Quick Answers
Overview
There’s no “magic number” we can share without a better understanding of your situation. It depends on your goals, the size of the audience you’re trying to reach to grow your community, and the sustainable value of the peer support you want to offer.
As part of the Discovery phase, we identify your target audience and the easiest way to validate their initial and ongoing eligibility. Our standard installation is meant for adults residing in the USA and/or Canada, but we work with you to determine your exact requirements. You also get to choose if members can invite others to join and benefit from the community.
During the Planning & Deployment phase, we train your team to manage the community with the easy-to-use tools and automated workflows. Depending on size, you may only need one admin role to get started, adding more members to your community support team as the community grows. We also offer community and content management as an add-on service.
Our goal is to work with you to launch within 3 months. To set you up for success, we make sure the community aligns with your organizational goals and desired outcomes. For more on how we build your community with you, check out our services.
We have an initial setup fee to cover the platform configuration tailored to your organization and the pre-launch services. Once the community launches, there’s a monthly charge based on the size of your audience.
Yes, and this can be a win-win situation! We’ll help you identify the ideal type of professional, or Subject Matter Expert, who can add value to the community, and we’ll support their onboarding and engagement.
Setup / Configuration
Yes! If you want to further segment your audience within the community for more tailored recommendations, we can configure the community to handle multiple roles. In this case, members select the role that best represents them.
On the other hand, if there’s a clearly distinct set of goals or needs, we’d recommend a multi-site configuration with separate communities.
Yes. Check out our configuration and integration options for more details.
Yes. We learn about your existing technical ecosystem during the Discovery & Community Strategy phase. You can also check out our configuration and integration options for a quick overview.
No problem! The starting point for building your community is as a standalone installation. It’s your choice to explore the available integration options.
We can deploy a mobile app configured to your needs using React Native.
Yes. You will have access to our platform API to embed functionality from the community into your mobile app.
Yes, we have an optional payment feature to charge for individual membership plans. We recommend letting members start with a free, limited-time promotional membership.
Building Community
Members can join discussions on different forum topics, blog about their experiences, access a central resource hub, create their own private Close Circle, chat or message other members, and attend online events. Learn more about what our platform will do for you and your members.
The initial topics will be finalized during the Planning phase as you prepare for launch. They will be tied to your strategic goals and the interests of your target audience. New topics will be added as the community grows, including those suggested by members.
It depends. For a community focused on professional outcomes, you typically want members to use their real names. In contrast, for a health community, we establish anonymity for a better comfort level around sharing experiences. Either way, members remain in control of how much information they share about themselves in the community.
Many factors will impact how frequently members use the community, but that’s not the only metric to consider. That’s why we work with you through the Discovery & Community Strategy phase. The goal is to build value by providing an easily accessible and trusted online space where the needs of your target audience and organization meet.
All member-generated content is automatically filtered to prevent inappropriate or harmful language, and the monitoring tools let the community manager quickly review and act if needed. The community guidelines, terms, and policies set expectations, and members can also report inappropriate or concerning content and behavior. Your subject matter experts can also support the community manager in identifying and correcting misinformation.
Before launch, we work with you to understand the topics you’re concerned about to establish appropriate boundaries. If necessary, we can update the scope of the content filtering to support your team’s monitoring of member activity and help them guide the conversations to keep them on track and aligned with the community guidelines and policies.
Yes, we offer add-on services to help with communication materials to support and promote your community, including design and content.
We understand the importance of ensuring members feel comfortable, safe, and a part of the community. Depending on the nature of the community, we enable anonymity by using display names, and our platform is built with HIPAA-compliant and personal data privacy protections. We also have strict user terms and policies, proactive monitoring tools, and the ability for members to report concerns about another member’s behavior or wellbeing.
Health-Related Communities
There’s no “magic number” as it depends on your goals, the size of the audience you’re trying to reach to grow your community, and the sustainable value of the peer support you want to offer. For example, a community focused on a rare health condition would have a smaller audience than one for overall health and wellbeing, but both would have great potential value and benefits. Want to explore further? We can certainly provide some quick recommendations as part of an initial assessment, so contact us.
Yes! Our platform can be configured for single or multiple roles. In the case of multiple roles, members choose the main reason that brings them to the community—i.e. for their own health needs, as an informal caregiver, or as a family member. We built the platform with flexibility and use the Discovery phase to help you make informed choices.
Yes, your community can be configured based on a single health condition. However, it’s essential to have a sizeable target audience to grow your community and understand how it will provide lasting value. Contact us to start the conversation!
Yes! You can have a community just for caregivers. We have built the platform to cater to single or multiple roles, depending on your audience and goals. Let’s talk!
Many factors will impact how frequently members use the community when caring for themselves or their families. A health journey isn’t linear or the same for everyone. You can’t predict what will trigger the need for peer support, but you can have the community ready and waiting for when the need arises. Often, simply knowing that this support is available through awareness and communication can offer a level of confidence and peace of mind.
Yes, and this can be a win-win situation! We’ll help you identify the ideal type of professional who can add value to the community, and we’ll support their onboarding and engagement.
Members interact with each other using display names set to your chosen level of anonymity. Doing so provides greater comfort when sharing experiences, and members always remain in control of how much information they share about themselves in the community. All professional members are clearly identified by their full name.
Yes! As part of the Discovery phase, we’ll look at the setup of your current content and determine how best to make it available to community members. You can also opt to license additional content from a credible third-party provider.
Yes, we can recommend a credible third-party health content provider so you can share their content with your community through a licensing agreement.
