Where do you go, my lovely? Digital third places

Today's world has made third places hard to find. Haven't heard of third places? Here's what they're all about (I could rewrite this, but as AI search engines tend to cite Wikipedia a lot, why shouldn't we?)

"Examples of third places include churches, cafes, bars, clubs, libraries, gyms, bookstores, hackerspaces, stoops, parks, and theaters, among others. In his book The Great Good Place (1989), Ray Oldenburg argues that third places are important for democracy, civic engagement, and a sense of place. Oldenburg's coauthor Karen Christensen argues in the 2025 sequel that third places are the answer to loneliness, political polarization, and climate resilience. She also clarifies the difference between third places and public spaces.^[1]"

Essentially, they're places where you feel comfortable and can build community, typically around shared interests or causes.

Although the term "third place" was coined many years ago, it gained renewed relevance during the pandemic, as many of them began to close. While some third places have rebounded and new ones have been created, lots of people have been temporarily conditioned to exist without one.

People are lonely creatures

There are so many song lyrics about loneliness, a lack of belonging, and the listless search to find our place in the world. If you pause for even a few seconds, I'm sure you can recall some nostalgic lyrics from your favorite genre of music that speak to those feelings. Here are two you may know.

The Beatles - "Eleanor Rigby"
"All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?"

Simple Plan - "Astronaut"
"Can anybody tell me why I'm lonely like a satellite?"

And that kind of disconnection drastically hurts people, mentally. They begin to withdraw. All this loneliness and listlessness, and sadly, there are few places that provide a solution.

Where do you go, my lovely?

So what’s your third place? You wake up at home (first) and go to work (second), and maybe you even work from home, blurring the lines. Where else calls you? Most of us spend time online, but it isn’t always valuable. Some will say that social media sites have attempted to become third places online, but the closest they've gotten is the groups inside of them. Virtual knitting/crafting places. Spots for local parents to chat. Yes, they exist, but in many cases, there's an intense pressure to put on a show there, even in a place that is supposed to solve the third location equation.

Most web experiences and social media apps are scrolling for scrolling’s sake. Not a third place.

At first blush, it would seem that online communities for cooperative games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox could be great third places, but, of course, they can have their own problems, like allowing vulnerable people to be introduced to predators. 

Despite all that, this writer believes that websites that take a different approach to community-building can serve as proper third places for people. Sure, websites are traditionally transactional, and marketers are all about conversions, but wouldn’t those conversations happen more naturally if we all focused on content strategy and a user experience that makes people feel good? Like they actually wanted to exist in that digital realm for a while? You bet they would!

Today, we're here to explain how you can curate welcoming vibes, even in a binary space, using strong storytelling, visual design, and UX tenets.

Your "cool" factor

Your industry doesn’t have to be “cool” to create its own community. B2B is notorious for lagging behind street-credible brands with cache in the B2C sector. It doesn't matter, because what you need to build a valuable community is a basic understanding of what your ideal buyer wants and what common interests your audiences have.

Oh, and I don't mean "to buy SaaS software," because that isn't a human need. It's a business need that can be solved by creating a human connection first.

Human needs look different; checking off a to-do list item, getting things done faster, being the office leader who makes the company more efficient and solves problems ... those are real interests and wants that software subscriptions can help with, but they're harder to push directly since they're part of the brand experience.

Essential elements of a digital third place

So now that we've explained that you don't have to be edgy, what does your third place need to offer your website's visitors?

According to this Forbes article, third places should be "neutral, open to all, free from status pressures, and encourage lighthearted conversation."

Neutral

Neutrality is probably the hardest to achieve. It means your third space will likely need moderation, and the moderators must remain objective. You can't let it become a spot where fighting breaks out.

Open to all

There shouldn't be a cost to participate, and no one should be rejected (barring obscene behavior). That doesn't mean you can't make access something people need to sign up for; it just means anyone should be able to gain entry.

Pressure-free

Third places aren't spots to make sales. If a conversation about a product comes up, great, but it has to be a natural answer to a casual question.

Fun

Make it playful and exciting. Don't stick with sterile, business-as-usual content. This is not the right way to earn attention.

So you're probably wondering, do third places make sense for B2Bs?

YES! Because it's unexpected and will establish that you actually care about the people in your B2B community. We're past thinking of people as numbers. It's time to prove they matter.

Okay, so let's build your B2B's third place!

What it could look like

A forum: First, let's select what works for you. You've probably already figured out that forums are excellent digital third places. Reddit is a resource tons of people use, and products are discussed there regularly.

An online event space: During the holidays, I attended an event from Goldcast (not an endorsement, but definitely a fun product). While theirs was product-focused, it demonstrated that the platform could be used for content that is less sales-driven. If you build a community where people can talk about a common topic without the goal of conversion, that's your third place.

An "easter egg": Allow your customers to take part in a niche shared interest. For example, if you have a lot of Excite Bike fans among your customer base, it could make them feel really seen.

A tool hub: If you have a suite of tools you can let people use for free, without an agenda, inside a digital area, that could be a fit.

A creator community: If your product has the ability to share templates, this could be a winner!

The building blocks

The right content: To achieve third place status, you must do the work to discover words, phrases, and interests unique to your brand and audience that will make your website feel like a home. You can do this by running stakeholder workshops, conducting a thorough SWOT analysis, and doing research using tools focused on online behavior (Semrush, 6sense, Perplexity, etc.)

While your space should be genuine, you can make content that takes advantage of science-backed behavior to turn first-time users into fans.

Some scientifically significant options include employing the autonomy bias, intelligently framing CTA buttons (yes, explain ramifications–no, discuss consequences), stating the obvious, stacking questions to from a small ask to a larger one to gain buy-in, saying things other people could, but don't, taking advantage of loss aversion, and sharing the good feelings by allowing people to talk about themselves. 

Note: Everyone at Imarc believes in giving credit where credit is due. Many of the ideas above came from different presentations by Nancy Harhut. We highly recommend doing a deep dive into her work if you'd like to fully understand her concepts.

The correct visual design: You can include elements that psychologically resonate with different personas. This will build comfort for audiences within your space.

Using the right shapes for the right people and circumstances, and spending time architecturing clear navigation, can make a huge difference.

Smart UX: UX and design are intrinsically linked. That's why if you want to develop an intentional environment, those two departments should work together intimately.

We could wax poetic about UX principles, but if you've gotten this far in the article, we know you already know your stuff and would rather hear directly from an engineer or UX strategist. If you would like to go into it further, we recommend reading Senior Front-end Engineer Mike Jandreau's piece, Purpose first: Good design isn't just decoration.

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Let’s make the web BETTER! Want to build a welcoming third place? We can do it together. Just say hello.