Stop calling your social media following your "community"

"Community" has been the latest buzz word for a while now, and when there is a buzz about something, everyone jumps on board?

But the problem is, are we using the word community in the correct way?

I see the word flying around everywhere, especially when it comes to people referring to their social media "community"

But the thing is... Your social media following are NOT your community - they are your followers?

A social media following and a community are related concepts, but they are very distinct from each other

Here's how....

A social media following refers to the number of people who have subscribed to or chosen to follow you, on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Linkedin etc.?

They have 3 main characteristics

• Asymmetrical relationship - The interaction is usually one-way, with followers receiving content you've created without necessarily engaging in the content or discussions (you know when you spend ages writing a great post and it just gets crickets)?

• It's content-focused: The main connection point is the content shared, which can include posts, images, videos, talking to camera etc

• There is limited interaction: While some social media platforms allow for comments and reactions, the depth of engagement is generally more superficial compared to a community. (and this is coming from me, who's had some amazing conversations in my DMs over the years and built up connections with people?

Now let's look at community....

A community, on the other hand, is a group of individuals who come together around a shared interest, purpose, or goal. It involves mutual engagement, collaboration, and interaction among members.?

Communities can exist BOTH online (forums like Facebook groups, slack and other community platforms) and offline (events, meetups, clubs, associations).

The 3 main characteristics of a community:

• Symmetrical relationships - Members of the community interact with each other and contribute to discussions and activities within the community, fostering a sense of belonging and shared ownership.

• Relationship-focused - The primary connection point is the sense of belonging, shared values, and meaningful relationships among members - genuine care and friendships are formed in communities?

• Deeper engagement: Members are actively involved in conversations, knowledge-sharing, support, and collaboration within the community, mainly because they have built up trust with each other so are happier to share the deep stuff?

So to sum it up, a social media following is primarily about the size and reach of an audience on social media, where's a community is about building meaningful relationships and interactions around shared interests or goals.

Remember that the key to a true authentic community is a sense of - BELONGING?

Of course your social media following can be a part of a community, but a community goes waaaaay beyond follower counts to foster genuine connections and active engagement among its members.

Agree? I would love to know your thoughts on this?and if community building is something you are interested in

If you need a helping hand then I know a really great community builder....

Community building is in my bones, I was an events manager in the corporate world for over a decade before setting up my own business and launching two community based memberships for female founders, which I scaled across the UK.

I later went on to use my skills to run a successful crowdfunding campaign where I raised ￡21k to build FLOCKHERE a platform that connects women who work from home to places to work from and people to work with.

I am offering my "Grow your own" power hours until the end of August for just ￡150 if you would like to book a slot you can here - https://calendly.com/danielle-wallington10/community