10 Best Community Engagement Platforms To Boost Renewals

Keeping members engaged year-round is no easy feat. Fortunately, community engagement platforms provide a powerful solution to help professional associations, trade associations, and other membership organizations build strong networks, centralize interactions, manage members, and encourage renewals.

Today’s top solutions foster community and boost member participation. With several options on the market, associations need to find a platform that supports their member retention efforts without blowing their budgets.

In this guide, we’ll introduce 10 solutions that can help your association build a thriving, engaged community that renews their memberships year after year.

• Community Engagement Platform FAQs
• Best Community Engagement Platforms Tailored to Associations
• Best Community Engagement Platforms with Association-Appropriate Features

Community Engagement Platform FAQs

What is a community engagement platform?

A community engagement platform is a centralized space where members of a community or group can connect, share ideas, seek advice, and collaborate with others in their field. These platforms foster a sense of belonging in members through features such as discussion forums, webinars, educational resources, event hosting tools, and surveys.

Who is a community engagement platform for?

Community engagement platforms are commonly used by associations, nonprofits, and educational institutions because they empower these organizations to manage member interactions and events and to offer educational resources and networking opportunities.

Is a community engagement platform the same as association management software?

No, a community engagement platform is different from association management software (AMS). While an AMS provides essential tools for managing daily operations—such as automated invoice generation and membership renewal reminders—a community engagement platform focuses on cultivating interactions and connections through members-only online spaces.

However, these platforms’ features aren’t mutually exclusive. Some AMS solutions include community engagement tools, and community engagement platforms may have some AMS capabilities. It’s also possible to integrate a community engagement platform with your existing AMS and vice versa.

What is the difference between a social media group and a dedicated community engagement platform?

A dedicated community engagement platform provides a secure, distraction-free environment that your association completely owns. In contrast, social media groups are subject to unpredictable algorithm changes, ads, and data privacy concerns. Platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook, though great for marketing, lack the specialized, private environment necessary for professional member management.

Why does your association need a community engagement platform?

Community engagement platforms encourage meaningful member interactions and enhance the overall value of your organization’s memberships. Here are several reasons why your association should consider investing in a community engagement platform:

• Centralize member engagement. A community engagement platform serves as a hub for all member activities, including discussions, events, resources, and announcements.
• Increase members’ sense of belonging. A dedicated platform encourages members to actively participate in discussions, access educational resources, and connect with peers.
• Provide value through gated content. Associations can promote members-only content on their community engagement platform, boosting event attendance and access to resources.
• Streamline event management. Many platforms come equipped with event management tools such as registrations, marketing, and virtual event hosting. This simplifies event logistics and boosts attendance.

What features should I look for in a community engagement platform?

The right community engagement platform should do more than facilitate discussions. It should help your association deliver meaningful member engagement, measure participation, and integrate seamlessly with the rest of your technology stack. As you evaluate your options, look for these essential capabilities:

• Discussion space: Look for a platform that gives members a dedicated place to ask questions, share knowledge, and connect with peers through organized, members-only discussions.
• Event management tools: Choose a platform that simplifies registrations, reminders, and attendance tracking. If your association hosts hybrid or virtual events, built-in video conferencing can reduce the need for additional tools.
• Member directories: A searchable member directory makes it easier for members to discover peers, expand their professional networks, and build meaningful connections.
• Privacy settings: Flexible privacy controls allow members to decide what information they share, creating a trusted environment that encourages participation.
• Gamification features: Badges, points, and recognition programs can encourage ongoing participation, especially in larger or highly active communities.
• Analytics and reporting: Look for reporting that helps you understand member engagement trends, identify your most active members, and measure which programs or communities generate the most participation.
• Integrations: Your community engagement platform should integrate with your existing technology stack, such as your association management software (AMS), to reduce manual work and create a more connected member experience.
• Reliable technical support: Responsive onboarding, training, and customer support can make implementation smoother and help your team get the most value from the platform over time.

Choosing a platform with tools tailored to your specific needs enables your association to address gaps in your engagement, enhancing its ability to drive meaningful outcomes and boost member renewals.

