When you move to a new area, what is the first item on your social calendar? Make friends with people “in the know,” right? They are usually your go-to people for information about parties, clubs, cafes, and where the good hangout spots are—not to mention your barometer about what’s cool and not cool (i.e., Don’t admit to being from Los Angeles in Oregon). It’s simply a part of life. Everyone needs a community to be a part of, whether online or in person, and that is true for the Salesforce world, as well.

What is the Salesforce Success community? The Success Community is largely unknown among new Salesforce users. It is sometimes confused for the internal Chatter in your own Salesforce instance. But the real Success Community, the main hub of all Salesforce information, is found at success.salesforce.com. You can read posts and threads and comment on others’ posts and threads, as well. Similarly to Facebook groups, you can join a group, receive updates, make posts, comment on other posts, and communicate directly with other community members.

Here are five reasons you should join the Salesforce Success Community:

1. Find Answers to Your Salesforce Questions – Fast

Being “in the know” is especially important when you’ve got a question. Is Prada out? Is Burberry in? The same applies to Salesforce. Have you ever been talking with co-workers at the water cooler, and they start monologuing about Salesforce information that you had no idea existed? If you ask them where they gained their vast knowledge, they will most likely tell you, “from the community.” Information about Salesforce is disseminated in the Success Community—also called the “Salesforce Success Community.” You can post any questions you have and receive quick, real-time answers from the enthusiastic community of customers, administrators, and experts of Salesforce. Take a look at this example.

This person asked for help at 6:50 p.m. By 8:55 p.m., eight comments had been made to offer feedback and suggestions. So if you are stuck with a problem in your organization, then you can come to the Success Community and search for an answer. If your question hasn’t been asked yet, then you can start a thread and ask the question.

2. Participate in Success Community Discussions

Community discussions are especially important when you’re “in the know.” If you missed an inside joke at lunch last week, it’s gone forever. Luckily, the Success community is more inclusive. There are over 1.9 million members in the Success Community that contribute to group discussions all over the community. That is 1.9 million users with varying levels of Salesforce knowledge and expertise. There are many different reasons to collaborate in the community. For instance:

• You can develop customer relationships
• You can discuss Salesforce updates, issues, and news
• You can directly ask questions (and receive answers!)
• You can share business files with others in real-time, and
• You can collaborate with anyone in your business ecosystem: vendors, suppliers, agencies, etc.

In short, the Success Community will help you grow your business and personal career. I’m part of a group called “Women in Technology” (formerly called “Girly Geeks”) and lead the Salt Lake City Chapter. We meet together and discuss what it’s like being a woman in the technology industry. I have a great time collaborating with the other women in the group, find strength in their attitudes and get a lot of ideas from them, as well.

3. Share Your Own Ideas

Salesforce has a place to demonstrate your Salesforce clout, as well. The chatter groups and modules in the community allow you to broadcast your own ideas for apps, processes, and more to the entire community cloud. As a reminder, there are 1.9 million members using the Success Community. Therefore, that is 1.9 million people who have the chance to look at your ideas and comment on them. Who knows? Maybe someone will grab your idea and partner with you to make it into the real deal.

The IdeaExchange within the community is also a great way to share and vote on different ideas to help improve Salesforce products and apps in the AppExchange.

4. Find the Perfect App For Your Business

Whether you’re in a social situation or a business endeavor, you need apps. Period. From the Success Community you can access the AppExchange to find the apps that will help you perfect your business. There are over 2,900 apps, with over 3.3 million downloads from the AppExchange. So there is definitely something in there for you. Plus, you can easily access the AppExchange with one click of a button.

5. Hire Someone

The smart kids know when it’s time to hire out. For example, never do your own root color when a stylist is available. The same holds true for the Success Community. When it’s time to hire out, you can post jobs descriptions, search for potential employees, and hire professionals all from the Developer Marketplace in the Salesforce Success Community.

The Salesforce Success Community is a hub of activity where you can find answers to your questions, participate in discussions, share ideas, find the perfect app, and hire someone. And you can chat with some of the coolest, smartest, and most forward thinking developers and administrators in the industry. No designer shoes required.