I don’t know why, but before I launched my podcast, I knew I wanted to build community.  Not just listeners.

 

Maybe it’s because community building is all I’ve known during my entrepreneurial life…heck during my whole life.  I grew up in a family of six, was always involved in or leading organizations and played for countless team sports.

 

In the business space, my husband and I have run a business community called the Tampa Bay Business Owners for the past 7 years and culture, intimacy, strategic alliances, support and specialness is all I’ve breathed during that time.

 

So when we decided to launch the Biz Women Rock podcast, my immediate strategic mind went to, “how can I create a special community for the women who listen?”

 

I really believe my focus on community from the beginning has made all the difference in my business.

 

Here’s why.

 

In my last post, I talked about download numbers and what they mean (and don’t mean).  All of us podcasters pay attention to our download numbers.  But creating a community means that we have to be very clear on the distinction between a few words:

 

This is a download:

 

But a download only represents a number, a statistic.  What’s on the other side of that number is a listener.

 

These are listeners.

 

And THIS is the Biz Women Rock Community (well, some of them, anyway!)

 

So how do you get from a “Listener” to a “Community?” And why would you want to?

Listeners are awesome.  They’re amazing.  They’re why I do my show.  Because I know that on the other end of my seemingly one-on-one interview, I have tons of listeners getting something out of it.

 

Listeners talk to me.  And I talk to my listeners.  We engage through email and social media and I often give them shout outs on the show just because they’re so cool!

 

But your Listeners have no way of connecting with each other.

 

Unless YOU create a Community.

 

A Community allows the relationships you have with your Listeners, the relationship they have with you AND the relationships they have with one another to go deeper and have more dimension!

 

Ultimately, I believe that having a Community will allow you to do things that are completely untouchable with Listeners.

 

A Real Time Example

Last week, I posted in the BWR Connect (the private Facebook group for Biz Women Rock) and asked the ladies to share a story about how they’ve been strong over the past year.  I called it Warrior Wednesday.  Seven days later, I’m still reading the incoming comments from women, every one of which I need to click on the “see more” link because they’ve gone into such detail about their strong moment.  As of today, there are just shy of 40 comments from my ladies, sharing intimate stories about their lives that would not be shared elsewhere.  Replies to their stories showing support, amazement and congratulations mix in with these comments.

 

This is the stuff that brings tears of joy to my eyes.  Because I know my ladies get to engage in a safe space amongst like minds where they can feel proud for being successful (let’s be honest, we women are often apologizing for our success), support and cheer on others and initiate friendships that go so much deeper than business!

 

Katie, you really get all this from a simple Facebook post?

 

Hell.  Yes.

 

Let me put it this way.  Within the Biz Women Rock Community, because of the Facebook Group (which is the platform on which my community communicates with one another), I know of instances when:

• Women have met up offline to grab coffee and get to know each other better.
• They’ve hired another woman after seeing them post and have had great results (and then they share about their experience using them in the group!)
• Women have given each other feedback about projects they were working on and needed some guidance.
• Women have created strategic partnerships because they saw in the group that they could help one another.
• They’ve shared pictures of their pets, their kids, their families, their creative spaces and so much more.
• They email me regularly telling me how much they LOVE the group and how it’s like no other!

 

So How Exactly Do You Create a Community?

 

A few simple steps:

• Engage Your Listeners on Your Show. Simple enough.  Ask for feedback.  Give shoutouts to individuals. Thank them. Highlight people who communicate with you. Ask them to email you.

• Get Listeners to a Place Where You Can Build Dimension.  ie. Start a Facebook Group.  I’ll go into greater depth on how to really engage your Facebook group in another post, but let’s start off with the basics.

1. Decide how you’re providing value. Why would anyone want to be there?  Why would they want to continue participating?
2. Create Guidelines: Let everyone know what to do when they’re there.
   
3. Invite Brand Ambassadors to Seed Your Group: ask 5-10 people who are huge fans and supporters if they will be Brand Ambassadors.  This means posting often, commenting on others’ posts and basically ensuring that there’s always activity as the group gets its legs.
4. Create themed posts: this is a simple way to start getting your members talking.  Ask questions they want to answer.
5. Experiment with posts: some posts work, some don’t.

 

How Building Community Directly Impacts Your Business

 

All this relationship building is lovely and makes me feel good, but what is the bottom line impact to your business?

1. Surveys.  If you’re stuck on what product to offer next or what services are needed, all you have to do is ask your community.

I personally messaged the 100 most active women in my Facebook Group and asked them to fill out my survey so I could improve Biz Women Rock.  My results?  

 

2. Promote Sponsors / Advertisers / Affiliates. When positioned as a valuable resource for your community, these posts can get a lot of engagement and can help support your advertisers.

 

3. Offer Your Products and Services. With an engaged community, YOU are seen as the leader.  And whenever you show them that you’ve created something special for them, you have a huge advantage!  Over the past year, I’ve promoted webinars where I’ve sold products of my own and others’ products and have had great success with it!  You can tell your community about books, masterminds, programs, courses, coaching sessions…anything that would be valuable to them!

 

4. Have In-Person Events and Charge for Them.  Somewhere in the near post-baby future, Biz Women Rock will have its first Conference and its first Retreat.  I’ve already surveyed my community (see #1) and they’re hungry for it!

** 1 Major Caveat for all of these: You can’t spam your own community.  Make your minimal promotionals count!

 

Is the Market Saturated?

 

But Katie, it seems like EVERYONE is making their own “Community!”  Isn’t it being overdone?

 

Communities aren’t a new concept, but yes…it seems like “community” is the new buzzword lately.  But, we as humans want to belong and as long as you create a community that provides value and connects people…and do it with your own personal flare…then there’s no such thing as competition!

 

I see many of the women who are in the BWR Connect in a handful of other women and business groups too.  And I know they get something great out of each of them.  But because I’ve developed a very specific culture and value offering that’s specific to my personality, it’s always going to stand out among others in a special way.

 

And so will yours.  There is no such thing as oversaturation here.

 

Final Thoughts on the Power of Communities

 

From my humble experience building community, here’s what I know to be true:

 

1. When you can make each individual feel special in some way, you build loyalty.
2. When you’re vulnerable enough to ask what your community wants, they will be happy to tell you (and thus give you your business plan).
3. When you constantly give value to your community, they will take care of you when you need it (financially, emotionally, professionally…I have women offering to be my babysitter when my little one comes along!)
4. When you take the time to connect the individuals of your community, the impact of the relationships will transcend business.
5. When you take the time to turn Listeners into a Community, you have multiplied your ability to make a deep impact by millions.

 

And this…this is my precious Biz Women Rock Community!

 

And You?

How about YOU?  Do you currently have a community?  Or a ton of awesome Listeners?  What have you done to build community that’s worked?  That hasn’t?  Comment below!