109. Building Community as a Marketing Strategy
Melissa: [00:00:00] Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach. Melissa Kellogg-Lueck. And this is the Doing Business like a woman podcast, where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom, one business at a time.
Well, hello, hello, hello, ladies. How's it going? I hope you're having a fabulous day. And I am all cozy in my office today. It's really gross weather out. It's like raining and snowing and misty and it's springtime in Colorado. And if you're here in Colorado, you know what I'm talking about, but it's kind of crazy.
Um, usually we have like this one final push of, uh, winter and then it gets nice. So I'm hoping this is our final bout of snow and gross weather. Because I'm ready, I am ready for the fall, springtime, summertime. I love that weather. So, I'm really excited to be with you today to get to talk to you about something that I've been thinking a lot about.
And it's all about how creating community is a marketing strategy. And so if you heard my last episode here, episode one Oh eight, when we had Sandra Yancey on the show and talked about community and building relationships and networking. this is definitely a really great follow up to that episode.
So you don't have to listen to that episode. If you haven't already, just [00:02:00] stick with me. But if you did listen to that episode and you wanted more, um, it's just me today. It's a solo, but I really want to just tease out this whole idea around creating community as a marketing strategy. And so I think this is one of the most important.
Things that I have been learning as I have been in this role as a managing director for the Northern Colorado chapter of eWomen Network. And it's something I didn't expect to be learning, but I am learning it. And the lesson is that every single one of us, me as an entrepreneur, you as an entrepreneur, I don't care what kind of business you're in, what kind of business you're doing, how big, how small, where you are in the stage of growth of your business.
We are all involved in creating community. And so all of us as business owners are creating community. We're creating community Around the product or the service that we provide, we're creating community around the way we provide it. We're creating community in our marketing and the way that we do business.
So I want us to just own up to that. And there's a benefit for us as women entrepreneurs and owning up to that because women, we are. Amazingly talented at creating community. So if we can start thinking about our marketing and our sales, promotions, everything, anything that we're doing out in public as creating community, I think it can take some of that pressure off, [00:04:00] right?
So if we think about the communities that we're currently part of, And why we love those communities, or why that we're a part of them. Those are some of the same types of things that you can apply to your own creation of a community. You're creating a community around the work you do, around it. Your company, your business.
so just thinking about the work that you do and the marketing that you do and the communications that you do as all a part of creating a community, um, I think can be so fun. And, um, I know some of you like me when I started, you know, when I really started to, own that, I am a community builder, a community creator.
When I really started to own up to that, one of the feelings that I had, and maybe this is something that is coming. Coming up for you too, is like as adults, it's hard to create friendships as an adult, right? can you relate to that at all?
or maybe thinking like, well, I was never popular in high school or junior high or college or whatever. So I have no idea what it is to like create. You know, a following or create community or create friendships. Well, you do. You might not think you do, but you do. You have people in your life. I'm willing to bet that you are close to and even if it's You and your best friend, or you and your romantic partner, or you and, you know, the dogs and cats in your house, this is all community, right?
And so I want you just to open up to this idea that you are [00:06:00] creating community and that your marketing and your communications. Is all just part of inviting people into your community. And so what I want to talk about today is how we can do this in an intentional way. As a marketing strategy, how we can build community around the work that we're doing, the business that we're building, the beliefs and, you know, the, um, ideas that we have.
That are the reasons why we're in business and use that as a marketing strategy in a way to, to build our business and to bring more people into our world. So, what is community? I'm going to just give you a definition. This is the definition from the Oxford dictionary. There's 2 of them. So I'm going to read both of them.
So it kind of gives us a, um, a lens to look through a basis to start from. Right? So community is defined as a group of people living in the same place, or having a particular characteristic in common. That's the 1st definition. The 2nd definition is a feeling of fellowship with others. As a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals.
Right. And so I would venture to say that in your business, you have a community, right? Whether you are living and working in the same place as your clients. Or not, at least you have some particular characteristics in common, right? Um, and then number 2, you know, this is what we want to be thinking about as we are building a community.
We want to be giving. And creating a feeling of fellowship [00:08:00] with others. As a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals. Right? Even this podcast, you and I and the other listeners. We're a community together and I love thinking about that, right? Cause I'm just here sitting in the circle, chatting with you, my podcast community.
