Community for your customers as part of your shopify store

[JeShoes]

Hey folks!

Has anyone had success building a community to deepen engagement with your customers? If so, can you share some details on your strategy, tools, etc?

Thanks!

[Karlie]

Hello, @JeShoes!

Karlie here from the Shopify Support Team! I understand you're looking for feedback regarding creating a community for your online store - I just wanted to chime in here to let you know that there are some apps in the Shopify App Store that would provide you with your own forums community on your storefront.

If you're interested, you can check them all out here. I would recommend specifically checking out the apps; Xenforum, Muut, and Chatigy Forums. 

I hope this suggestion helps, but if you have any questions - feel free to ask! 

[PeerBoard]

Hi @JeShoes !

We are Peerboard - a community platform. We are a one-app solution for your needs.

We have made a guide on How to build an online community.

In this guide you will find:

What is an online community

Benefits of building an online community

Types of online communities

Community vs. audience

Strategies for building a community from scratch

How to grow an existing community

How to keep your online community members engaged

How to manage an online community

Case studies

Here are PeerBoard Shopify App Features:

• No code integration: Embed the PeerBoard App in your Shopify Store, without coding or complex integrations.
• Member Groups: Build subgroups, manage access, reward members with badges, and more. Automate all of your group management with API or Zapier.
• User Profiles: Now every customer can showcase their expertise and the best content they created. Reward their contributions with badges and special privileges.
• Public or Private Spaces: Keep the community public or private and make it easy for members to use existing accounts. Accessibility settings allow the community to be public or private. Use registration rules to enable members with an invitation to join or make your online community public to incorporate social proof into your marketing, showcasing your satisfied customers to potential customers.
• Powerful Built-In Tools: From rich user profiles to an intelligent newsfeed, PeerBoard provides merchants with powerful tools allowing them to create and scale their online community among customers.
• Customization: PeerBoard is a premium, white-label community service. Your community, your branding. Choose your own brand colors, add your store logo, and own 100% of your member data. You can build an online community that you completely control, while still leveraging the power of third-party platforms such as Shopify.
• Real-time threads: Facilitate valuable in-depth conversations with multi-level discussions or traditional blog posts.
• Intelligent feed: Our algorithm keeps members hooked with personalized, rich, and contextual content driven by members’ participation in groups, categories, and preferences.

Benefits of Having a Community Forum on Your Shopify Store:

• Drive Traffic to Your Blog and Shopify Store
• Connect With Your Customers
• Get Valuable Customer Feedback
• Provide Customer Support
• Better Understand Brand Perceptions
• Crowdsource Ideas and Co-Create with Customers
• Develop An Effective Customer-Driven Ideation Process
• Empower Product Creators with Customer Feedback
• Generate Leads and Improve SEO with User Generated Content (UGC)
• Identify Possible Affiliates
• Increase Customer Lifetime Value with Repeat Customers
• Demonstrate Social Proof to Drive More Sales

Please, let me know if you have any questions or if you would like a demo. It's free to start.