Best Community Engagement Platforms Tailored To Associations

Tradewing: Best All-Around Community Engagement Platform

From member discussions to content management, Tradewing provides everything trade and professional associations need to build an engagement infrastructure that makes communities thrive. Our out-of-the-box platform helps get your community platform up and running quickly so you can start engaging members right away.

By centralizing online member interactions within a single platform, Tradewing focuses member attention solely on your association. Affordable and simple, our platform offers robust tools for interaction without the high costs or complexity of larger solutions, meaning no technical expertise is required. Plus, powerful moderation tools ensure your community remains safe and respectful, preserving the integrity of your network.

Key Features For Community Engagement

• Groups: Create public and private groups (such as one for your board of directors) where members can post, create polls, upload videos, and share resources. The social media-style feed makes it easy for members to comment on and like others’ posts.
• Member directory: Members can create profiles and adjust their privacy settings to control what information they share with others. The searchable directory helps members network with each other and connect via chat.
• Sponsorship management: Invite sponsors to build custom landing pages within the platform, which will be featured in a dedicated Sponsors tab. Members can explore sponsor pages and message them directly. Additionally, you can feature sponsors in a side tab during virtual events.
• Event management: Manage in-person, virtual, and hybrid events with ease. Both administrators and members can post event details and control whether events are public or private. For example, a board may schedule a private meeting viewable only by group members. Tradewing also offers built-in video conferencing, eliminating the need for external platforms.
• Resources: Invite members to share resources through the Resources Tab. Administrators can upload resources directly without posting to groups, and members can preview files without downloading them. Group administrators can organize post attachments from members into dedicated folders, keeping resources well-structured.
• Reports and analytics: Gain insights into engagement trends with detailed reporting. Track individual activities, such as the number of posts or comments a specific member makes, and monitor group performance metrics, including membership size, likes, and interactions. These reports help identify areas where members are engaging as well as places in need of improvement.
• Integrations with popular tools: Tradewing integrates with leading AMSs, so you can seamlessly plug our platform into your existing tech stack.

Tradewing In Action

The Colorado School of Public Relations Association (COSPRA) was never short on member expertise, but they struggled to make that expertise accessible. They used a combination of tools that enabled information sharing but made it difficult to sustain meaningful collaboration.

This is where Tradewing came in to make a difference! We provided COSPRA with a centralized environment where their interactions with their members could happen naturally. Today, members use our platform to ask questions, exchange ideas, seek recommendations, and learn from one another’s experiences. Additionally, COSPRA has used Tradewing to build a growing library of practical resources, such as communication templates and social media guidelines.

Check out this video about COSPRA’s journey with Tradewing:

Pricing

Reach out to our team to get a custom quote.

Breezio: Best Community Engagement Software for Collaboration

Breezio offers a dynamic platform that fosters collaboration through real-time interaction, document sharing, and engagement tools. It’s especially popular with organizations that value collaboration across teams and projects.

Breezio’s user-friendly interface encourages member participation, making it ideal for knowledge-sharing and problem-solving. Additionally, it supports diverse content types, including videos, documents, and discussion threads, making it versatile for different communication styles.

Key Features

• Customizable discussion spaces: Build discussion spaces for your unique community to facilitate targeted conversations and ensure members see content relevant to their interests
• Easy knowledge sharing: Members can easily share and organize valuable content, ensuring they have access to the resources they need right from your community.
• AI enhancements: Breezio’s AI creates better member experiences by surfacing content related to each member’s interests, personalizing member engagement at scale.

Pricing

Breezio offers a range of price points, starting at their $433/month Essentials package.

Personify CommUnity: Best Community Platform for Large Organizations

Part of a wide array of software solutions for associations, Personify CommUnity is designed for large nonprofits and associations, offering features that enhance member engagement and community building. It excels at managing large-scale events and integrates with donor and membership management systems. Its analytics and reporting capabilities give organizations actionable insights into their community’s behavior.

That said, this platform may not be an ideal choice for smaller organizations, as the comprehensive suite of features can be overwhelming.

