Let’s Talk About the Power of Online Communities
Despite the whopping 430 million users on Reddit, there are so many people that have just recently learned about this ever-growing platform for the first time due to the recent GameStop ($GME) short squeeze. Reddit has now been labeled as the ultimate online community, and for once, it’s not just because of all the pretty girls who post to talk about their ex-boyfriend issues.
The short squeeze witnessed GameStop shares, which were only a minor $19.95 on January 12, soar to a whopping $483 per share at the end of January, before sharply dropping again.
Why are we giving you all of this information? Well, no, it’s not just because we want to bore you, but simply because we’re trying to express the true power of online communities, like those on Reddit.
Let’s discuss Reddit a little more, and find out just how influential online communities can be.
A Deeper Dive Into the World of Reddit
Reddit is a platform that is subdivided into topic-specific ‘subreddits’ which all span into a myriad of different subject areas. It’s also now home to a group called ‘’The WallstreetBets’ which are the people that triggered the turbulence in the stock market with GameStop, as the online community encouraged each other to target the company’s hedge fund. This group alone showed us that stock markets are not just limited to institutional and professional investors, but as a whole, the power of online communities.
From the 3rd February onwards, the WallStreetBets community continued to gain new members, reaching a huge 8.4 million users, despite the fact that they had to switch to private mode temporarily.
For quite some time now, Reddit has been the prototypical manifestation of an online community. In fact, it’s a platform that defines the characteristics of the internet age. We know there are a few big words in the sentences above, but if you Google them, it’ll all make sense.
All lame jokes aside, what we’re basically trying to say is, the social media landscape is changing rapidly. We’re in an era of distrust and perfectly-polished online personas, we use tools that are supposed to bring us together, but they end up making us feel more isolated and distant from one another than ever before.
Within a Reddit online community, however, there’s just something… different. From the number of page views to time spent on sites and apps, there has been a humongous growth in user engagement and conversations. This demonstrates that users are beginning to deepen their relationships with each other, and with online communities.
We discovered that the online community within the Reddit platform plays such a unique and valuable role in the lives of millions around the world. The power of community within Reddit is rooted in trust, the human desire to learn, and the need to feel like they belong. This drives miraculous personal development and depth of sharing, which makes the true power of online communities grow even stronger.
The True Power of an Online Community
With every single day, every single hour, and every single minute that passes, a new company launches itself online. They may be selling their products and services, showing themselves off via their appearance, or, they’re doing it to increase their brand awareness. The only problem is, like you trying to lose weight or build muscle during lockdown, they’re often unsuccessful.
One of the main reasons that some brands succeed and others fail is mainly due to the fact that they look at their online consumers as human beings with real pains, needs, and interests - not just pixels on a screen. They understand the true power of online communities, how people interact online, and how to build relationships with them.
Building an online community is a necessity when it comes to having an effective marketing strategy. The stronger the community you build is, the more likely your business will succeed - these are just facts.
Online communities for brands have now become the holy grail for many out there. But why wouldn’t they be? They provide a loyal base of customers who believe in you, love you, and are willing to spend all of their hard-earned cash with you. The online community for brands is customer-centric, the meaningfulness of community inherent in customer experience, rather than in the brand itself.
Online Communities - Not Just for Business
Online communities are like chicken soup for the digital soul, and definitely don’t only exist for the sole purpose of businesses and stocks. They have an incredible real-world impact, especially when it comes to social relationships and sourcing information.
An online community is a sense of home for most individuals. A place in which one can feel loved, make life-long friends that share the same interests, and feel accepted for who they are.
For those who sadly have to deal with a rare disease, the power of an online community can work wonders. It can be an incredible support system that will ‘virtually’ be there for them whenever they need it. It’s just another place where people can completely be themselves and express everything on their minds - their thoughts, their worries, and everything they feel.
Often, most people don’t find the courage to talk about sensitive matters with their friends and family. This is down to the fact that they don’t want to worry them, or they feel like they won’t understand what they’re experiencing. Whatever way you look at it, an online community is an ultra-safe space for a person to lay it all out on the table.
Nobody wants to feel alone - and unfortunately, the current global situation has made this a bitter reality for millions around the globe. When somebody becomes part of an online community, however, they’re able to build connections that are available wherever, whenever, with just a click of a button. To sum up, online communities are absolutely everything nowadays. They’re becoming the new place for debates, trading, casual socializing, flirting, friend-making, support systems, and dare we even say, memes. Oh God… the memes.
Above all else, they’re really beautiful places. Somewhere where people are able to be themselves, share ideas, collaborate on cool and interesting projects, and create content that allows people to share experiences - truly, an intrinsic part of life within our modern world - and they will only get stronger.
