-part 5 of 6-
Many people may balk at putting community so late in the process, instead of part of publicity, especially since social media, guestposting, etc. depend on peers and networks. The difference is, I don’t believe the contacts you’ve made with publicity in mind are true friends, and their value is marred by your attitude and relationship towards them. Traded favors, obligations, have no place in a true community.
Community depends on shared values, goals and concerns; it’s based on love, equality, respect, positivity. For this to happen you need to have your own value. You can screw it all up by starting too early for the wrong reasons. You shouldn’t build a community to fill your own needs; you should form a community when you have so much to offer you need more people who can benefit from you.
Quotes and Expert Roundup
“We are constituted so that simple acts of kindness, such as giving to charity or expressing gratitude, have a positive effect on our long-term moods. The key to the happy life, it seems, is the good life: a life with sustained relationships, challenging work, and connections to community.”- Paul Bloom
“Don’t underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global movement, you need to have a core belief that what you contribute can fundamentally change the paradigm or way of thinking about problems.” – Leroy Hood
“Laverne Cox at Paley Fest Orange Is The New Black” by Dominick D – https://www.flickr.com/photos/idominick/13220824524/. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons –
“I just have to be myself. I’m not perfect, and I’m going to make mistakes; I might say the wrong thing. I have to be responsible to my community, and I feel like I am, but then I have to not be so hard on myself.” – Laverne Cox
“Gordon Brown official” by HM Government – Number10.gov.uk (file) from The National Archives. Licensed under OGL via Wikimedia Commons –
“Take, therefore, what modern technology is capable of: the power of our moral sense allied to the power of communications and our ability to organize internationally. That, in my view, gives us the first opportunity as a community to fundamentally change the world.” – Gordon Brown
“My advice to anyone wanting to connect in a positive social way that builds community is to ‘listen first, engage second’, to never get too big for your social media boots and to continually find new ways to add value within the social sphere.” – Sarah-Jayne Gratton, Best Selling Author of Follow Me
“Community is not built, it is ‘earned.’ A community is dynamic, it can grow or decrease its size and level of attention at any given moment depending on many factors. It shares its attention with other sources, it overlaps by also paying attention to other bloggers, leaders, brands. It comes and goes. Understanding how a community works and behaves online is essential.” – Francisco Rosales, Owner of SocialMouths
“To build a community, you will need to learn to become a digital shrink. Building a community is like running a company. The best way to make sure everything is running smoothly is solving other people’s problems, not yours.” – CamMi Pham, Digital Strategist at Kwin Media
“Most of the time I share from a trusted list I have complied over the years. You will make new friends when you share others content, because people are grateful and feel you’re an expert in your field.” – Calvin Lee, Founder of Mayhem Studios
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a single person, small business, or behemoth brand, either. It’s about letting your audience know who you are, why you’re different, and why the hell they should bother paying attention to you in the sea of choices swimming around online.” – Erika Napoletano, Owner of Redhead Writing
“Target the right audience and then deliver the content they are looking for.” – Ian Cleary, Founder of Razor Social
“We use social media to directly connect to individuals across the web. Connect, engage and support. We reach out to all individuals and encourage people to get involved with technology. We focus our engagement on a strong voice in relevant subject matter and we support tons of community initiatives and programs designed to help people new to the industry.” – Jack Martin ,CEO/Founder, Technology Jobs NYC (@techjobsnyc)
“Social media is a tool to initiate and maintain the relationships you want to have. It’s not the means to develop a real relationship. The best relationships are developed through real life, face to face interactions – be it for coffee or chatting at a conference. Social media can facilitate these interactions to take place, but it should complement relationship building – not be the sole means of your relationship.” – Brett Farmiloe Founder, Markitors (@brettfarmiloe)
“The simple answer is by focusing on a smaller segment of customers you can serve well, narrowing what you offer, and having fewer tactics, ironically you can focus and grow the business better.” – Greg Head, CMO Infusionsoft.com , @GregHeadAZ
“Define your niche and focus on being something to somebody.” – Andrew Davis, BrandScaping.ca, @TPLDrew
“Get into the minds, and hearts, of your target audience. Put yourself in their shoes…what do they want and need in terms of relevant information, ideas, inspiration and entertainment? Notice what they respond to and tailor your content accordingly. Be social and make relationships! It’s only by doing all of these things that you establish trust, and in turn yours will be the first business they turn to when they have a need you can fulfil.” –Vanessa Lewis, Social Catapult
“The power of social media is not in selling directly but in inspiring and motivating others to do it for you. That doesn’t mean you only need to post content your fans and followers will share but first and foremost, you need a quality product they can believe in and a solid brand behind it. When you have that, your followers will create their own content There’s only so much any of us can do with a few social pages but once you have hundreds or even thousands of brand advocates, that’s when you’ll see the true power of social media.” – Hugh Briss, Social Identities
“Always focus on the needs of your community. It is what happens “after the like” that matters most. Inspire them to connect with you with a goal of helping them achieve their goals. When you help your fans achieve their goals, you achieve yours by default. Inspire, connect, achieve. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.” – Pam Moore, Marketing Nutz
“It is the harmony of the diverse parts, their symmetry, their happy balance; in a word it is all that introduces order, all that gives unity, that permits us to see clearly and to comprehend at once both the ensemble and the details.” – Henri Poincare
“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage
“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“DemiLovato2013″ by Neon Tommy – http://www.flickr.com/photos/neontommy/10358970676/. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons –
“You make a difference about your life it’s a knock on the head of mind setting your life you see the stars they shine across the way you build a bridge you make it shine the only way to make a difference is to help the community!” ― Demi Lovato
“Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don’t need a lot of money to be happy–in fact, the opposite.” ― Jean Vanier, Community And Growth
“As part of humanity, each of us is called to develop and share the unique gifts we are given.” ― Mollie Marti
“Create your own community of liberation. From this moment on, direct your most concerted efforts, your best work, and your greatest feats of imagination toward creating the impossible community, and do so first of all precisely where you are, with those around you.” ― John P. Clark
“A man’s value to the community depends primarily on how far his feelings, thoughts, and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his fellows.” ― Albert Einstein
Add Comment