Top 7 Online Community Research Software in 2024
If you started thinking about getting an online community research software for your online company, you should know that this tool could help you connect and engage with your customers. These forums are quite versatile and you could use them for collecting data and generating a knowledge base, something that could help you form relationships with your users. If you were wondering what are some of the top online community research software, you’re lucky, here are 7 options that you could try in 2024:
1. “Tribe”
Price: Free or up to $199 Per Month
If you’re searching for something completely customizable, look no further, Tribe is the platform you should use. The communities created with this program work well on PC/laptop browsers, however, they also work well on smartphones and tablets. If needed, you could even create applications that users could download. As mentioned, you can customize everything, hence, it could reflect your branding colors and layout.
When you open it, you’ll notice that the design resembles some of the most used social media websites, meaning that you could make your own version of Facebook or LinkedIn. By using it, you won’t have to worry about security, but more importantly, your customers could quickly join the community by using a social login program that can be connected to some sites, including Twitter, Facebook, and Google.
2. “Mighty Networks”
Price: Free or up to $81 Per Month
Next on our list is Mighty Networks, a program that’ll enable you to connect with your audience, however, you could also combine sales sheets and online content/courses across the Internet or Android or Apple applications. You can present your community users with chat features, sub-groups, and an activity feed. Also, you could generate content with this software, as well as polls and quizzes that members could like and comment on.
3. “Spectrum.Chat”
Price: Completely Free
If your company is relatively new, you may not have the funds to spend for an online community program, and if so, you could utilize Spectrum.Chat. This program will enable you to launch a public community completely free of charge and with it, you could present your users with real-time, chat features. Unlike traditional texting apps, the one offered by this forum is seen and recorded by search engines.
This suggests that you’ll gain some amazing benefits, including real-time chat and threaded conversations. Now, keep in mind, this particular program isn’t as customizable as the other programs on this list, meaning that you may not be able to, for instance, host the community under your company’s domain. There are some other drawbacks as well, but this is quite logical, mostly because you won’t have to pay to use this software.
4. “Recollective”
Price: From $600 Per Month
Another option that you could try is Recollective, a program that’ll enable you to tailor your research to your own needs, but you could also utilize it for gathering useful data, socializing with your clients, managing the participants you have, and analyzing and filtering data by activity or individual. Like all the other alternatives on this list, this one is also completely smartphone- and computer-friendly, meaning that it’ll work well across different devices.
It’s worth mentioning, it will work well on any smartphone device and your users won’t have to download an app to get started. Also, no matter where your clients are from, they could probably use this program in their own language, mostly because the software supports over 25 languages. The security setup is also completely private, meaning that you won’t have to worry about the security of your data.
5. “Slack”
Price: Free or up to $12 Per Member
You’ve probably heard about Slack, an increasingly popular collaboration and messaging network. But, a lot of individuals are now using this program for building online research communities. Why? Well, the people behind this software do offer a free pricing plan, for an app that is quite popular these days. Now, it does have its drawbacks, mostly because you can quickly reach the limit of the free plan. For instance, there are only 10 thousand messages that could be searchable with Slack.
6. “Facebook”
Price: Completely Free
No list of the best online community research platforms would be complete without mentioning Facebook, more precisely, Facebook groups. As you know, this category on the platforms allows people to create dedicated groups where they can discuss the common interests they have. As an online company, these groups are one of the most beneficial things that you could utilize to improve the image of your brand and the goods you offer.
7. “Discourse”
Price: From $100 to $300 Per Month
The very first thing that you should know about this particular program is that it is one of the most beloved and oldest community programs out there. It’s an open-source forum program where you could start discussions, and if needed, you could also choose to utilize the cloud-hosted version. It’s entirely mobile-friendly, there are plugins that could help your users navigate the platform, and there are also member privileges that they could get based on the trust score they have.
Keep in mind, although there is a free version, you’ll still have to pay for the support and hosting services, which implies that you’ll have to pay at least 100 dollars for the standard version. Additionally, there are also Business and Enterprise pricing plans, that’ll allow you to have more storage space, more monthly views, and if you opt for paying for them, you could also add more staff members to it.
Conclusion
No matter what type of online business you run, one of the most important things that you could use is online community research software. As you can see from our list above, there is a wide range of options that you could choose from, so, instead of losing any more of your free time, you should really go through our list one more time, examine all of the options you have, and then choose a program that suits your business needs.
