An online community interacts, engages, and becomes a vital part of a business. That’s why the first step is to offer great content.

It’s beating an old horse, I know, but quality content is still the best way to distinguish your business from the competition, to build credibility and authority, and to attract prospects.

Great content always answers a question, solves a problem, or satisfies a want or need in your target audience. It’s really that simple, but very difficult to do.

Then I think you need to be very active on social media, launching new campaigns, delivering appropriate content to your audience, getting people to talk about you by launching contests, and connecting with influencers that buy in to your products, services, and business culture.

Finally, I think it’s really important to seek out guest post opportunities on sites that already have a big audience. The key is to choose sites that share your vision and culture, and to provide content that is valuable. Eventually, that community will begin to trust you, and begin engaging with you outside of the forum where you post content.