Loyalty levels are quite low. Average length of visit is low. Members only visit when they want information, and might not be that often. It might only be when they have a problem. 

If you're building a community site, you're in the connection economy. You're competition are other social groups. People keep visiting because they feel part of a peer group. They want to know what their peers are doing. They're participating to satisfy their social needs (ego, validation, self-esteem etc…), not their information-needs. Loyalty to communities is extremely high and members visit for longer periods of time. 

Both have their uses, but they're very different approaches. Pick one or the other with great care. Design your platform to be a great content site, or a great community site. Don't try to do both. 


If you want to learn how to design (or redesgin) and develop your community's platform, join us for FeverBee's Community Management Masterclass at the London School of Economics of March 9th.

Comments Off
©2023 FeverBee Limited, Apartment 2410, 251 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 6FN England FEVERBEE

We’d like you to join us.

We’re a group of community professionals who push each other to the cutting edge of our work. Every day we share our experiences, highlight new expertise, and push one another to become the best community builders we can be.

The day you join, you’ll get access to 1000+ practical tips, dozens of resources, and unlimited access to the top experts in our space. You’ll also get to see how we go about building a community amongst our own audience.

It takes just 30 seconds and doesn’t cost a thing.

CLICK HERE AND JOIN FEVERBEE

Level Price  
ALL COURSES $750.00 per Month.
Select
Community Development Program $1,100.00 per Month.
Select
Director of Community $8,770.00 per Month.
Select
Free Trial - Accelerator Program Free.
Select
Community Accelerator (founding members) [annually] $250.00 per Year.
Select
Community Accelerator and FeverBee Intelligence [monthly] $45.00 per Month.
Select
Community Accelerator and FeverBee Intelligence [annually] $450.00 per Year.
Select
Full Community Upgrade (Large Enterprise Only) [monthly] $750.00 per Month.
Select
Full Community Upgrade (Large Enterprise Only) [annually] $7,600.00 per Year.
Select