7 Reasons Private Communities Are the Future
While we are still in the age of social media, there is a fast-growing concern and frustration with the “free communities” various social media platforms offer. Let’s break this down a little further…
First off, they’re NOT really free. There is an underlying transaction at play here:
Users agree to give up their privacy and be tracked and these platforms collect and sell user data. In exchange, users can access and use their platforms.
While users don’t pay money to use these platforms, they are paying with other things (eg. their privacy and massive amounts of data about them).
Second, these so-called communities are NOT really communities. They’re information-sharing groups.
To paraphrase Carrie Melissa Jones and Charles Vogl in the book, “Building Brand Communities,” 3 things are necessary to have a REAL community. Members must have:
- Mutual concern for each other’s welfare.
- Shared identity in the same core values.
- Shared experiences reflecting their shared values.
Despite their name, most free communities on mainstream social media fall short of qualifying as a true community.
Having said all that, here are the reasons why paid, private communities are poised to be the hottest trend of the future:
1) Exclusivity
Private communities immediately have a natural filter with membership fees or invite-only options. Spammers and trolls are not going to go through all the hassle of joining a private community. Therefore, private communities attract a higher caliber of member who is often more discerning, judicious, and self-aware.
2) More passion
This goes along the lines of exclusivity and selectiveness but there is a common saying among community builders: “People pay attention to what they pay for.” For this reason, private communities attract more engaged and active members.
3) Less talk and more action
How many free Facebook Groups do yo know with the primary purpose of helping people take action and transform their lives? Personally, I don’t know of any. People come together in private communities to set goals, create plans for achieving these goals, and hold each other accountable. I have yet to see this happen in any free social media group which usually boils down to a lot of TALKING. People go to private communities to take ACTION and get RESULTS. If you want to talk about things, use free social media groups. If you want life-changing results, use private communities.
4) Instant connection
Personal relationships develop significantly faster when both parties have overcome an exclusivity hurdle. This is why most (if not all) collegiate fraternities and sororities have things like Pledge Week and secret handshakes. Overcoming hurdles like membership dues reinforces the notion that members of the community share common ground and mutual awesomeness. As such, members of private communities can more quickly let their “guard down” and be more authentic like using their real names, profile pics, etc. In the end, members are able to quickly build strong relationships and connections with other members, resulting in interactions with more kindness, dignity, and respect.
5) Less fluff
People pay money to be part of a private community for two big reasons: life-changing results and to NOT waste time achieving those results. Consider free Facebook Groups… have you ever considered the amount of pointless ‘fluff’ that happens within those groups? How about the incessant repetition of basic, and sometimes incoherent, questions that get answered over and over again? It’s like these users have no understanding of how to use the SEARCH bar! Regardless, members of private communities don’t want to waste their time with fluff when they are seeking real, life-changing results.
6) Strong relationship-building
It’s probably obvious by now why private communities yield stronger relationships – mutual concern for each other, shared goals and values, authenticity, just to name just a few. These relationships happen at both the personal and professional levels. While you can go to Facebook Groups to get all kinds of free information, it’s not a good place to go to build meaningful and long-lasting relationships, especially from a professional perspective.
7) Higher return on your investment
Growing up, my parents often said: “You get what you pay for.” In this case, you either: pay money and get the results you want or you don’t pay any money and you don’t get any results. It comes down to how bad do you want life-changing results?
Next Steps
As you can see there are a lot of compelling reasons why private communities will reign supreme in the future.
Especially after spending two years embroiled in the COVID-19 pandemic, people are CRAVING interpersonal connection, accountability, and taking life-changing action.
All of these are very much supported within private communities.
If you have a passion for travel and can work remotely, consider joining our private community!
