# Webinar: Growing and Retaining Your Community

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-growing-and-retaining-your-community/366245
**Category:** Events
**Tags:** webinar
**Created:** [May 15, 2025, 12:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-growing-and-retaining-your-community/366245 "2025-05-15T12:08:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Danielle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/danielle/32/537380_2.png) [@Danielle](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Danielle)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2025, 12:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-growing-and-retaining-your-community/366245/1 "2025-05-15T12:08:45Z")

</div>

On, 2025-05-20T17:00:00Z we explored why people join and stay in communities!

### Watch the Replay

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/2/4/124ea5c2519e232ca593795334ed8979c3a5f22f.jpeg "Why people join and stay in communities") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3oNIrhmUC8)

### Key Takeaways

**What is participation, anyway?**

 ![Participation - Why People Join and Stay in Communities (1)](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/6/f/3/6f32f3a381eed290a68cb9c9a0a86e299fab25b2.png)  
 ![Participation - Why People Join and Stay in Communities](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/b/a/4/ba46b8da0900474a3fa773ef6dd73ef43c25f570.png)  
 ![Participation - Why People Join and Stay in Communities](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/0/c/d/0cd1f649d97830b27bc88196cc8190bf4c48f161.png)

**Key Motivators for Community Participation**

- Getting help or solving a problem/practical need.
- Connecting with like-minded people.
- Building credibility or reputation.
- Giving back after receiving value.
- Staying informed or accessing exclusive content.

**Questions Answered in the Webinar**  
We had over 100 people answer this registration question:

> What’s the biggest challenge you face in getting people to engage in your community?

Here are the top themes we saw across all questions, and members of the Product team and I go in-depth addressing these in the presentation!

1. **Getting People to Post First**  
Many users visit and read but hesitate to make the first move or start a conversation.
2. **Low Participation After Launch**  
Communities are started but fail to gain momentum—resulting in very few posts or ongoing activity.
3. **Time Constraints**  
Both community managers and members feel too busy to engage consistently.
4. **Lack of Icebreakers or Starting Points**  
Uncertainty around how to kick off conversations or guide first interactions.
5. **Large Member Base, But Low Engagement**  
Even in communities with thousands of members, participation remains minimal.
6. **Overreliance on the Admin/Manager**  
Engagement only happens when the community leader actively posts multiple times per day.
7. **Fear of Posting or Shyness**  
Members may be hesitant to share due to social anxiety, fear of judgment, or unfamiliarity.
8. **Lack of Strategy or Know-How**  
Some respondents admitted they don’t have a plan or aren’t sure what tactics will work.
9. **Unclear Value Proposition**  
Members don’t immediately see why they should engage or what’s in it for them.
10. **Competing Platforms**  
Some users prefer familiar platforms (e.g., Facebook), making it harder to transition them to a new space.

### Mentioned Discourse Tools & Resources

- [https://discover.discourse.com/](https://discover.discourse.com/)
- [Discourse Yearly Review](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-yearly-review/105713)
- [Post notices for first-time and returning users](https://meta.discourse.org/t/post-notices-for-first-time-and-returning-users/112078)

### What to Watch Next:

- [Webinar: Getting Buy-In for Your Community + Office Hours](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-getting-buy-in-for-your-community-office-hours/360736)
- [Webinar: Love Your Community](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-love-your-community/351482)

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/webinar-growing-and-retaining-your-community/366245)._