How Have Social Networking Websites Affected Social Groups?

Social media, because of their most popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., have become a buzzword today. However, hardly anyone on the planet left who does not use any social media platform.

This tremendous popularity of social networking websites turned big brands and businesses into forming their own online social groups. You must have seen many brands and organizations promoting their online community or social groups where their audience can connect, engage, and communicate.

Both social groups and social networking websites have somewhat similar features and behavior. However, both social networks and online communities fall under Social Media. In addition, several social networking sites are available these days that dramatically increase the demand for social groups.

But how have social networking websites affected social groups? Here, in this guide, we will help you learn everything about it and the ways it impacts each other. So have a good read ahead!!

Social Network Sites Vs. Online Social Groups – The Difference

Both social networking websites and online social groups have a lot of similarities and differences. Before I help you understand how have social networking websites affected social groups, first, you need to understand their meaning. Below, we have explained the top ways how both of them are different from each other:

Social Networking Websites

When we talk about social networking websites, the top things that come to mind are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and much more. The rise of these social websites has given the audience a virtual platform where they connect with people without any geographical boundaries and build a community.

Also, it offers them a place where they can release their stress and anxiety and spend a few hours for entertainment and socializing.

Even businesses and organizations have joined the league to reach their audience in a more personalized manner. Now they can communicate and engage with their audience without directly marketing their products and services. Instead, they build their own community where they join for entertainment and social engagement.

Social Groups

Social Groups are online communities that form when people join an online platform for a definite reason. Nowadays, your audience is very specific about their needs. So, whether it is about joining a community or spending their time, they focus on what they want from the community.

In short, a social group forms when several people join the community for a specific reason, like gaining information, customer support, feedback, and new insights.

Do Social Networking Websites Really Affect Online Social Groups?

How have social networking websites affected social groups? You must be thinking, why social networking sites would affect social groups, right? Well, there has been a great impact of social networking sites on social groups, and that too for good reasons.

Social groups form anywhere, and you need to understand how to grow them to gain your brand recognition and value. The rise of social groups was possible only due to social networking sites, as it would be impossible for brands to know how an online community can give their businesses new heights and success.

So it would be wrong to say that social networking websites affect social groups. In fact, it helps inspire and encourage businesses to form their own online communities or social groups to gain better results.

Why Build Your Online Social Group?

Do you want to build a platform where both your potential and actual audience can connect? Do you also want to gain a team of evangelists who can speak on your behalf? An online social group can do a lot more to help you achieve all of them in a single platform.

Building your own online community can help you in many ways. You don’t have to fear the lack of ownership and control by using social networking websites. Instead, you can create your own platform using the BuddyX theme, a free solution to all your community-building needs.

Build your own community to grow a team of evangelists for your brand to turn your business into a brand. Connect with people who want to hear about your brand and know more about it.

Top Reasons for Building Your Online Social Groups

When it comes to building an online social group, there are many reasons. They help improve satisfaction, increase revenue, and improve customer loyalty. Also, several other benefits include:

Reduce Marketing Costs: One of the biggest fears of brands and organizations before adopting a new strategy is the increased marketing costs. However, that doesn’t seem to happen with online social groups. Building these groups helps cut down marketing costs significantly.
Encourage Potential Audience: When you bring both actual and potential audiences on the same platform, it becomes easier to encourage a new audience to turn into potential buyers. With various social online activities like quizzes, events, Q&A, and genuine reviews, brands can easily attract potential buyers to make a purchase.
Cut Down Support Costs: Providing 24/7 support to your customers is a daunting task for businesses. However, with an active online community, brands can easily cut down their support costs as their customers can use the community to get their answers. Also, most of their questions can be handled by their community members.

Its Time to Build Your Online Social Group

After reading the above points, you must have been convinced about starting your own community. But how will you build your online social group? Does it require a lot of technical knowledge and practice?

Well, we would like to tell you that you don’t have to get into a lot of hassle to start your own community. It becomes easier when you use an all-in-one solution like the BuddyX theme to build a fully-customizable social group without any hard technical knowledge. Furthermore, this free theme is easily compatible with the various community-building platforms, so you can have a smooth process.

Remember, you cannot build a community without investing time and effort. The right strategies and tricks will help you grow your community at the right speed. Keep experimenting and exploring until the community starts growing at a good pace.