Community-Led Growth
RGM° · Training
Platform Selection (Slack, Discord, Circle, Forum)
Shapes everything. Options, selection criteria, migration, integration, cost, hybrid platforms.
Why platform matters
The community platform shapes interaction modes, discoverability, member retention, and growth dynamics. Wrong platform = right community can't grow. Mature programs choose deliberately.
Options
| Platform | Best for |
|---|
| Slack | Real-time chat; small to mid communities; B2B SaaS |
| Discord | Gaming, creators, developer communities |
| Discourse | Forum; long-form threads; searchable knowledge |
| Vanilla Forums | Forum; enterprise |
| Mighty Networks | Community + events + content |
| Circle | Modern community + courses |
| Bevy | Community + events focus |
| Hivebrite | Alumni / enterprise community |
| Custom build | Scale and unique requirements |
Selection
- Member interaction mode (real-time vs async).
- Discoverability (search, indexing).
- Scale (members count).
- Integration needs (CRM, product).
- Cost.
- Mobile experience.
- Event capabilities.
- Knowledge base capabilities.
- Moderation tools.
Migration
- Member data export / import.
- Content preservation.
- Re-engagement post-migration.
- Communication plan.
- Phased rollout.
- Risk of member loss.
- Old platform sunset.
Integration
- CRM integration (member data flow).
- SSO / customer identity.
- Product integration (in-product community access).
- Email automation.
- Analytics integration.
- Webhook capabilities.
Cost
- Per-member or flat-fee models.
- Platform cost.
- Community manager salary.
- Tooling and integration costs.
- Event production costs.
- Annual investment vs community value.
Hybrid
- Slack for real-time + Discourse for knowledge base.
- Discord for chat + Notion for knowledge.
- Community platform + LinkedIn group.
- Cross-platform challenges (member fragmentation).
- Single source of truth strategy.
Advanced playbook
- Platform selection rubric with weighted criteria.
- Pilot before commitment.
- Migration plan if changing platforms.
- Integration with broader tech stack.
- Annual platform evaluation.
- Member experience research.
- Cost-per-active-member tracking.
- Cross-platform unification strategy.
- Community on existing product (in-product community).
- Annual platform ROI review.
Common mistakes
- Platform chosen by inertia (already using Slack).
- Real-time platform for async needs (or vice versa).
- Discoverability ignored.
- Integration with CRM missing.
- Cost-per-member not tracked.
- Migration planning insufficient.
- Hybrid platforms fragmenting members.
- Mobile experience poor.
- Event capabilities mismatched.
- Annual evaluation skipped.
Operating checklist
- Platform selection rubric
- Pilot before commitment
- Integration with CRM
- Mobile experience verified
- Event capabilities matched to needs
- Cost-per-active-member tracked
- Migration plan if applicable
- Cross-platform unification
- Annual platform evaluation
- Member experience research
Sources and further reading
- Bevy, Mighty Networks, Circle, Discourse documentation
- Slack, Discord community management
- David Spinks platform research
- CMX Hub platform comparisons
- Sangram Vajre B2B community platforms
- Reforge community platforms
- RGM Community-Led Growth series
- Holly Firestone community building
- Hivebrite enterprise community
- Marketing Brew community coverage
- OpenView community-led growth research
- Industry community platform comparison
Part of the Community-Led Growth series.