How to Choose the Right Name for Your Online Community

“Names have power.” – Rick Riordan

Your community is more than just another platform or space to communicate. It helps you humanize your brand and enables you to interact with your customers. Therefore, choosing the right name for your community is of utmost importance as it conveys the nature and purpose of your community to its members.

A genuine name is a great way to start a community. It enables members to feel like they are a part of something bigger by establishing a unique identity. Let’s explore ways to select a name that clicks with your customers and community members.

Why is Setting a Name for Your Community Important?

You’ve done most of the hard work, built an interactive platform, curated invaluable assets, conducted interesting activities, and more. But people will only be able to experience all this only after joining your community. The name is probably the first thing anyone notices about your community. That is why it is important to have a genuine name.

The right name can do wonders for your community. It can set a strong foundation right from the start and keep the momentum going. Therefore, putting effort into naming your community right can help:

• Add a human touch
• Reflect the values and goals of the community
• Make members feel more connected
• Form a group culture

Picking the right name can offer members a sense of affiliation, leading to better engagement. Now that we know how choosing the right name can influence an online community, let’s move on to how you can pick one.

3 Ways to Choose the Right Name for Your Community

It is not necessary to have a cool, Gen-Z name for your community to succeed. You should not choose a name that doesn’t reflect the purpose of your community just because it sounds cool. Let’s explore three ways to choose the right name for your community.

1. Stick to a Name that Reflects the Purpose of the Community

Going over the board with a name that fails to resonate with your community’s purpose is meaningless. On the other hand, a name that matches the frequency of your community can be great. For instance, if your target audience is aged 20-30 and is tech-savvy, think about a name that fits that persona, like ‘Tech-Heads’. Here, a simple name that represents a space for people with technical flair would work well. Another example can be the ‘Women Who Code‘ online community. The name clearly shows that the community is built to empower women in tech.

2. Assess the Nature of Your Community to Come Up With the Right Name

Before brainstorming around a name for your community, you must assess the nature of your community. Ask yourself:

• What are the values that your customers share with your company?
• What’s your customers’ attitude? Are they intellectual, creative, or classic?
• Why do your customers want to join your community?
• How can you devise a name that’s unique but aligns with your brand image?

We recommend you to test out different names by asking around. You can either ask your employees for their inputs or potential members through polls or surveys. Come up with a name that your members feel proud to be associated with.

3. Associate Your Brand Name to the Name of Your Community

Naming your community the same as your brand/company’s name is a great idea. It helps customers to immediately recognize and relate to your community. In fact, it simply means that you want your customers to interact with your brand and fellow customers. Take Lego Ideas as an example. The name clearly states that the community is built by Lego and is meant for ideation. The members of the community can suggest Lego ideas and win prizes for them. And if you want to get creative, you can try something like –

• CompanyName Learning Communities – a space for sharing useful tips/content
• CompanyName Virtual Help Desk – a space for offering customer support and troubleshooting
• CompanyName Open Forums – a space for discussion around a company’s products/services
• CompanyName User Group Leader Community – a space for leaders/employees of the company

Keeping the community name simple can clearly state its goals. Choose something that comes naturally to you and your organization and makes its objective clean and explicit.

When naming, be sure to consider the branding of your community. Your customers are going to associate your brand with your community name for years to come. Hopefully, these tips will help you come up with a name that can turn into something meaningful for its members.

Want to Do More With Your Online Community? Talk to Us!