There are endless options to expand and grow your business. Leveraging community can be a fun way. A community is a group with common interests and culture. According to a 2017 Michigan University article, incremental revenue increased 19 percent when customers joined an online community.
There are a few different avenues to consider when building your community. Today, most experts go directly to online communities; however there are other types of communities. Here are three:
- Online community is built with blogs, your website, and social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and others.
- Associations build community of similar businesses in a particular industry.
- Networking can build community through in-person events and activities, typically in a specific geographical area.
Select the type of community you want to start, or perhaps you choose two avenues to build your community. Next, you must magnetize members to the community. Be consistent and deliberate in how you connect with potential clients and partners.
Here are the keys to building your community:
Magnetize – attract like-minded people
Authenticity – be genuine
Give first – always give value
Network – both online and in person
Engage – encourage participation
Timely – ensure you provide timely information
Integrity – operate with integrity and transparency
Zillion – the number of new members you will attract!
Enjoy – always have fun and enjoy building your community
Develop a program and process to consistently communicate and engage with your community. Remember you are looking to involve members with common interests and culture. What do your customers have in common? This leads to your niche. Your niche leads to ideas of how to magnetize members to your community. When you consider where other like-minded people hang out, you will have input to determine the avenues to use to find community members. Soon you will have a growing community.