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Bettermode blog

Articles on community building, customer engagement, customer success and more

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Illustration of a grid of tool cards with one picked, for the post: The 8 best Vanilla Forums alternatives in 2026 (and how to pick by migration path)Community

The 8 best Vanilla Forums alternatives in 2026 (and how to pick by migration path)

Vanilla Forums has been part of Higher Logic since 2021, and if you're running on it today, the search for Vanilla Forums alternatives usually starts with one of three sentences: our contract is coming up, the roadmap is moving somewhere we aren't, or we've outgrown a standalone forum and want the community wired into the rest of the business. All three are good reasons to look, and the market has moved a lot since most Vanilla instances were set up.

Illustration of a community discussion thread with replies, for the post: Elevating Business Relationships: Mastering B2B Online Community Platform BuildingCommunity

Elevating Business Relationships: Mastering B2B Online Community Platform Building

Are you a B2B company looking for a channel to engage customers and transform that engagement into measurable growth? A branded customer community is your answer. An online community is powerful because it integrates across the customer lifecycle and connects multiple departments—marketing, customer success, support, and product.

Illustration of a question with an accepted answer, for the post: The Anatomy of Successful Community Portals: Practices and Platforms UnveiledCommunity

The Anatomy of Successful Community Portals: Practices and Platforms Unveiled

While digital adoption accelerated during the pandemic, it has led to a much stronger culture towards online communities.

Illustration of members and an onboarding checklist, for the post: Onboarding Members to Your Online Community: Best Practices and Step-by-Step GuideCommunity

Onboarding Members to Your Online Community: Best Practices and Step-by-Step Guide

Onboarding new members is crucial for building an active, engaged online community. A thoughtful onboarding process sets the tone, influencing how members interact, understand your brand, and contribute on an ongoing basis.

Illustration of a megaphone with member messages, for the post: Scale Content Marketing with Community: A Strategy for GrowthCommunity

Scale Content Marketing with Community: A Strategy for Growth

Scaling content marketing is a sizeable program to take on, especially if you want to generate business results. However, one efficient and effective way to scale up is by utilizing your customer community for content creation.

Community

Scaling Your SaaS Community: Unleashing the Power of Network Effects

The network effect is the ultimate marketing strategy. For a SaaS business, cultivating a network effect increases customer satisfaction and retention strengthens customer loyalty and creates a viral loop, a revolving door of customers. But how do you develop a network effect for your SaaS business, particularly within your online community?

Illustration of a bar chart trending up, for the post: Community ROI and KPIs: how to measure a customer community and prove its valueCommunity

Community ROI and KPIs: how to measure a customer community and prove its value

To measure the ROI of a customer community, add up three kinds of value it creates (support tickets it resolves, pipeline it sources, and revenue it helps you keep or expand), subtract what the community costs to run, and divide by that cost. Agree each definition with finance first, credit only the gap you can show against non-members, and report it quarterly.

Illustration of two options side by side, one checked, for the post: Connecting Teams and Customers: Messaging Apps vs Community Software ShowdownCommunity

Connecting Teams and Customers: Messaging Apps vs Community Software Showdown

"Messaging app or community platform?" — this is a raging debate that community builders are grappling with. Just have a look at the following thread on IndieHackers:

Illustration of a branded community website, for the post: White Label Community Platform: Build Your Brand’s Own Social SpaceCommunity

White Label Community Platform: Build Your Brand’s Own Social Space

Imagine having an online space where your brand can shine, your audience can connect and you don't have to start from scratch to make it happen. That's the magic of a white label community platform.

Illustration of a community with spaces in the sidebar, for the post: How to Monetize Your Online Community: 7 Revenue StrategiesCommunity

How to Monetize Your Online Community: 7 Revenue Strategies

The rise of digital adoption has fueled the growth of online communities. More brands are building communities for their business, and the question for most is: how can they monetize successfully?

Illustration of two options side by side, one checked, for the post: Mastering Customer Support: A Comprehensive Guide to Self-Service SoftwareSupport and success

Mastering Customer Support: A Comprehensive Guide to Self-Service Software

Don't take this the wrong way, but your customers need a little space from you—it's not you, it's them.

Illustration of members and an onboarding checklist, for the post: How to onboard community members: the first action, then the first 30 daysCommunity

How to onboard community members: the first action, then the first 30 days

Most onboarding advice reads like event planning. Send a welcome email, pin an intro thread, give people a tour. All fine, none of it the point. Onboarding has one job: get a new member to do something that matters to them before they close the tab. Everything else is staging for that moment.

Put community activity in your CRM

Bettermode syncs members and what they do in your community to the CRM, so sales and success can see who is engaged before the next call.