Community Building: You Have to Start With Something People WANT!

What does it take to build a community?

Moreover, what does it take to build a community that's more than just "big numbers," but actually is an engaged and involved group of people who care about each other and enjoys being part of what they are doing?

You see, just having "big numbers" is not enough. It's never enough. It may "look impressive on paper," but simply jamming an impressively large bunch of people together in the same space does not a community make!

BE What You Want to Find!

A really good starting point is to remember the very simple thing that in order for a community to grow and thrive, you have to start with something people actually WANT!

Read that again, and ponder it for a moment.

Then ask yourself why YOU become part of a community? What have YOU joined the communities you've joined, be it online or in physical space?

What was the common thread of the communities you stuck with and kept coming back to?

What made them worthwhile? What was the appeal?

If you can't come up with strong reasons for why a community exists and why it would appeal to people... well, then you just don't have very much!

Not Enough to Tell a STORY!

Now when I say "BE what you want to find," it's important to remember that the pioneers and early joiners of any community are the ones tasked with giving it direction.

And it's not enough to simply have a "good story!"

I spent any years in network marketing, and one of the great weaknesses of such systems is that they often require newcomers to create a "sales pitch" that makes them sound like they are already veterans at what they are doing.

They end up telling a story that has nothing to back it up.

And so, the starting point in community building has to be for the early adopters and joiners to be the sort of participants that inspire others to want to become part of the community.

Dirty Windows... Eeeeew!

Consider when you recommend something to a friend... or think about your response to something a friend recommends to you.

Do you take the advice of the friend who has eaten at some restaurant dozens of times over the years, or do you take the advice of someone who has only walked by and thought it might be cool?

Do you find yourself wondering — and perhaps even a little put off — when someone recommends a place to eat, and the FIRST thing you notice when you arrive is disgustingly dirty windows? NOT COOL, right?

And so it is with a community... you gotta have "your house in order" before recommending it to the world... or it's all just going to fall flat on its face!

Thanks for reading!

What do YOU think? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 20200528 20:53 PDT
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