Where do you turn to for information? Community management is a growing industry, with more resources than ever before - but sometimes it can be hard to find the golden nuggets within the ever increasing sea of content.

Is an online community ever too big to fail?

Unfortunately, just like everything else, no. In fact, LEGO Message Boards (LMB), a vibrant online community for LEGO enthusiasts, is being permanently shut down and deleted this March. The LMB story should be a cautionary tale for all community builders - it doesn’t matter how many fans your organization has or how many people participate in your community. If you don’t manage it properly, you risk failure.

The look, feel and usability of your community, and online presence as a whole, can make a huge difference in terms of engagement. But what if you don’t have the budget to really dive in, research and optimize your site’s user experience (UX)?

Small organizations are used to figuring out creative workarounds to problems that larger organizations don’t think twice about, like how to manage a community without a full time community manager or maintain a corporate site.

How do you engage members who don’t sit in front of a computer all day?

If your community members typically sit at a desk most days, an online community fits more easily into their routine. Not to mention, it’s usually easier to upload materials, reply to discussions and just check in when you’re at a desktop.

We’ve been busy here at Higher Logic - last September we announced our spot as a Leader in the inaugural IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Online Communities 2016 Vendor Assessment, as well as our new investment and partnership with JMI Equity.

JMI Equity invested in Higher Logic, giving us capital, guidance, the ability to do acquisitions, and access to many of the things we need to keep improving and evolving our community platform for customers. The IDC report notes that building relationships with customers will be the most important business priority over the next 12 months.

We’ve noted the possibility of exploring some acquisitions - looking into companies and vendors that offer great products or services that would expand and enhance our product offering, and therefore assist our customers and prospects in achieving their business goals. And we’ve done just that!

When it comes to analytics and KPIs, it can be hard for community builders to know exactly what to focus on. Some platforms have dashboards that display the ins and outs of the community, but some community managers work with simpler social media networks, or painstakingly pull Excel spreadsheets with tons of raw data. But what are the important numbers for you to focus on at any given time?

According to a study from CMX and Leader Networks, improving customer satisfaction is the number one reason why businesses start branded online communities.

That means that businesses are investing big bucks in online community software, community managers, and helpful content to keep their customers happy. But does it work? Do online communities really improve customer satisfaction?

You'll easily pay $300-$500 for a new vacuum cleaner. That's why, when I needed to buy a new one recently, I didn't take the decision lightly. I spent over 50 hours researching vacuums online. I went to multiple stores, testing several vacuums as well as questioning the people selling them. I was looking for a clear idea of the winners and losing in the category.

Note: Riot Games is not a Higher Logic client, nor did Higher Logic work with Riot Games around this issue. We just found this to be an inspiring story and a great example of fine community management at work. We’re excited to share the story with you.

How do you change the behavior of millions of community members? That’s the problem Riot Games had to solve with their game, League of Legends, when they realized that antisocial behavior - like gamers using racial and homophobic slurs with each other - had reached toxic levels.

Have you ever looked at an optical illusion like the one above? (If not, you have now.) In this example, the first thing that most people see is a white vase.

However, upon closer inspection of the black areas, you notice two faces nose-to-nose. Now that you've seen both the vase and the faces, you can't "un-see" either one. You can never go back to seeing a single image.