We know that it’s one thing to have a channel with a big subscriber number, but it’s another to have a thriving community of people engaged in your channel and your life.

If you don’t post, these are the people that are going to ask if you’re okay, where you’re at, and these are the people who are usually willing to pay you for your time, services, or product.

We think community is something we need to “build”, but community is not built. It’s earned.

But how do you earn a community? How do you get people to deeply care about your brand or business? One of the strategists on my team, Lennon, is what I’d call a community EXPERT and I asked him to share a few things to focus on so we can earn our audience’s trust and create a strong community and culture. Here is what he had to say.

  1. Attitude. This comes from our beliefs. So, what do you believe? Around your channel? Life? The things you teach? As a student, Lennon didn’t believe math would change his life, so he sat with some students in the back of the class who also believed the same way. That was a small community of students who felt the same way that he did and their beliefs brought them together (for better or worse). When the going gets tough, you need a belief to hold on to. The beliefs you hold will attract others who feel the same way and that’s a key component of developing a community online.
  2. Interests. How can you help build people’s interests? How can you subtly show your viewers your interests to build a deeper connection? One creator, Jessie Driftwood, will make it a point to show the song he is listening to (if there’s a clip of him listening to music) just so that’s another connection point to his viewer. Shared interests naturally bring people together, so make sure to build on that if you’re trying to get to know your audience and build trust.
  3. The Goals. Where are you taking your community? What’s the goal? They can’t get on board for a journey if they don’t know where you’re going.
  4. Fellowship. People want to feel seen and heard. It’s important to create an opportunity for your audience to connect with each other and with you. Your brand story is shaped by your community as well as by you. You want your community to be a part of that. It helps develop more trust in what you’re doing and is more fun! You can build Facebook groups, Discord, or a Slack channel. Any opportunity for you to build community and you’re listening to what they have to say – that stuff is INVALUABLE and a necessary part of community building.
  5. Create and reward the behavior you want to see in your community. What vision do you have for the culture you want to build? You have to have some sort of vision for what you want your community to look like. Reward the behavior you DO want to see. Positive reinforcement goes a long way.

What has your community “building” experience been like? Do you feel like you’re falling flat a little and can’t seem to get people to care about your brand or business as much as other channels that you see? Or is your community really strong and thriving?

Hit ‘reply’ and let us know how you’re doing and what resonates with you.

Keep changing lives,

Tim