5 Best Practices for Community Management

Hi everyone! Thank you for the love on my last post 🫶

I wanted to share a few best practices for community management that help us manage this 194k+ member community.

This should help if you’re starting or looking to optimize an existing management process.

Identify Community Purpose

A community without a clear purpose is like a ship without a compass—no one understands where it's going or why it's here.

To get more members (beyond family and friends), there needs to be a clear purpose that the community will serve.

When members understand why and how the community benefits them, they’re more likely to engage and contribute.

Community purpose also acts as a guiding light, keeping discussions focused and attracting the right people who align with the community's mission.

Here’s how I’d define community purpose:

What value does this community offer its members?
How does it help with their goals and needs?

Member Onboarding and Activation

First impressions matter—a lot.

They shape how new members feel about your community and whether they’ll want to come back.

A welcome post is a great place to start, but what happens afterward?

I see great communities lead their members to the next action and help them understand how to participate meaningfully.

For example:

Asking members to comment and earn 5 points and unlock access to an exclusive course.
Then tell them what they can do after they get the course...
This works well because it rewards the behavior we want to see more of—engagement.

The GOAL is to make the first week (or first interactions) memorable—this sets the tone for long-term engagement.

TIP: If you have time as a community owner, personally responding to every comment is a great way to build engagement momentum.

Fostering Engagement Through Rituals

Rituals and roles create predictability and structure in a community.

When members start to “get” what’s going on, they see how the group will help them move from point A to point B and become more invested.

Weekly challenges and live sessions (aka recurring themes) become moments members look forward to, building a rhythm of engagement.

Here are a few ideas for rituals:

Weekly challenges
Live sessions
Themed posts

Moderating Proactively, Not Reactively

We do proactive moderation— establishing guidelines and using tools to prevent spam or disruptive behavior—keeping our community environment positive and productive.

It also sets clear expectations for how members should behave.

A healthy balance between freedom and structure ensures members feel safe to express themselves while staying on topic.

Here’s how we maintain our community’s boundaries:

Clear rules: Reference these when you need to delete posts or address issues.
A system for staying on top of activity: I like to filter posts by “most recent” and give likes to the ones I’ve reviewed. This ensures I stay up-to-date with all posts and keep the feed clean.

And for posts that are meaningful and valuable ⬇️

We Celebrate Wins and Acknowledge Contributions

Recognition is a powerful motivator.

We always pin member posts and celebrate members' achievements. This fosters a sense of belonging and reinforces the value of being part of the group.

People stay where they feel seen and appreciated, so we make the celebration a regular part of our community’s culture.

A few ideas for celebration:

Member milestones (e.g., “Top Contributor of the Month”).
Collective achievements (e.g., reaching group goals).

Cheers!

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PS: Again, thank you so much for the love on my last post 🫶 One of my 2025 resolutions is to share more helpful tips and insights (and to speak up more), so here I am, putting my big girl pants on! 💃👖

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