How to Choose the Best Community Platform for Your Project
• 4 mins read
Choosing the Right Platform: Social Media vs. Your Own Community Space
Brand trust is essential and Community Marketing is a powerful way to build it through real connections and user engagement.
Brands like Sephora, Lego, and Adidas (via Runtastic) have leveraged community platforms to inspire deeper user interaction, content sharing, events, and exclusive offers.
Rather than covering the benefits of Community Marketing again, we want to focus on a critical architectural decision in your strategy: Where should your community live?
You have two main options:
Use social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, etc.
Use a proprietary platform you fully control—where you own the user experience and data.
Why Social Media Can Be Risky for Your Community
Though social platforms may seem easy and visible, they come with substantial drawbacks:
You depend on third-party algorithms, which shrink your organic reach to just ~3% of followers.
You face limited customization, risking your community blending into countless others.
Moderation and control are harder, exposing you to spam or damaging content.
You lack ownership of user data, making audience insights harder to access or use.
The Advantages of Choosing SelfCommunity’s Proprietary Platform
To fully harness Community Marketing, a proprietary platform offers:
Total control over functionality, presentation, and governance.
Built-in usability for both administrators and members, with fast, intuitive interfaces across devices.
Advanced moderation tools, enabling rules, approvals, and dispute handling.
In-depth analytics, providing insights on user profiles, engagement, retention, and content performance.
Monetization Opportunities with SelfCommunity
SelfCommunity also empowers you to generate revenue directly from your community, turning it into a sustainable asset:
Paywall subscriptions: offer paid access to your Community.
Exclusive groups & courses: offer insider groups, lessons, or live webinars/workshops.
Events & experiences: host ticketed virtual or in-person events that bring your Community together around shared interests.
Advertising & sponsored content: offer ad placements, while maintaining alignment with your Community’s values.
Community data & reports: use anonymized user insights or market research data for partnerships or research services (with proper consent).
Because SelfCommunity includes flexible pricing, custom plans, white-label options, loyalty, and push-notification features—even support for ad display or integrations like AdSense: it offers a fully featured environment optimized not just for engagement, but also for monetization and growth.
Final Takeaway
A proprietary platform like SelfCommunity gives you the power to:
Build a branded community with full design and feature control.
Own your data, moderate effectively, and customize user experience.
Monetize sustainably: through subscriptions, courses, events, exclusive groups, and more.
Request your free demo today and discover how SelfCommunity can turn your Community into a growth engine and revenue source.
