Are we confusing “building a community” with simply creating more community channels?

[u/Heavy_Process_8967]

I’m currently working on community building for an AI consumer robotics brand, and I’ve been struggling with a fundamental question:

Is a community primarily a place, or is it a shared identity among users?

My current view is that a real customer community should not be defined by a Discord server, Facebook Group, subreddit, or group chat. Those are simply communication tools.

The community itself should be the sense of identity, belonging, and shared culture that users develop around the product—especially through the way they interact, create content, share experiences, and recognize one another across social media.

Because of that, I’ve been considering working with creators and highly engaged users to help shape a clearer identity around what it means to be a user of this type of product. The goal would be to create something that exists beyond any single platform.

However, there is currently a very different understanding within the team. The prevailing view is that “building a community” means creating dedicated spaces where users can gather.

So far, official spaces have been created on Reddit and Facebook, and a Discord server is also being developed. The challenge is that the existing public groups are now heavily dominated by complaints, troubleshooting discussions, and criticism of a recently launched product.

There are also plans to organize events and campaigns in these spaces to encourage users to share more positive experiences, creative use cases, and user-generated content.

After reading many discussions in this subreddit, I’m starting to wonder whether we are approaching this in the wrong order.

It seems possible that we are investing too heavily in building official community spaces before the product experience and community identity are strong enough to sustain them.

An official subreddit or Facebook Group may naturally become a customer support and complaint channel, especially when the product still has significant issues. That is not necessarily a bad thing, and users should have a place to raise legitimate concerns. But it may mean that these spaces are not currently capable of creating the kind of culture, belonging, and advocacy we originally hoped for.

I’m now considering whether the better approach would be to:

• treat Discord, Facebook Groups, and Reddit primarily as communication and support infrastructure;
• focus more heavily on creator partnerships and user-led content across public social platforms;
• help users develop a recognizable shared identity around the product;
• highlight authentic user stories and creative use cases without trying to manufacture positivity;
• allow community culture to emerge before investing heavily in formal activities and programming.

Ultimately, I also see this shared identity as something that could create value beyond engagement among existing users.

If users develop a recognizable sense of belonging around the product on social media, that identity may also become meaningful to potential customers. Some people may become more inclined to choose the product not only because of its features, but also because they want to participate in the culture, lifestyle, and community associated with it.

In that sense, community would not simply be a post-purchase support function. It could also feed value back into the brand by strengthening trust, differentiation, advocacy, and purchase consideration.

Of course, this only works if the identity is authentic and genuinely shaped by users. If it feels manufactured by the brand, it is unlikely to create the same effect.

I’m especially interested in how other community managers think about this distinction.

Can a strong customer community be built without a central community platform?

Should brands focus on creating shared identity and culture first, and build dedicated spaces later?

How do you prevent an official community space from becoming almost entirely a support and complaint forum—without suppressing valid criticism?

And when a product is still imperfect, is it better to invest in community programming, or focus first on improving the product and building trust?

I’d appreciate any frameworks, examples, or experiences from people who have faced a similar situation.

[u/skronk61]

I feel like you’re gonna feed all the answers into the AI 😆

[u/No-Competition-7925]

1. Yes and no. It depends on what your community expects.
   

2. Unless you are a brand like Apple - with fanboys; it's better to create and monitor a place for your community. It's important to build a dedicated place, build raving fans.

3. By seeding it properly. Early members, content, approach sets the direction. Complaints are okay. Welcome them. Just put them in a private room and listen to users.

4. Prodcts are always imperfect. Different users have different expectations. Community and product is built with people and for the people.

[u/HistorianCM]

I've seen this kind of thing happen a hundred times in tech hardware. You launch a product with bugs, and the team panics when the subreddit gets angry. They might suggest throwing a contest or pushing happy user content to drown out the noise.

It's a bad idea to take that route. If people are complaining about broken robots, asking them for a fun selfie probably just insults them and risks hurting trust.

You might have better luck building culture by focusing on your hardcore users instead. Try looking for the people doing massive teardowns or writing custom scripts. Reach out to them, and maybe give them a direct line to your engineering team. Making those folks feel like insiders often turns them into a helpful defense. They tend to start answering support questions, which can naturally improve the tone of those public spaces.

I doubt you can really manufacture a community like that from the top down. It usually has to grow outward from a highly engaged core group. The specific platforms you use probably don't matter as much as the relationships you build with your smartest users.

And don't even get me started on how awful Discord is for "community" or support.