Welcome to the Community Coach newsletter, a value packed read
for community builders and this time…

I’ve COMPOSED A SONG just for you (using AI).

You can listen to it here (or if you prefer, here’s the gospel version).

Read on to learn how to compose your own song for your community…

In this packed with fun newsletter…

• 📚 Community 101: Community platform cheat sheets 
  

• 🤖 New community platform that brings your community closer than ever through bite-sized video exchanges
  

• 🔥 Duolingo hosted the COOLEST event for their community in Germany… and it got a lot of attention
  

• 🎸 Surprise your community with your own song using a free AI tool
  

• 👋 Answering your questions: “Should I move our community to a new platform?”.

Community 101: Choose the right platform with these cheat sheets

One of the most common questions I get asked is:

“What platform should we host our community?”.

Every community is different and has different needs. It’s not easy to navigate which platforms are best for those needs.

Ever wished that you could just look at your industry niche and see which platforms tend to be popular?

Or just try and see the features you need and select a platform?

I am building a few cheat sheets to try and combat this…

Cheat sheet #1: Most popular community platforms by community niche (includes examples)

Cheat sheet #2: Community platforms organised by feature

If you’re at the beginning stage of building a community, hopefully you’ll find these cheat sheets a useful resource to get started.

Note: These cheat sheets are a working doc (I will continue to update these over time).

If you want these in PDF form with clickable links to the platforms, share out a link to this newsletter on Twitter. I’m tagged in the post via that link and will then DM you the PDF version.

If you believe I should add a community platform to either of these cheat sheets, DM me on Twitter and let me know.

Swarm: async video community platform

If you’re a coach, creator or industry expert looking to build a smaller, intimate community…

Where members can connect on a more “human” level…

You have to check out this community platform called Swarm.

Members can exchange personal videos, screen shares, voice notes, or text messages in threaded, asynchronous conversations.

What is so unique about Swarm?
Works well with smaller groups where you want to prioritise video interactions.

You can host live video streaming, live Twitter spaces, online events/webinars, masterminds, live podcast sessions, bite sized “video conversations” PLUS the ability for members to text chat, upload community libraries... it’s insane.

What makes this tool really awesome?

• You can white label this with your own branded app (Desktop, iOS and Android) - including push notifications

• It goes beyond just supporting video and can also organize threaded audio and text discussions around specific topics

• You can upload course content and other community resources

• Other features: polls, private messages can be video, audio and text, your video and audio content is automatically transcribed

Pricing is higher than some other platforms out there (they do offer a free trial for 14 days if you want to check it out more first).

This type of platform lends itself to smaller community sizes - but this could work great for those who have “cohorts” and want their members to work/collaborate/study together in a way that mimics real life.

More info on Swarm:

Inspiring community: Duolingo hosted this event for their learners and it was genius

Duolingo (the language learning app) in Germany recently hosted a rave for their learners.

The genius move? Those who wanted to attend the rave HAD to have a learning streak to enter.

A streak is the number of days in a row you have completed a lesson. Once you complete a lesson your streak will increase by 1 day.

Watch how the bouncers checked people’s Duolingo streaks to allow access:

@djlovers.club

Would you make it inside this @Duolingo Deutschland rave? 👀🙌🏼 #edmtiktok #duolingo #rave #edmmusic

This meant their learners had to be “engaged” users to enjoy the benefits of attending a really fun and “exclusive” event.

This video below mentions how genius the “social media team” are - and I agree - the marketing on this was genius (especially the video showing all the learners holding their phones up showing their “streak”, but it’s also a powerful move to build community too.

@djlovers.club

Their social media team deserves a RAISE 🔥🙌🏼 (🎥: @Duolingo Deutschland ) #edmtiktok #duolingo #rave #edmmemes #funny

How can you apply this to your community?

• Consider how you are rewarding your members for “showing up” and being consistent. Duolingo rewards their users with this concept of the “streak” which is shown on their profile

• Taking it one step further: how can you use those rewards to create exclusive benefits just for them? Duolingo hosted a rave for their users with streaks.

• Raise awareness of your community by considering benefits that would be relatable to your target market. Duolingo tapped into Germany's club culture to host a rave for their users in that country. In doing so they also received media attention from DJ’s and club communities.

• Duolingo has an epic mascot. Your community doesn’t necessarily need a mascot, but think about the symbols or objects that could be used to represent your community and its identity.

Compose your own song for your community using this free AI tool

Wondering how I composed that song for you (mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter)?

I’ll take you through the steps so you can create your very own using the AI tool called Suno.

But firstly, what can you use this for?

• Surprise your community members with their very own theme tune

• Theme tune can be used in social media posts, at the beginning of events, webinars, podcasts etc

• Need music for the “waiting room” before your online (or offline!) event starts? Why not create your own to give that extra personal touch.