Key Features

• Custom discussion spaces: Members have the freedom to start conversations however they want through forums, groups, and blog posts.
• Gamification and motivation: Incorporate badging, leaderboards, and contests to encourage users to return and keep sharing.
• Mobile application: Personify CommUnity has its own app, letting associations reach their members wherever they are. The app also supports email-based alerts and multi-language options.

Pricing

Personify CommUnity’s pricing starts at $2,500 per year.

Hivebrite: Most Customizable Platform for Alumni Networks

Hivebrite provides extensive customization options tailored to membership organizations, professional societies, and trade associations. Alumni coordinators in particular praise the online community engagement platform for its engaging, branded spaces that enable networking, event management, and content sharing. Beyond that, other engagement features include support for mentorship programs, job boards, and interest-based subgroups.

The platform also offers donation management, making it a versatile platform for alumni engagement and fundraising. Hivebrite also supports networking, continuous learning, workshops, and conferences. Trade associations can also use the solution to notify members of updates, gather feedback, support advocacy efforts, and foster industry collaboration.

The one downside of Hivebrite is its extensive customization, which can lead to longer setup times and increased maintenance. Because of this, some organizations choose Hivebrite alternatives that offer similar core offerings but with more seamless customization.

Key Features

• Branded online community: Associations can customize their platform and mobile app to reflect their brand with logos, colors, and fonts.
• AI matching: Help members jumpstart their networking with AI-powered matches that connect them with other members and small groups within your community.
• Mentoring features: With Hivebrite’s mentoring capabilities, associations can streamline mentor discovery by letting mentees self-select or be automatically matched with a mentor.

Pricing

Hivebrite’s price points start at $895/month for their basic Core package.

MemberNova: Best for Membership Management with Basic Community Tools

MemberNova combines community engagement tools with robust membership management features, making it ideal for organizations seeking an all-in-one solution. It offers a centralized hub to streamline administrative tasks and manage renewals, events, and membership data. Its ability to support chapters with independent portals and roll-up reporting makes it particularly attractive to larger, multi-layered organizations.

However, MemberNova focuses more on operational efficiencies and member administration than fostering engagement through dynamic community interactions. Some users also claim that the price tag is hefty.

Key Features

• Multi-chapter management: Associations with multiple chapters can keep all organizations streamlined through one centralized system.
• Easy-to-use event registration software: Create custom event tickets, design beautiful event landing pages, and share event materials with ease.
• Email campaigns: MemberNova offers a suite of professionally designed email templates, smart segmentation, and automation tools.

Pricing

Contact MemberNova to get a quote.

Best Community Engagement Platforms With Association-Appropriate Features

While the following platforms don’t cater only to associations, they’re flexible enough to support your community engagement efforts.

Mighty Networks: Best Online Community Engagement Platform for Niche Subgroups

While designed primarily for businesses and individual creators, Mighty Networks offers tools such as subgroup creation, course delivery options, and paid memberships that are ideal for building niche communities. As a result, many associations and nonprofits use the platform.

Its intuitive design makes it easy to set up and manage, with a focus on helping creators build meaningful connections within their niches. You’ll also make a positive first impression on new members with a welcome checklist, icebreakers, polls, and introduction posts.

Of course, since this platform targets creators and small businesses, the features may seem limited to many associations and professional communities, especially the larger ones. That’s why many of them are seeking Mighty Networks alternatives with comparable features.

Key Features

• Branded community space: Offer members a branded app that lets them access your content on the go.
• Course and content hosting: Inspire members to improve their skills by offering courses with progress tracking features that encourage completion
• Diverse communication styles: Whether a member initiates a conversation in a public feed or a private chat, Mighty Networks makes discussions seamless.

Pricing

Mighty Networks’ price starts at $79 per month.

Discourse: Best Community Engagement Software for Simple Discussion Forums

Discourse is an open-source platform centered around discussion forums, offering straightforward features for managing conversations and threads. It’s designed for communities that thrive on dialogue with tools to support ongoing conversations, gamification, and community moderation. Plus, it was built for high-resolution touch devices so that members can participate on any device.

