Managing a community with software is easier than ever, with lots of neat features to save you and your staff time. And while the earliest community management software focused on admin, the newest generations of software will help you engage and scale your community, building incredible experiences for your members.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• What community management software is.


• The main features you can expect.


• 6 software options for managing your community.

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What is community management software?

Community management software is a tool that lets Hosts create and manage an online community for their business or brand, or even just for fun. Dedicated community management software takes this a step further, adding member management and business features.

The best software helps a member-facing brand serve content, create experiences, and ultimately grow. And for revenue-driven communities, software can help scale the business side of things like collecting payments, multi-currency support, checkouts, and analytics.

While each community management software has slightly different features and audiences, most of them have some sort of forum function for hosting and moderating user discussions. Most community management software includes content of some kind.

We’ll break down the further features below.

Why use a community management software

Benefits of community management software include:

• Real growth: We see membership organizations grow faster with real connections and no algorithm to compete with.


• Incredible experiences: Members can experience content, virtual events, livestreams, learning, and connection.


• Centralized tech: Instead of multiple software solutions and touchpoints, you can consolidate all your member-facing engagement to a single community that you control.


• Higher retention: Members form deep connections, stay engaged, and stay longer.


• Management is easier: Software makes it much easier to manage your members, with automations, member details, account status, and contact.


• Scalability: Grow a member base with very little extra work.


• Connect members to each other: The real secret to community growth is connecting members to each other. Good community management software makes this easy.


• Useful insights: A good community management software offers you actionable data on what’s working, what members love, and where your growth potential is.


• Member self-service: Members can manage their own accounts, saving you and your staff time and headaches.

What to look for in community management software

1. A community

We find that successful community management starts with a strong virtual community forum.

A community forum centers on content with asynchronous reactions, much like on social media. For most forum software, the content can be text-based, videos, images, or links. The better forum software add in comprehensive connection features, for example, polls, questions, gamification, moderation, challenges, etc.

Here are some of examples for how an online forum helps you provide value:

• Host regular Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions.


• Host weekly discussion topics.


• Highlight members’ stories, projects, and activities.


• Share important knowledge and announcements.


• Recruit volunteers to lead conversations or moderate.


• Use gamification (e.g. badges or unlocks) to reward members who contribute.


• Run polls and surveys to get member feedback.

2. Virtual events

Good community management software also should come with some virtual event capabilities. Ideally these are native features: for example, livestreaming, an event calendar, RSVPs, or live audience connection capabilities (e.g. event chat, backstage).

Here are some event ideas and ways to use events to boost your community management chops.

• Host a virtual event; e.g., “expert talks” with community leaders or your staff.


• Create educational workshops.


• Have “member spotlights” where members can share their projects.


• Host a virtual conference; one that is large and multi-speaker may provide more value to your community members.


• Share the recording of the virtual event after, or chop it up and build a course in your LMS.


• Launch recurring monthly or even weekly events to build continuity.


• Host networking sessions.

3. Learning management system

If your community management software comes with a learning management system–that’s software to build courses–it gives you some options for creating even more value.

Here are some of the ways you can offer member value with an LMS:

• Build out relevant online courses that offer members value (free or as an upsell).


• Add credentialing or professional development certificates to courses.


• Create micro-learning opportunities with quizzes, self-assessments, etc.


• Offer valuable digital downloads: worksheets, handouts, PDFs, etc.


• Give analytics and/or a dashboard showing member progress

4. Member connections

Members will join communities for a lot of reasons: learning, connecting with a Host, course opportunities, and more. But there’s one thing that makes them stay long-term.

The connections.

Great community management software isn’t just a spreadsheet with member info. It should create and nourish member connections to each other. A good community thrives because of member-to-member engagement and connections, not just member-to-Host. Here are some features that get members to engage:

• Direct messaging and chats between members.


• Group chats for larger conversations.


• Member directories that help members discover each other.


• Interest-based or geographic surfacing of relevant members.


• Easy conversion and discussion starters.


• Spaces to create opportunities for smaller, dedicated conversations, mastermind groups, or collaboration.


• Gamification with leaderboards to promote healthy competition.

5. Back-end member management

Finally, community management software needs the ability to run the business side of a community. This should include member management features like:

• Member directory with plan, access, and admin controls


• Member information, tags, organization, and customizable fields


• Analytics and dashboards showing both member participation and revenue


• Welcome sequences and automations to make life easier


• Email connections to keep members informed


• Brand-building features to create a community with your own style and flavor


• If applicable, monetization features to collect member payments, sell courses and events, bundle, and offer multi-currency access

6. AI features (bonus)

As a bonus, AI is the word of the hour. And some community management software are integrating AI in ways that make it easier to manage and grow your community. Look for AI features that automate and simplify community management and boost creativity (without stifling it).

• AI-boosted connection features.


• Automation and smart community management.


• AI-boosted content creation or discussion starters.

The best community management software

1: Mighty Networks

Ranked #1 Community Management Software by G2

Mighty Networks is an all-in-one community management software that’s intuitive and interactive, with elegant and responsive courses, and all the features we covered above.

With a Mighty Network, you can deliver a community, membership subscriptions, and online courses in one place, under your own brand. And your own Mighty Network will be instantly available on the web plus iOS and Android devices.

Here’s what else a Mighty Network offers:

Community-building features

• Customized activity feeds, rich content options, polls & questions


• Customizable Spaces that can hold any content: Discovery, Courses, Livestreams, Events, Chat, People Explorer, and more.


• Software built to create people magic: AI can help with profiles, surface interesting people, Show Similarities, and start a conversation with one click.


• Gamification features to run challenges, leaderboards, auto-unlock rewards, and track habits.


