Creating a sense of community in your content is not only a way to engage your audience, but also a way to build trust, loyalty, and advocacy for your brand. But how can you do it effectively, especially in a crowded and competitive online space? Here are some tips to help you craft content that fosters a feeling of belonging and connection among your followers.
The first step to creating a sense of community is to understand who you are talking to, what they care about, and what they need. You can use tools like surveys, polls, analytics, and social listening to gather insights about your audience's demographics, preferences, pain points, and interests. You can also create personas or segments to help you tailor your content to different types of customers or prospects.
Knowing your audience like the back of your hand. Going further than demographics (age, career, identity etc) Ideally, you want to know - what platforms they use - what time they use them - what content they enjoy the most (graphic, photo, video, text) - what takes an item from their wishlist to their doorstep - what makes them come back - what would make them not come back. And you want to know the WHY behind all of the above questions. Once you have this picture painted you'll be able to have a deeper understanding of what makes your audience tick.
The next step is to provide value to your audience through your content. Value can mean different things to different people, but generally, it means solving a problem, answering a question, teaching a skill, inspiring an action, or entertaining a mood. You can use different formats, such as blogs, videos, podcasts, ebooks, webinars, or newsletters, to deliver value in ways that suit your audience's needs and expectations. You can also use storytelling, humor, emotion, or personalization to make your content more memorable and relatable.
The best way I've found to provide value is through quick, actionable, FREE content. I currently create graphic carousels that walk my audience through the solution they need within seconds. I create these on Canva and share them through creating a public link. No sign-ups, no hassle, super simple, super easy, super quick!
The third step is to invite participation from your audience through your content. Participation can take many forms, such as comments, feedback, reviews, ratings, testimonials, questions, polls, quizzes, challenges, contests, or user-generated content. You can use different platforms, such as social media, email, forums, or live events, to encourage and facilitate participation in ways that suit your audience's preferences and behaviors. You can also use incentives, rewards, recognition, or gamification to motivate and acknowledge participation.
Participation is a massive factor in realsing what is working and what isn't. Never take participation or sometimes criticism in a negative way. It's an open door to level up! People don't have to participate, ever. So if and when they do, it displays a customer that's truly invested in your business. At the start, I'd suggest smaller forms of participation. Asking your audience a question at the end of your post in the form of a comment reply or like ("Heart this post if your 'x' or like this post if you 'x'") Asking them to fill out a LinkedIn or Instagram poll or to tap an Instagram story button. All of these are small gestures they can make that could work as feedback for yourself.
The fourth step is to nurture relationships with your audience through your content. Relationships can be built on trust, respect, empathy, and reciprocity. You can use different strategies, such as consistency, transparency, authenticity, responsiveness, or personalization, to show your audience that you care about them and value their opinions and contributions. You can also use social proof, testimonials, case studies, or referrals to show your audience that they are part of a larger and successful community.
Nurturing your audience is the step between them watching and subscribing (or buying, sharing, saving etc) It's taking them from a lurker to being properly invested in your brand. Transparancy and authenticity are two characteristics you must capture in 2023. It's crystal clear to your dedicated audience if you collaborate with someone who doesn't fit your brand. A few brands have made this mistake. Once you've built trust and respect through being transparent and authentic you'll then want to share case studies, testimonials and social proof to display you can do what you're claiming too.
The fifth step is to celebrate diversity in your audience through your content. Diversity can be seen in terms of culture, identity, background, perspective, or experience. You can use different methods, such as inclusion, representation, accessibility, or customization, to show your audience that you respect and appreciate their differences and uniqueness. You can also use stories, examples, or showcases to highlight and celebrate the diversity and achievements of your community members.
The sixth step is to foster collaboration in your audience through your content. Collaboration can mean working together, sharing ideas, learning from each other, or supporting each other. You can use different tools, such as groups, chats, forums, or workshops, to create and enable spaces for collaboration among your audience members. You can also use prompts, questions, or challenges to spark and stimulate collaboration and conversation.