Building Your Online Tribe

Building Your Online Tribe : Are you a woman who sometimes finds it hard to discuss health-related questions? Perhaps you don’t have a close circle of girlfriends that you can talk to or even a doctor that you feel comfortable asking questions of. That doesn’t mean you should just go without, keeping everything bottled up inside.

Instead, it may be time to look into building an online tribe or joining an existing one in which other women just like you meet virtually to discuss issues affecting them, share information and advice, and ensure it’s an open and welcoming environment.

If this sounds like something you could benefit from, here are some tips that will help you go about building your online tribe.

Look into an Existing Community

One of the easiest ways to go about building your online tribe is to join an existing community of like-minded individuals. This will give you immediate and full access to all the content and advice, plus you’ll be able to start asking questions and contributing immediately. There is no need to search through your contact list to try to build a community, as it’s all there ready and waiting for you.

Finding a safe community for women to ask questions is beneficial for all age groups from teens to seniors. The fact is that there will be many times in life, and many issues that pop up, where it can be helpful to speak to other women without judgement or feeling scared to be honest and open.

You may want to ask about such issues as:

Period pain and symptoms
Menopause
Birth control
Troubles conceiving and infertility
Endometriosis
Pregnancy-related questions

The list goes on and on. Being able to pose these questions in a safe environment that is filled with other women can feel very freeing. It’s the kind of support you may currently be lacking.

There are a few tips to use when looking for an existing community:

Find one that has a robust list of members that consistently engage and contribute
Choose a community that covers a wide range of topics (where nothing is off-limits)
Look for one where professionals in the medical community engage and provide responses

Form Your Own Community Page

For those who have a group of girlfriends you can be open and honest with, why not create a community page? From there, it can grow, with your friends branching out and inviting their friends to join. Before you know it, your page may have dozens of women who are engaged, sharing information, offering advice and providing support to one another.

If you decide to create your own page, just know there will be some maintenance in your future. You’ll need to ensure the page stays organized and is useful to all. If you’re not the techie type, you can create a private group on a social network like Facebook. The social network platform makes everything simple – all you have to do is send out invites.

You can allow the page to take on its own identity in an organic way, or perhaps you want to pose questions, create topics and sub-topics and give it a bit more structure. It’s your vision so there is no wrong or right answer.

What Do You Want to Accomplish with Your Online Tribe?

Speaking of how you plan to organize your online tribe, this can be answered by asking yourself a really simple question – what do you want to accomplish with it? What is the purpose of the online tribe? By keeping that purpose and goal in mind, it will help guide all decisions related to your online group.

Know a Professional in the Medical Community – Encourage Them to Join

Whether you’re creating your own private group or joining an existing community, if you have any personal female friends that are in the medical community, encourage them to join. The more professionals that can engage, the better. They can provide a lot more insight and even some reassurance and peace of mind.

Find Blogs That You Trust

If you aren’t quite ready to engage with people on a community page and would prefer to start a bit more discreetly, then try looking for blogs that you trust and which cover women-related health topics. Many sites feature guest bloggers, who can be experts in the field and those with relevant backgrounds and knowledge. While not every blog will speak to you, there are bound to be several topics that prove of interest and end up being helpful.

An Online Tribe That Provides You with Support

Building an online tribe, whether from scratch or simply joining an existing one, can be a wonderful thing for women to do. It gives you that immediate circle of friends and support that are so important in everyday life. It’s all about finding a virtual spot that you feel comfortable being honest in.