How do I turn my audience into a community?
Here are some things to consider when building your social community:
Create a Space(s) Where Audience Can Interact
Create a space where your audience can interact with each other and with you. If you’re hosting a live event or podcast, create an online forum where people can talk with each other and come to you with questions or comments. If you’re doing a blog or newsletter, create sections where people can interact with each other and with you.
- Post with purpose: Your posts should be relevant to your audience and include value or insight. You can’t just post random things as you would on a personal Instagram account because that will turn people off. The key is curating content relevant to your business and your customers.
Stimulate Discussion in Community Spaces
If you want your community spaces to be truly successful, stimulate discussion by asking questions, posing challenges or offering ideas for debate. Encourage participants to share their thoughts on the subject and encourage them to disagree with one another if they must. As long as everyone remains respectful and polite, this type of discussion is an excellent way for people to get to know each other better and forge new friendships within the community.
- Hold Q & A sessions in your stories: This is another way for customers to feel more connected with your brand. These Q & A sessions can also help increase engagement with your followers because they may want to ask questions themselves!
Maximize Individual Personalization
If you still need to do this, start by identifying your most important customer and segment them accordingly. This could be categorized as customer, prospect, lead or influencer. Each group will have different needs and desires, so cater to them accordingly.
Reward Your Community for Their Contribution
Reward your community members for participating in your content by providing exclusive access to special offers or discounts on products or services they may be interested in. You can also reward them with a badge or an award showing their status as active contributors on your site/blog/social network platform.
Recognize recurring fans
Recognizing a recurring fan is a great way to build a relationship with them. If you have a regular customer that comes in every week and orders the same thing, you probably know their name by memory and may even greet them with a smile when they walk in the door. Well, think of your social media community as another location where you can meet and greet people familiar with your brand.
Conclusion
A social community is a powerful thing. It involves members, fans, and advocates to get your brand and what you have in store for this community into the public arena. Whether you like it or not, online marketing is essential for businesses. Social networks are the best starting point for building a community, so start with these! Social networking websites will help you communicate with your customers and grow your business. Good luck in building your community!