Existing communities are GOLD for business

Welcome to the Community Coach newsletter, a value packed read
for community builders recovering from last week’s Community Led Summit!

In this newsletter…

📚 Community 101: Dealing with external existing communities 

🤖 The MOST INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY METRICS DASHBOARD I’ve ever seen!

🎱 AI: Transform your voice notes

🔥 How Nature Backs uses ambassadors to raise brand awareness

👋 Answering your questions: “How can I create a sense of belonging in my community?”

Community 101: Existing communities that you don’t own

In 2024, businesses need to understand the power of communities more than ever. Chances are if you haven’t got ahead of the curve and built your own community by now, there will be an existing community out there already.

Recently I attended a community event that was run by a group of brand superfans volunteers that had created their own fan club. These volunteers spend their own time, money and passion to organise and host events, trips abroad together and manage smaller whatsapp groups - they have built a solid community of their own - all with the common thread that they love the brand.

And this superfan brand community is doing an AMAZING job of building meaningful connections - members have formed solid friendships and are highly engaged discussing the brand in great detail.

There’s one catch - this community was not owned by the brand at all. 

In fact, the brand not only chooses to loosely associate with the club, but it has instead started it’s own community on the side (and even trying to compete with this club by hosting events on the same days).

They view this club as competition, rather than seeing it for what it truly is: an incredible resource that they should be tapping into and offering as much support as possible.

If there is already an existing community out there for your brand/business/industry, and they are doing an INCREDIBLE JOB already, then you should be tapping into this.

Offer more value to their community. Offer to get more involved and ask how your business can help provide even more value. Chances are the community would love to have you involved.

This scenario would be different if the community was run in a way that does not meet the brand’s mission, values or encourages behaviour that could be detrimental. But then it’s even MORE important to work on having open conversations with the existing community to explain your expectations, offer more support and attempt to get everyone on the same page.

Turf club: SAAS community platform with the best metrics dashboard I’ve seen yet…

If you are a SAAS business and want to add community features within your app, check out the new tool called Turf that recently launched on Product Hunt.

Want to know what I’m most excited about? Their analytics!!

To finally see a community dashboard that showcases business results directly from community efforts is INCREDIBLE.

Any other community platform should take note. Finally - no more vanity metrics!

You can check out all the features of Turf here:

AI tool that transforms your voice notes to text

If you use voice notes at all, but feel like they are unstructured and you’d love a personal assistant to just summarize your thoughts so they are actually legible - then you’ll want to check out AudioPen.

You can try it for free (speak for up to 3 minutes). I tested it out and here’s what it created for me (I purposely rambled a bit in my voice note and was impressed that it managed to clean up the thoughts quite well!):

Try it out for free:

Inspiring community:
Nature Backs raises brand awareness using ambassadors

Nature Backs is an environmentally-focused clothing brand.

The brand has successfully leveraged an ambassador program to create a strong and engaged community that is cultivated around their ethos of adventure, travel, and sustainability.

Their program invites passionate individuals to become ambassadors (known as “Reps”), sharing their love for adventure and Nature Backs products.

The Rep Community not only helps in spreading the brand's message but also encourages a sense of belonging among members.

Positive Impact the Community has on the Business:

1. Increased Brand Visibility: By encouraging reps to share their experiences and adventures on social media, Nature Backs has amped up its reach. User-generated content featuring Nature Backs gear increases brand visibility and attracts new customers organically.

2. Enhanced Customer Loyalty: The Rep Program creates a loyal customer base that feels personally connected to the brand. The Reps gain access to a private Instagram page which is FULL of contests, giveaways and exclusive insights into product lines. This loyalty translates into repeat purchases and word-of-mouth marketing, which are critical for sustained business growth.

3. Product feedback: The Reps also provide real time feedback on new products and helps the business come up with new names and products.

4. Community Engagement: Reps actively engage with the brand and each other, creating a vibrant community. This engagement boosts overall customer satisfaction and retention rates.

Read more about the Rep program here:

Answering your questions

“How do I create a sense of belonging in my community?” 

Creating a sense of belonging in your community starts with being genuine, authentic and transparent.

Be clear about who belongs in your community (and who does not). Make sure this messaging is clear throughout the process of a new member joining the community (from your website/landing page/social media to the application form to the home of your community).

It’s really important you give your members a warm welcome when they join your community.

Set clear guidelines for respect and inclusivity to ensure everyone feels safe and welcome.

Get to know your new members - and if you are unable to do this yourself, either use a tool such as Curated Connections or find others in the community who would be willing to reach out and connect with new members.

Encourage small group interactions within the community to help members connect over shared interests.

You should build rituals, ceremonies, regular events and other programming. Give your community members things to look forward to. Establishing community traditions and rituals, like monthly challenges or annual events, creates a sense of continuity and shared history among members.

Highlight member contributions to show appreciation and personalize your interactions to make members feel seen as individuals.

Regularly ask for feedback and act on it to demonstrate that you value their input.

This last point is super important: Clearly communicate your community’s vision and values. 

When members understand and align with your community’s purpose, they’re more likely to feel a sense of belonging.

Got a question for me? DM me on Twitter and ask away. Your question may be answered in a future newsletter (and I’ll reply to everyone who asks).

Until next time,

Carmen
Community Coach

Connect with me on Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn.

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