That said, this platform may allow extensive customization, thanks to its open-source nature, but to fully leverage its potential, you’ll need technical expertise. Additionally, Discourse doesn’t really have other community-building features like event management and member directories, so while you can start great conversations here, you can’t build relationships with your members.

Key Features

• Extensive customization options: You can make your Discourse platform whatever you want it to be, whether that’s a support hub, a team workspace, or a community.
• In-depth conversations: The platform is designed to encourage lively community discussions via open forums, private chat, or email.
• AI translations: Engage members from around the world with AI-powered translations for 49 languages, with more available in the future.

Pricing

Discourse’s most basic package costs $100 per month.

Facebook Groups: Best Platform for Informal Social Communities

Facebook Groups provides a free and accessible platform for informal community building with features designed to encourage member interaction. Its ease of use and built-in audience from Facebook’s user base make it a popular option for small organizations.

However, because the platform offers limited customization and data ownership, it may not meet the needs of associations seeking to establish branded, long-term communities. Additionally, Facebook’s algorithms and privacy policies limit control over how groups engage with their audience.

Key Features

• Accessible: Facebook has its own mobile app, meaning groups can access it anytime, anywhere.
• Basic management tools: The app provides core functionalities for inviting members and moderating posts, making it easy for new associations to get started.
• Event creation: Facebook Groups enables simple event creation and notifications.

Pricing

Facebook Groups are free to use.

Slack: Best Community Platform for Committee Collaboration

Slack is a popular real-time messaging tool designed to streamline collaboration, particularly for committees and internal teams. It integrates seamlessly with other productivity apps, enabling users to manage projects and communications in one place. Slack’s threaded conversations and private channels help teams stay organized, but the platform is better for short-term projects.

That said, Slack is ultimately better suited for internal teams than for member communities due to its lack of features that foster ongoing community engagement, such as member directories or event hubs.

Key Features

• Channels: Create messaging channels for specific topics and groups to keep conversations on track.
• File sharing: Easily share files with other members to maintain a collaborative community environment.
• Huddles: Host audio and video meetings with ease directly on the platform.

Pricing

Slack offers a free plan for small organizations. Paid plans start at $8.75 per user per month.

Circle: Best Software for Course-Based Communities

Circle is a robust platform designed for online communities, courses, and paid memberships. It allows users to create interactive spaces that facilitate discussions, events, and content sharing. The platform also supports course creation and gated content, offering modular options for video, audio, and text materials, making it a viable choice for those running educational programs.

Keep in mind that Circle focuses primarily on community-building around educational content and memberships. This can impose limitations on associations with complex event management needs or highly structured member interactions that require sophisticated workflows.

Key Features

• Flexible discussions: Let members initiate conversations however they want, be it via individual posts, group forums, or private chats.
• Branded app: Build your own branded app to create a professional, engaging member experience. Circle’s pre-built templates to get started or create custom pages yourself.
• Gamification: Recognize members’ accomplishments with badges, points, and levels. Deliver rewards automatically to continually encourage member engagement.

Pricing

Circle starts at $89 per month for professional groups.

Boost Your Community Engagement with Tradewing

Member renewals don’t happen by accident—they’re a direct result of consistent, meaningful engagement. Community engagement platforms provide the tools to build ongoing connections with your members, keeping them involved and invested.

The platforms we’ve covered enhance engagement and give your organization the edge it needs to maintain high retention rates. Pick the right solution based on your needs and budget, and you’ll build a thriving community in no time.

To support your association’s community-building efforts, explore these free resources:

• Member Engagement Platform: Getting More out of Memberships: Explore other popular solutions to engage your members and build a thriving community for your association.
• 5 Best Holiday eCard Sites for Businesses & Associations: Discover the most creative way to wish your association’s members a happy holiday—by sending them a thoughtful eCard.
• 10 Solid Nonprofit Membership Marketing Ideas to Drive Impact: Reach potential members and grow your community with these innovative ideas and must-have marketing tools.