The tide is turning.

People are finally realizing that the online communities they’ve left abandoned could probably use some attention. I don’t know if this is due to frustrations with Facebook or mounting concerns over the fact that they’ve put all of their eggs in someone else’s basket and not enough in their own.

It seems logical to try to build your community on existing platforms, especially when you constantly hear about their size and the same old case studies about the success of company A or company B and how you too could be capitalizing on all of these millions of people waiting to interact with your brand.

The reason I say the tide is turning is that I’ve been tapped quite a bit recently to help with engagement tactics and to provide successful methods for attracting new members for several online communities belonging to large organizations. I couldn’t be happier about this renewed interest. I think it’s important and smart.

I don’t believe that any one community can change peoples habits but I believe strongly in the power of niche communities that provide people with something they don’t get elsewhere. There are still many opportunities to hone in on a niche, provide amazing value and watch your community grow as a result. It just takes commitment.

If you have an online community gathering dust, it’s time to give it another look and consider breathing new life into it. It could be a long road depending on how long it’s been sitting there unattended but the payoff could be great.

I am happy to help people figure out how to do this, look at their communities up close and make recommendations on how they should proceed, because I truly believe in the power of online communities that are managed and maintained.

I hope this trend continues. Yes, there are infinite choices online and yours is one out of hundreds of thousands but it deserves a chance to succeed and thrive, and it’s time you give it just that.