Here at ryco.io, we are focused on creating valuable content and providing you with all the tools you need to succeed in the eLearning world. We’ve provided you with 5 tips for designing eLearning courses, as well as taking a closer look into three major programs that can help take your lessons to the next level, including Articulate 360, CourseArc and LTI, and Captivate by Adobe.
So, while ryco.io helps create courses for many of its customers, it's also essential to learn how to create your own online community. After all, behind every online course is a strong community supporting it and helping spread it to other like-minded people.
It takes more than just having a course created that you plan on selling. You need people to buy into it. And to do so, you need to create that thriving online community.
Understanding Online Communities
Meeting in a virtual space, online communities are a collective of individuals who share common goals, opinions, and interests. These communities can take many forms and share ideas for content, development, retail, and all things in between.
Some of the topics covered amongst online communities may include things such as:
Sharing advice
Discussing related news
Collaborating on projects
Learning together
Engaging with brands, instructors, or community figures
Discussing topics of interest
Benefits of Having a Strong Online Community
As previously mentioned, when you build a solid online community it is essential for the success of your online course. But why is that?
Online communities are an excellent way to bring students and prospective students together to get actionable feedback, discuss strategies, and share ideas, all in one place. Think of your online community as a pulse check for your final product.
Here are just a few of the benefits of having a strong online community:
Natural fits for digital entrepreneurs
Responses to market shifts
Increases revenue
Obtains feedback from your audience
Creates brand ambassadors
Develops you as a leader in your space
Why You Should Be Building an Online Learning Community
Producing the best possible resources for your learners is the ultimate aim when creating an online course. Including community engagement is an excellent idea to take your learning experience to the next level beyond your highest quality design and content.
Here are a few reasons you should be focusing your efforts on building an online learning community for your eLearning courses.
Establish Yourself As An Expert
The perceived value of your eLearning course can be increased through your online community. This concept becomes even more valuable when you engage directly with learners who are asking questions. Because interactions with developers, including valuable pieces of information straight from the source, are accessible, the community space becomes filled with eager learners.
Cementing your status as a trusted advisor and expert, your online community can help lock in your position here. You can also seek improvements to your course through your community by collating feedback.
Encourage Collaboration
To begin encouraging collaboration between learners, you should seek out community engagement. Whatever the location or background, your online community is a space where everyone can be brought together.
Creating a supportive and positive environment for your learners means your online community can unite students around your course.
Increase Brand Loyalty
More customer loyalty is cultivated through a sense of community. Creating an online learning community is an excellent tool to build this feeling and foster the idea that people like to feel part of something bigger than themselves.
You can increase retention rates and draw in new learners by providing access to your online community as a part of what your course has to offer.
How to Build Your Online Community
Here are some top tips to help you cultivate your online learning community if you’re new to the online community world.
1. Trying Cohort-Based Learning
A single group of students is often referred to as a cohort. In cohort-based learning, a group completes your eLearning course simultaneously. Help increase the sense of social cohesion and connectedness even in the online learning space as they progress through the course as a group. An online learning community helps bring them together even though your learners will be remote.
Make your course content more engaging and dynamic with cohort-based learning, allowing you to set group exercises and activities. Improve learning outcomes by offering learners something different from your competitors.
2. Encouraging Questions
Creating space for students to ask questions to you and each other is one of the best ways to encourage more engagement in your online learning community. When cultivating your online learning community, asking and answering questions is a great place to start.
If questions are all coming to you directly, you won’t be able to answer them as quickly as in a community collaboration space. Also, it helps to provide learners with a range of different perspectives. Students aren’t only learning from your course since asking questions also increases the social learning element of your course.
3. Turning Customers Into Brand Advocates
You need to get help from your existing learners if you’re growing your online course community from bare bones. These individuals can help do a lot of the leg work for you. Work to ensure your earliest learners buy into your brand wholly by building up a personal connection with them and being responsive.
Spread the word about your community through loyal customers. Because they believe in your products and your brand, they make for the best salespeople. They are also more likely to be the most active in your community, liking other users’ posts, answering questions, and commenting.
Final Thoughts
Creating an online course is just the beginning of the sales process. But, for your course to become successful, you must rely on your online community. Developing your like-minded online community is critical to the support and success of your online course.
Here at ryco.io, we want to help you succeed by not only creating your content but giving you the proper tools to develop the online community you need.