• 1:1 & group messaging, the Infinite Question Engine, icebreakers, and AI assist.

Virtual events & courses

• Native livestreaming with backstage & running chat


• Event posts and landing pages w/RSVP


• Async course-builder & LMS with audio, video, text, downloads, + questions and discussions under every module

Member management

• Charge for membership (at the community or Space level), or bundle courses, livestreams, events, etc. in 135 different currencies.


• Manage member details, message members, instantly re-engage lapsed members with 1 click.


• Create landing & sales pages, different plans and tiers


• Add your own brand identity network wide or even get your own branded app.


• Access Mighty Insights to help you understand what’s working for both member engagement and the business.

A Mighty Network is one of the only community management software platforms that gives you a comprehensive set of community-building tools plus detailed analytics. Create public, private, or secret online courses; host exclusive, weekly mastermind groups; create tiered memberships, and more.

And if you want community management on a branded app, you can learn more here.

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2: Hivebrite

Hivebrite is a community management software solution catered to alumni networking.

It offers communities of alumni a variety of ways to get in touch with each other, and stay in touch. It features:

• A branded mobile app with push and in-app notifications


• Job board for employment opportunities


• Dedicated subgroups where members can find and connect with fellow members with similar goals.

It can be used for hosting and organizing live events, but not virtual conferences. It’s missing video and livestreaming capabilities, as well as courses. It’s best for a simple forum-style community.

3: Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is an online community management software that helps big brands add a community to their existing website. Its main community management feature is an interactive forum, which helps customers get in touch with the company to ask questions.

It offers:

• A corporate forum solution with community management


• Content capabilities like groups, written content, questions & polls.


• Brand customization and some gamification.


• Good CRM integrations (e.g. Salesforce)

Vanilla Forums does well as a simple forum, giving its members the methods to publish content, form both public and private subgroups, and post questions and polls. It’s not made for collecting revenue from payments or offering white-label apps.

4. Bettermode

Bettermode is a white-label platform that businesses can use to add a community to their website. In the forum, discussions can be organized into different “spaces” members can join, and they can also create their own profile. In many ways Bettermode is similar to Vanilla Forums. But with the option to add a native mobile app to the company’s app, it’s a stronger competitor.

Here are some of Bettermode’s best features:

• Space-based forums with lots of content options.


• Works well with an existing corporate website (and brandable).


• Connects to custom domain and website builder.

Bettermode is corporate community management for those not needing to add payments. If you want to collect revenue, or offer courses or virtual events, it’s not the right choice.

5. Discourse

Discourse is another forum software that lets its users create a community centered around a discussion board, with simple engagement and organization features.

Discourse advertises its code as “free,” and it is posted on GitHub, but you’d need to pay for hosting of some sort and have the knowledge to install it. This means that most people would be stuck hiring a developer and probably paying more than for many of the alternatives on this list. Discourse also has limited video options and no capability to host events or courses.

Discourse is probably best for those with a high level of coding knowledge or the willingness to hire someone to achieve a near-custom build.

6. Wild Apricot

Wild Apricot is community management software that’s built for non-profits and associations, giving them the ability to build member databases and reach their people, collect membership fees and dues, create their own websites, and run live events.

Here are some of the best features:

• The option to create sub-websites with a custom, drag and drop tool (e.g. for regional chapters)


• Integrates with lots of nonprofit management software.


• Solid database and member management features.


• Collect member payments and integrate with ecommerce.


• Mobile app for member management and events.

Wild Apricot also integrates with many other systems a company might be using, with a robust email platform and useful analytics options. There are only two real downsides: the UX is quite dated and the community features are really simple.

Conclusion

Want to try G2’s top-rated community management software for free?

You’ll get all of the best community management features you need to create a vibrant community and structure it in a way that fits both your needs and the needs of your members. Plus, a Mighty Network also gives you the potential to both reach all of your people and monetize your community with memberships, subscriptions, and online courses, available on every device: the web, iOS, and Android.

FAQs

What is community management?

Community management is creating, maintaining, and/or growing a group of people who gather in community--either offline or online. A community manager is like a Host at a party. A great Host isn't just a person who talks to everyone. A great Host creates opportunity for people to talk to each other.

And that's what makes community management work.

Who needs community management software?

Some communities work just fine without software--especially small, local ones. But community management software gives a community manager a superpower, letting them Host and forge more engagement and connections. Software can hold async conversations, learning experiences, member profiles, and reach members all around the world.

Community management software scales the work a community manager puts in. That's what makes it work!

What level of technical skill do I need to use most modern community management software?

Very little! The best community management software is plug-and-play. It should be pretty intuitive to build and create your community.

How does community management software help with engagement and retention?

It helps you do more. Have more impact. If you teach a seminar, you can host it forever on your platform. If you message one member, you can message many. If you create a discussion, everyone can see it. Basically it lets you scale the impact of the work you do.

But more importantly, the best community management software also connects members to each other. Remember we talked about being a Host at a party? The host doesn't have every conversation. They create space. And that's what community management software does too.

Finally, great software is a value add. A premium Space for your members to live. And creating a wow experience is valuable too!

What features should I prioritize when choosing community management software?

It really depends what you need to do. At a minimum, look for great community features both on the back-end and front-end.

• Back-end: member management, plans, admin, email, and billing


• Front-end: discussions, member profiles, chat & messaging, and landing pages

Otherwise, think about courses and learning experiences, virtual events, included apps, and the option to brand your community. Map out the community you want to build, and find a community management software that lets you do it!

What customer support should I expect from a good community management software provider?

Look for a brand with a good track record, knowledge base, and options for more help if you need it. At Mighty, we do a lot of training and education in our Mighty Community-which is free to all.