This is 100% true, you can't go wrong with this one.
Every community is different. You can capture an audience by building a strong presence on social media while also growing your forum organically. It’s all about creating value and giving people a reason to engage.
Portal or no portal? Site or no site? Good question.
Here's my personal experience. My forum is 100% a forum. No website, blog or portal attached to it. Why not? Because it never worked. I tried many times to "add a site" to my forum and it didn't get any views. No traffic, no traction, no nothing. People, old and new, members, anonymous visitors, would just hang out in the forum. No matter how well the portal was integrated, it didn't resonate.
So I figured it wasn't worth it and stopped trying. Whenever I need a content format that's more static, I use Xenforo's static pages, or their "article" type threads. It usually does the trick.
That said, it depends on what kind of forum you're running. As Cpvr said, the ultimate goal is to add value and motivate people to participate in the discussion. If within your niche, a site/portal/blog drives people to participate in your forum, then yes, it's absolutely worth it!