Now here’s the steps:

1. Ask ChatGPT to write the lyrics for your new community song:
   Be specific about who your community is, inside jokes that should be included and anything else that would be useful to include in the lyrics. Also ask for the song to be short - max 3-4 verses (you need to limit the song to 2 minutes max).
   

2. Create a free account with Suno and select “create a song”. Make sure to select “Custom mode” at the top and enter the lyrics provided by ChatGPT.
   

   

   Add the style of music you would like such as jazz, house, etc and you can also add vibes like “high energy”, “heartfelt” and so on.
   
   If you’re not feeling creative select random and scroll through options until you find one you like.
   

3. Click “Create” and watch the magic happen! Suno will provide you with 2 versions of the song so you can listen and if you don’t like either of them you can go back to the drawing board and create other versions.

Note: Suno currently gives you free credits to try this out, so I’d recommend doing this as soon as possible whilst they are in this stage!

You can download your song to mp3 or share it out via a link.

The song will probably not be “perfect” on the first attempt but it’s absolutely amazing what AI is doing these days… it will only get better with time.

If you’re going to use this music on social media, attribution (e.g. “Made With Suno”) is required from free users.

If you plan to monetize the music, you’ll have to be a paying subscriber.

For further details you can check out their FAQs.

Have fun creating your songs!
Tag me on Twitter @acommunitycoach if you create anything fun with this. I’d love to hear your songs.

Answering your questions

“Should I move the community to a different platform?”

This community builder was unsure whether their current community platform (Slack) was the best platform for their community.

This is a common thought I had over the years of building communities.

From experience I can say that it’s best to understand WHY you want to move the community, determining if changing the platform will actually help the situation and weighing the pros and cons of moving the community.

Advantages of Switching Platforms

1. Better Features: A new platform may offer features that result in improved engagement and member experience. (Note: this doesn’t mean it will definitely happen - it’s just a possibility).

2. Scalability: Opting for a platform that supports more community members can accommodate your community's growth over time.

3. Better Integrations: A platform that integrates well with your existing tools can improve you (and your community team’s) productivity

4. Customization: More customization options can help align the community space with your brand identity and member needs.

5. Cost Benefits: You might find a platform that offers better value for your investment, i.e better features but at a lower price.

Disadvantages of Switching Platforms

1. Migration Complexity: Moving to a new platform can be technically challenging, risking data loss or inconsistency (you lose all your member’s past conversations, need to ensure you have backed up community resources etc!)

2. Adjustment Period: Members and moderators will need time to familiarize themselves with the new platform, which might temporarily affect participation. You will have to be prepared for this

3. Risk of Losing Members: Changes risk alienating members who prefer the current platform or find the transition difficult.

4. Resource Intensive: The process requires considerable time and resources for research, setup, and troubleshooting.

5. Possible Downtime: The migration process might lead to temporary downtime, impacting community activity and disrupting the “flow” of the community.

When to consider a new platform for your community

Not taking the decision lightly, if you’ve weighed up the above pros/cons and still unsure, take a look at the below scenarios. These are reasons it would seem a better option to go through the pain of moving to improve the experience for your community members over the long term:

• Limited Growth: If your current platform can’t support your community's growing needs or activity levels.

• Cost Issues: When the platform’s cost outweighs its benefits or becomes unsustainable.

• Negative Feedback: Ongoing user complaints indicate that the platform is not meeting community needs.

• Missing Features: Essential functionalities that are crucial for your community's success are lacking.

Strategy for moving to a new community platform

1. Define Your Requirements: Identify essential features, budget constraints, and overall goals for your community.

2. Conduct Thorough Research: Explore and compare platforms, looking for those that align with your requirements.

3. Consult Your Community: Ask for feedback from your community to understand their preferences and concerns - and give them a heads up of what you are thinking. Involving them in the process will help greatly.

4. Develop a Migration Plan: Outline the migration process, including a timeline, technical needs, and a communication plan (the latter being critical).

5. Pilot the New Platform: Test the platform with a subset of your community (if you have ambassadors these are great people to help test the new platform out!) and identify any issues/ gather feedback.

6. Maintain Open Communication: Ensure your community is well-informed about the new platform’s rationale, heavily emphasise the benefits, and give them the rundown of what to expect.

7. Support Your Community: Offer guidance and resources to help both your team and community members adapt to the new platform. Change is not usually something people like so keep this in mind and try to make the move as positive as possible.

Got a question for me? DM me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/acommunitycoach

Until next time,

Carmen
Community Coach

P.S - Once I reach 100 subscribers (inching closer!)… I’ll be selecting 5 community builders at random to offer a free mentoring session with me. We will go through your community together and discuss any current challenges, what improvements can be made and advice I can offer.

Connect with me on Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn.