Community – a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars.

There are a lot of opinions floating around about how to define an online community, but a much smaller amount of chatter online about how to find it.

Online communities aren’t necessarily fenced in by the boundaries of a website, a message board, or a blog.  Communities can exist across multiple sites and time zones, making the act of finding a community seem akin to trying to pin down a cloud.

The difficulty for many organizations begins right there, with that first step of finding their community. After all, how does one go about finding something that is amorphous and constantly evolving?

Search – For many, the process of finding their community starts with a basic Google or Social Mention search to uncover websites, forums and blogs dedicated to their topic of interest.

Facebook – Facebook Fan Pages are a great way to find like-minded people who are already talking about a topic a company may be interested in.  Plus, it’s easy to jump right into the conversation.

Twitter – Twitter has quickly become the go-to network for companies, people, and news organizations alike.  A basic search can reveal a plethora of talk about a subject, and perhaps a few hashtags or users to get in contact with or follow. Much the same as Facebook, Twitter makes it easy to jump into the conversation.

Water Cooler – Don’t overlook the power of the water cooler! If organizations already know people interested in their products or passions, they should start by asking them where they go online to connect with like-minded people – they may have some great information to share.

We just released an eBook about this topic (and more). You can download it here.

Do you have tips to share about how to find your community? I’m interested in hearing what has worked for you, so share them in the comments!