What I Know About Community Building

Focus on building with the community, not just for the community. Building programs that reward participation, provide a sense of ownership and establish participation as a requirement to membership will instill a feeling of reciprocity and value within the community.

Mutual Aid organizations structurally rely on establishing a path for volunteers to participate as a means to operate and growing, branded communities should pay attention to that format.

Community is one of those words that means different things to different people. For clarity’s sake, I’ll share my definitions of the word. To me, community is as simple as a group of people helping each other out.

In the early days of community building, it’s essential for the community leaders (or brand) to model the behavior you’re hoping to set as a shared standard and to guide your members along the way. This process is human-focused, high-touch and has nothing to do with speed or optimization.

The best and most lasting communities all gather around HIGHLY SPECIFIC needs. This shared context is key for bonding and it gives strangers an immediate, intimate reason to know and trust each other.