A series of Community Marketing truths

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, for those who celebrated. gobble gobble

This newsletter marks 11mo of beehiiv. I started this newsletter last December, not knowing how it would unfold, but hoping that I would stick with it. If writing this newsletter has taught me anything, it’s to show up and be consistent.

I hope I’ve been able to offer you value, insights, a laugh, some relatable moments, really anything. Thanks for sticking with it. I hope you’re still here with me at the year mark next month!

This week I want to talk about Community Marketing. I share with you a series of truths about this work, what community marketing is and isn’t, and how it goes far deeper than what a dashboard tells you. Let’s jump in.

Community isn’t a tactic. It’s not a checkbox. Community exists out of a genuine need from the people you serve. It’s what forms naturally once people repeatedly receive value, help one another, and begin identifying with the group. You can’t manufacture that feeling. You can only create the conditions where it becomes inevitable (hopefully!).

Let’s jump in to some Community Marketing truths:

• The goal isn’t engagement, it’s belonging: Reaching the critical mass point where your community members are talking to each other; that’s great! Posting, reacting, replying. But it can also feel pretty transactional if the team is solely focused on optimizing for engagement. Engagement doesn’t necessarily equate to belonging. Belonging is deeper engagement. It’s built when someone gets welcomed by name. When their contribution is acknowledged. When they trust the space enough to ask for help, and someone actually shows up. When the community’s language, humor, rituals, and norms feel familiar.

• First impressions matter, always: I’ll admit, sometimes it can be difficult to determine what exactly we want new members to know (and do) in their first few minutes of the online community experience. Ultimately, those actions and pieces of information have to be high-value, educational, actionable, and product-specific (since for me, I run a product-based community). Even for the most seasoned online community member, a new space is still, well, new. These are brand new vibes, it’s a new culture, new norms, everything is new. Assume that for everyone and build the experience accordingly.

• Co-creation over broadcasting: You can build structure in your online community while also leaving room for members to contribute. And giving your members spaces to contribute makes them more likely to come back. This topic also dips into the Community vs Social conversation a little bit. People want to feel like they have some skin in the game; they want to contribute too, not feel like an audience. On the other hand, Social teams are often in the broadcast bucket because they’re speaking to an audience (i.e. running a brand account).

• The energy of the community is set by power users, not the brand: Let’s be clear: it’s possible your power users get their energy from the brand/product, but it should still be power-user-led. Nurture your biggest advocates and champions like your community depends on it—because it does. Sometimes, it makes sense to build programming around these champs—ambassadors, moderators, community leaders, MVPs. Other times, it might make sense to just bring them into a community conversation happening because that’s the most valuable action to take. The idea that we want them to provide their insights in the convo because we know they’ll have something valuable to share with their fellow member. Sometimes, it’s not about a recognition program; it can just be a simple “hey, I know you’d add value here; care to share your thoughts?”

• Complaints inform strategy: Complaints aren’t nuisances — they’re clues. Every frustration expressed is a signal to unmet needs. And every time a complaint is made (let’s call it constructive feedback), that’s data. And repetitive complaints about the same thing, that pattern can inform your strategy. Communities surface the truth faster than surveys because people express what they actually feel, not what they think they should say. Complaints reveal friction, gaps in your experience, and opportunities to create real value. Listen to it.

Thanks for reading and for being here. I don’t take for granted that you care what I have to say. Or even if you don’t care, and you’re still here; thanks for being a fan anyway. ❣️

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