Personal benefits · Information exchange o Information access 24/7 o Access to a wide range of information – social, political, technical assistance, health, and etc. o It allows individuals to engage in numerous activities, such as online payments, online shopping · Social support o Create and maintain relationship with people known online or offline o Generate social action o Offer or receive emotional support from the group o Flexible time management and access to the community o Spatial and temporal independence · Permanent profile o Access to research hyperlinks and articles within the community related to the focus of the community o The ability to establish permanent social presence through photographs, textural profiles, and archive messages, and the ability to control with ease one’s level of participation in the community o The ability to store and retrieve messages Business benefits · Customer loyalty o The ability of obtaining feedback and information on customers needs and wants o Opportunity to improve customer service · Employee communication o Increase trust level between organisation and employees o Better understanding of what employees doing in the company · Visibility and reputation o Access to expert knowledge o Improve reputation · Productivity o Enhance idea creation and problem solving o Enhance product innovation o Enhance quality of knowledge and advice o Enhance level of information seeking and sharing
I have two G+ communities of my own and I use other communities there quite a bit. It's mostly used for exchanging ideas and getting free traffic, I'd say.
I love the traffic benefit part and most of all the feeling of being connected with other like-minded individuals is at the top of my favorite benefits of online communities such as this Digital Point Forum.