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Hi everyone! Wow, here we are at podcast #60! Today we’re talking about building a community: how do you stand out above the herd and communicate your story in an engaging way? Stories allow people to relate to you emotionally and are an important part of building a connected community.
What did Andrew and Heather learn this week?
Heather learned that people still don’t quite get communication via social media! People are still sending random spammy messages via social networks wanting to promote their stuff. However, LinkedIn is getting savvier with allowing users to block anyone who is annoying them. A great encouragement to tidy up online etiquette!
Andrew learnt that Facebook is getting rid of their email service (although many people out there don’t even realise that they had a Facebook email address!). It wasn’t widely used which seems to be one of the reasons behind dropping it.
Building a Community
Every brand now needs to have a story around it – why? There is so much noise out there that you want to share a story that people relate to so that they will congregate around your brand. It’s about evoking emotion in people and getting them to understand why you are passionate about what you do.
For example, when the iPhone came out, Steve Jobs didn’t go around selling a gadget, he told a story that people identified with. Using lines like ‘an entire music library in your pocket’ and ‘we believe everybody should have access to music that they like’, Jobs created an emotional bridge that connected people to their products. Next thing, people are lining up for hours to buy the latest device!
How do you tell your story?
Here are some examples:
- Many entrepreneurs bring their families into it, for example photos of holidays etc. This connects with other family-centered people.
- Glamorous photos – yachts etc (if they are real and not just stock images!). This attracts the people who want to achieve that kind of lifestyle
- CAUTION: remove the parts of your story that are not congruent with where you are now. Throwing in anything randomly that doesn’t make sense will only confuse people. Filter as to what makes sense for your brand.
Building a Tribe
As you tell your story, you will find that you attract others who really ‘get’ the connection with you. In turn, they form a community who connect with each other. If you have a good story that you are able to share and express well, you will build a community around you. Most people have a good story, but not everyone is good at telling that story, so seek some help if you are not sure how to tell yours!