# How the member experience works

The member experience is how people discover videos, join communities and groups, engage, post, and shop inside a brand's own website or app on Genuin.

Members are your audience, customers, or fans once they take part in your social experience. On Genuin, they do it inside the websites and apps you own, not on rented social channels, so engagement happens on your properties.

Communities create value only when members feel engaged, safe, and connected. The experience blends video discovery, community interaction, and commerce into one familiar journey, while governance, brand safety, and data ownership stay with you. The result is more time spent and more repeat visits, two-way relationships with your audience, and loyalty you can measure.

Your social experience is part of Onsite; for the whole product, see [Onsite: what it does and where to start](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/onsite/onsite-what-it-does-and-where-to-start). To design the journey stage by stage, see [The member journey across web and app](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/onsite/how-users-engage-with-content-and-communities-on-web-and-app).

![Your Business Account Getting Started screen at Choose your brand type, with industry type Retail, the Retail Network/Marketplace category, and the More than 10M traffic range selected.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/lnrtvsvr/development/fc55a25fc53739a33b8723c06e6bb21b0de650b1-1875x911.png)
*A brand's social experience starts with setting up the brand in your Business Account.*

## Discovery

Members usually arrive through embedded video feeds, discovery pages, or contextual placements on your site or app. Common entry points are:

- Home pages.
- Category or discovery pages.
- Product detail pages.
- Your hosted social experience.

Genuin uses relevance signals such as content context, community themes, and member behavior to surface the most meaningful videos and groups. Members see content that matches their interests from their first visit, which raises engagement and retention. Learn more in [Personalization and relevance: how Maya ranks every feed](https://begenuin.com/developers/get-started/any-business/personalization-and-relevance-how-maya-ranks-every-feed).

![The Posts tab under Manage in your Business Account, listing a brand's videos with their group, community, poster, brand destination, and counts for views, comments, and shares.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/lnrtvsvr/development/4cf0bdbd68eaf29fbaa697f965aaed3f689fc32f-1874x923.png)
*Every video members can discover in your feeds is listed here with its reach.*

## Communities and groups

Members can join the communities and groups a brand owns:

- **Communities** cover broader themes, such as Lifestyle, Sports, or Product Reviews.
- **Groups** organize content around more specific topics, formats, or interests.

Once they join, members get feeds, discussions, and interactions tailored to their interests. This structure gives members a sense of belonging and keeps even large content networks easy to explore. To set them up, see [Create communities and groups](https://begenuin.com/developers/get-started/any-business/create-communities-and-groups).

Each community is **Public** or **Private**. Joining a private community or group sends a request, which admins accept or reject under **Moderate** > **User Requests**. With **Auto Accept** on, requests from your website, the Genuin SDK, or the app are accepted automatically.

Each group also sets **Who can see this Group**. **Everyone** includes people without an account, and **Group Members only** limits it to group members and community admins.

![The Communities tab under Manage in your Business Account, listing a brand's communities with owner, date created, and counts of members, admins, groups, and posts, with + New Community highlighted.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/lnrtvsvr/development/1fa43fd71f5ce9adc42481876ed6923a7fa78f89-1872x924.png)
*Each community shows how many members, groups, and posts it holds.*

## Engagement

Engagement on Genuin is intuitive and video-first. Members can:

- Watch and scroll through short-form and long-form videos.
- Like, comment on, and react to posts.
- Take part in conversations and discussions.
- Share feedback through interactions and responses.

Because these interactions happen on your own properties, you see audience behavior directly, without depending on third-party platforms.

![A post's details in your Business Account, with the video preview, its description, and the highlighted Analytics panel counting Views, Sparks, Comments, Share, Repost, and Clickthroughs.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/lnrtvsvr/development/a9b8d1b9232c3df39610718b2ef4c9e02b06cb7e-1857x928.png)
*What members do with each video shows up in the post's Analytics panel.*

## Posts and conversations

Members don't only watch. Depending on the permissions you set, they can:

- Upload videos.
- Comment on and respond to content.
- Take part in discussions and community threads.

Each group sets **Who can post in this Group**. With **All community members**, every member can post. With **Group Members only**, only group members and community admins can. Each community also sets **Who can create Groups**: **All community members** or **Admins**.

User-generated content (UGC) brings real customer voices and fuels growth. Built-in moderation and governance keep participation safe, relevant, and in line with your brand guidelines. Learn more about [community roles and creator tiers](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/control/community-roles-and-creator-tiers) and the [moderation queue](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/control/moderation-baselines-and-queue).

## Personalized feeds

As members interact, the experience adapts. Feeds become more relevant based on:

- Engagement behavior.
- The communities and groups a member joined.
- Content preferences and interaction history.

The experience carries over from one visit to the next, so it feels intentional rather than random. That continuity drives higher retention and long-term engagement. Learn more about [Contextual Continuity](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/onsite/contextual-continuity).

## Commerce in the experience

When you enable commerce, the member experience connects content to action. Members might see:

- Shoppable videos.
- Product highlights in feeds.
- Calls to action inside content.

Members move from inspiration to purchase without leaving your social experience, so engagement becomes a measurable business outcome. Learn more about the [Shoppable Carousel Placement](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/onsite/shoppable-carousel-placement) and the [Dynamic In-Video Linkout](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/monetize/dynamic-in-video-linkout).

![A post's details in your Business Account for a shoppable video, highlighting the community and group it was posted in and the product card with an Order Now button.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/lnrtvsvr/development/7a18800a2828467987ec6eb3f4aa786803dcc75e-1856x911.png)
*A product link with an Order Now button turns a video into a shoppable post.*

## Trust and loyalty

Transparent moderation, high-quality content, and meaningful interactions help members feel safe and valued. Because the experience is yours, members credit that trust to your brand, not to an external platform.

Members can report a post, a comment, another user, a community, or a group. Reports go to **Moderate** > **Content Moderation**, where brand owners and admins review them.

Over time, trust builds stronger loyalty, deeper engagement, and communities that grow on their own.

## What members give back

Members are participants, contributors, and co-creators, not passive viewers. Their interactions:

- Generate behavioral and engagement insights.
- Shape your content and community strategy.
- Change how communities evolve over time.

A strong member experience turns your audience into an active social experience that builds trust, engagement, and long-term value on your own properties.

## See also

- [The member journey across web and app](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/onsite/how-users-engage-with-content-and-communities-on-web-and-app)
- [What a social experience adds to your website or app](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/onsite/why-should-you-add-a-community-to-your-website-or-app)
- [What Are the Different User Experiences in Genuin?](https://begenuin.com/developers/get-started/any-business/what-are-the-different-user-experiences-in-genuin)
- [Create communities and groups](https://begenuin.com/developers/get-started/any-business/create-communities-and-groups)