The days of building a community in a vacuum are over. Today, communities don’t exist in isolation—they operate within ecosystems. Platforms, tools, partners, creators, customers, suppliers, and even competitors all form part of a larger network that influences and interacts with your community.
Ecosystem thinking is the mindset and practice of acknowledging this interdependence. It’s about understanding your community as part of a broader, dynamic system—and designing strategies that align with, benefit from, and contribute to that system.
For community builders, this shift unlocks new possibilities. You stop thinking only in terms of what happens inside your space, and start seeing the value of what happens around it.
What is ecosystem thinking?
Ecosystem thinking in community building is the strategic lens through which you view your community not as a standalone entity, but as a node in a network. That network includes:
The platforms where your members already spend time
The tools they use in their daily workflows
Other communities or organisations they’re part of
Content sources, thought leaders, and industry trends
Internal stakeholders and cross-functional teams (in a workplace context)
This approach invites you to ask different questions:
How does our community fit into our members’ broader digital lives?
What relationships can we build to extend our value?
Where are the friction points—or hidden opportunities—across the ecosystem?
It’s a systems-level perspective, not a siloed one.
Why ecosystem thinking matters for communities
Many community strategies fail because they’re designed in isolation. They ignore existing behaviours, duplicate efforts, or build yet another place for people to check.
Ecosystem thinking solves for that. It helps community builders:
Create relevance by meeting members where they already are
Reduce friction through thoughtful integration with existing platforms and tools
Increase reach via partnerships and network effects
Uncover insights from outside interactions and adjacent spaces
Design with context—understanding how your community fits into a broader journey
It also helps align internal stakeholders across marketing, product, operations, and leadership by showing how community contributes to wider organisational ecosystems.
Key principles of ecosystem thinking in community strategy
Ecosystem thinking isn’t just a theory—it informs how you build, scale, and sustain your community. Here are a few principles that guide this approach.
1. Start with the member’s world, not your platform
Rather than asking “How do we get people to use our forum?”, start with:
Where are they already spending time?
What tools do they use every day?
What communities or networks do they already trust?
Design your presence to complement—not compete with—their digital routines.
That might mean:
Integrating with Slack, Discord, or Teams instead of building a separate space
Creating mobile-first touchpoints if your members are mostly on the go
Repurposing content for LinkedIn, email, or podcast channels where members already engage
2. Map the ecosystem around your community
A community doesn't sit in isolation. Map out the surrounding environment:
Platforms: Where do members gather, learn, or share?
Partners: Who else serves the same audience in adjacent ways?
Stakeholders: Who in your organisation can benefit from or support the community?
Tools: What tech does the community rely on—and how can you integrate with it?
This mapping exercise helps uncover opportunities for collaboration, syndication, or co-creation.
3. Think in layers, not silos
Communities today span multiple surfaces:
A web-based knowledge hub
A mobile app for quick updates
A live event series
A Slack workspace for collaboration
A newsletter that drives continuity
Ecosystem thinking helps you design cohesive experiences across these layers, rather than duplicating efforts or creating confusion.
The question is not “Which platform should we use?”—it’s “How do these channels work together to serve our members?”
4. Embrace integration over control
In traditional thinking, community platforms were walled gardens. You wanted to keep members inside your space. But in an ecosystem model, the goal is connectedness, not confinement.
This might look like:
Embedding third-party tools into your platform (e.g. calendars, polls, feedback systems)
Syndicating content across multiple channels
Co-hosting events or campaigns with like-minded communities
Providing APIs or integrations with CRMs or comms tools
You lose a bit of control—but gain relevance and reach.
5. Design for collaboration across stakeholder groups
Ecosystem thinking isn’t just external. It also applies within your organisation.
Your community can become a connective tissue across:
Marketing (content, campaigns, brand voice)
Product (feedback loops, beta testing)
Support (peer-to-peer troubleshooting)
HR or People teams (employee engagement)
Partnerships (co-marketing or joint initiatives)
The stronger these internal relationships, the more value your community delivers—and the more it’s seen as strategic infrastructure, not a side project.
Use cases of ecosystem thinking in action
Example 1: SaaS product community
A B2B SaaS company integrates its community directly with its product dashboard, so users can find peer advice and best practices without leaving the tool. It also partners with other software vendors to co-create events and joint help resources, expanding its reach while adding value.
Example 2: Creator-led community
A creator builds a paid membership community, but instead of housing everything on one platform, they create a layered system:
Instagram for discovery
Substack for long-form content
Slack for conversations
Gumroad for digital downloads
Notion for member resource sharing
Everything connects, and the whole experience feels fluid and intentional.
Example 3: Internal employee community
A large enterprise creates an internal community platform, but integrates it with tools employees already use—like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and SSO systems. It works as a front door to various knowledge bases, internal events, and team rituals—without forcing users into another platform.
Benefits of adopting an ecosystem mindset
Adopting ecosystem thinking leads to:
Better member experience: You fit into existing workflows, not disrupt them
Stronger partnerships: You become easier to collaborate with
Higher retention and engagement: You stay visible and relevant across surfaces
Faster scaling: You tap into shared infrastructure and audiences
Clearer ROI: You can tie community activity to multiple business functions
Most importantly, it helps you build community with, not just for, the people and platforms around you.
Final thoughts
Ecosystem thinking is not a tactic—it’s a lens. It shifts how you see your role as a community builder, from managing a standalone platform to orchestrating a connected, adaptive network.
In a world where no tool, brand, or idea stands alone, communities must be designed for fluidity. The most resilient communities don’t just live on a platform. They live in the workflows, relationships, and ecosystems that people already trust.
FAQs: Ecosystem thinking in community building
What is the difference between ecosystem thinking and platform strategy?
Ecosystem thinking is broader than a platform strategy. A platform strategy typically focuses on building features, functions, and content within a single community space. Ecosystem thinking, on the other hand, looks at how that space connects with other tools, platforms, networks, and stakeholders in the user’s environment. It shifts the focus from isolated ownership to interconnected value creation.
Can ecosystem thinking be applied to small or early-stage communities?
Yes. In fact, early-stage communities can benefit greatly from ecosystem thinking. Instead of building everything from scratch, smaller communities can leverage existing platforms, form partnerships, and tap into adjacent networks to gain traction and grow faster. Aligning with tools and spaces members already use also lowers the barrier to entry and makes early engagement more intuitive.
How do I know if my community needs an ecosystem approach?
If you notice challenges such as:
Low participation despite valuable content
Fragmented engagement across multiple tools
Difficulty integrating your community into members’ daily habits
Missed opportunities for cross-functional collaboration or co-marketing
...then an ecosystem approach could help. It allows you to shift from trying to centralise everything to designing for connection and flow across systems and relationships.
What are examples of ecosystem partners for a community?
Ecosystem partners can include:
Technology providers (e.g. platforms your members use daily)
Adjacent communities (e.g. those serving a similar audience)
Internal departments (e.g. marketing, product, HR)
Content creators or influencers in your niche
Service providers or tool vendors that complement your community’s purpose
The goal is to co-create value, not compete for attention.
How does ecosystem thinking impact community measurement and KPIs?
Ecosystem thinking expands the scope of measurement. Beyond internal metrics like posts or replies, it encourages you to track:
Referral traffic from partner platforms
Shared participation across connected tools
Influence on cross-functional outcomes (e.g. product adoption, retention)
Network-level impact (e.g. shared campaigns or co-created content)
This holistic view helps demonstrate the strategic value of community beyond engagement alone.
