3 Proven Ways to Create a Mission Statement for Your Online Community

Majority of organizations recognize communities as their most useful asset.

The reason? Because a thriving community empowers a brand to target new customers, build brand awareness, and bring ROI to the table.

But as the community grows, it becomes challenging to stay focused on the true purpose of the community. And, as the engagement within the community grows, it becomes even more important that your community sticks to that shared-purpose.

This is why creating an online community with a strong foundation is a must for the success of your brand. And, a clearly defined mission statement is the key to your community’s strong foundation. It works as an anchor that keeps your community focused on its ultimate goal while you steer forward.

Start with understanding the importance of having a mission statement for your online community. Basically, it defines the reason for your community’s existence. Ask yourself –

• Why does your community exist?
• What is the purpose of your community?
• You design your community to serve whom, and with what values?

Although these questions might sound easy to answer, they are not. On that note, creating a mission statement that will shape your community will require effort.

To bring an impactful mission statement into existence, you need to research, get an insight into these questions, and work thoughtfully on it.

Let’s deep dive into the 101 of curating an impactful community mission statement and learn some tips on how to write one that’s impactful and meaningful.

What is a Community Mission Statement & Why is it Important?

A community mission statement is about defining an achievable outcome. A clearly defined statement describes the changes you wish to make in the community to achieve the desired goals.

Creating an impactful community mission statement enables you to:

• Bring together the community and the leaders to pave the way towards the shared goal.
• Gain sight of the big picture to devise strategies for the future of your community.

3 Best Practices to Create an Effective Mission Statement

1. Brainstorm With Your Team

The heart of the community mission statement should not particularly speak about what outcomes and benefits your company will achieve. It should also include what relevant benefits your community members will get. The achievable outcome should have enough reasons to attract the audience and make them want to be a part of your community.

And this all is possible if you open your mind to others’ opinions. That is why we suggest brainstorming with –

• Community managers
• Designers and researchers to gain qualitative insight
• Moderators to gain insight into pain points, needs, challenges, and improvement areas
• Content creators, marketers, stakeholders, support executives, etc., who contribute to the growth of the community
• Data analytics team that can offer quantitative insight from every aspect

A few questions to ask while brainstorming include:

• Who is the targeted audience that we want to serve?
• Why do we need to serve them? If we do, what do they need from us, as a community, and from each other?
• What will be the short-term goals that will help us achieve our long-term goals?
• What do we refrain from doing in the community, and why?
• What difference will we make, and how to stand out from the crowd?
• What significant changes do we expect to make to accomplish our desired goal?

These questions will help you take your discussion forward, spot the challenges, and determine the quality you want in your community. Then, you can strategize how you expect to move forward and what to include in the community mission statement.

2. Keep it Short & Obvious

No one likes reading long and monotonous statements. So, keep it short and easy to read & remember. Customers today, prefer consuming bite-sized information. So, preparing a mission statement that’s precise should be your key objective.

3. Demonstrate the Key Values of Community

Core values are the founding principles of your community mission. They are the heart and soul of your community and are responsible for every action you take in the community.

Whatever your values are, whether they are being humble or honest, showcase what you intend clearly!

Not only will your employees respect these principles, but your customers will appreciate them too. By showing and demonstrating your core values – at the personal and community levels, you will set an appealing image in your community mission statement.

A community mission statement is crucial as it clarifies what goals you wish to achieve from your community, the target audience, and how the future plans. As a mission statement is the roadmap of your community development, establish a scalable statement that has some wiggle room for changes as your community grows.

Creating a mission statement for a community is about creating a strategic foundation. So, take your time, implement the best practices, give your community a purpose to grow, and reap attention from more prospects.

Wish to Create an Effective Online Community That Reaps ROI? Talk to Us!