And so your community is a universe of your clients, your vendors, the people that you're working with. Provide services to you and your business. It's your audience. Maybe your social media following or your email subscribers, um, your collaboration partners. If there's anyone that you collaborate with for marketing or for providing your services.
It's the team of people that help you that are, you know, either whether it's your employees, or if you have contractors, your team is part of your community, your prospects, your perspective clients are also part of your community. So it's this whole universe. That makes up the community, your community, the community that you are building as a part of your business, as you're building your business, right?
And so the beauty of thinking about your marketing and your communications and your business as a community is it automatically makes you different than any other business, right? And we're going to talk more about how we create a community and really define it and then how we build that community.but I want you just to recognize.
That is a strategic advantage for you. We're always looking to, you know, have a unique selling proposition or a unique advantage over our [00:10:00] competitors. And this will automatically set you apart from everyone and anyone else. Right. If you really lean into building a community, you, your business, your community members will not be like any other on this entire planet.
So it automatically sets you apart from everybody else. Right. So, so why is it our unique advantage? Well, because. Being part of a community creates safety, it creates belonging, right? And these are basic human desires. We all want to be part of something, and we want to feel safe there, and we want to feel like we belong there.
And your community can't be replicated by any other person, and it can't be replaced by technology. It can't be replaced by AI. Your community requires humans. So yes, you might have AI to help you communicate with your community, right? But the creation of your community comes from you, from your soul, your spirit, your uniqueness.
So that's why it is and becomes your unique selling proposition, your unique advantage over everyone else because no one else anywhere is like it. No other business, no other community anywhere. So how do we create a community? I want to talk about that for a little bit. So there's a quote in the book, 10X is easier than 2X.
You know, this is one of my favorite books and in it, he talks about community a little [00:12:00] bit. Um, but there's a quote That I want to share with you that stood out for me. It says the reason people join any organization or association or I would add community is psychographic alignment. All humans have a deep desire to feel a sense of belonging and connection to a group of people with shared beliefs and culture unquote.
So I love that because. That's what we want. Our clients, our team, our prospects, our audience, our collaboration partners. We all want them to feel belonging and have that shared, um, desire to be together. Right? And so how do we create that? So in 10 X is easier than 2 X. There are some principles behind creating community, which I'm going to use some of them, but, and also intermix in some of what I think builds community and what I've experienced and how I've built my own community.
And so number one is a leader. And for most of us as solopreneurs and small businesses and entrepreneurs that have started our business, we are the leader. You are the figurehead of your community. Right. And that's okay. It's a beautiful thing, right? So what will it, what would it take you take for you to be thinking about yourself as the leader of your community?
Right. And so think about how you can step into that yourself first, you have to step into that and become that leader. And then the community is built around you. Your business is built around you in the beginning. Right? And so, so number 1, it [00:14:00] requires a leader. Number 2, it requires an origin story. And I love this idea.
We all have origin stories around why we started our business. It goes back to that. Why? That mission, that, um, that thing that we saw wrong in the world that we wanted to fix with our business, with our service, with our talents and our knowledge and experience, right? So what is that origin story for you?
And I want you to really hone in on that and tell that story as much as possible everywhere you go, because we know that a picture speaks a thousand words. But a story speaks a thousand pictures. So that will always resonate with people. Your people and let them know that they belong and bring them in, right?
So you are the leader. You've got an origin story. Number three, it takes a community requires an ideology or a way of thinking. Really. It's like the mission or the purpose of the community. It's kind of the principles that we live by in this community. And so, for example. In this podcast community and really the community of my business, right?
The Avanti business Academy for Women. I believe that any woman can achieve financial freedom through entrepreneurship and do it simply. In a way where she can have a life and have relationships and have fulfillment in her life and her business and achieve her highest purpose. So that is kind of the ideology.
That's my mission. That's the mission with my business and with this podcast, right? And so, um, what is your ideology? What do you [00:16:00] believe? What is the change that you seek to make in the world? And that is a really great place. Great thing to be in touch with and place to be as you create your community and you create the marketing and the communications to invite people in.
And the next is shared rituals. And I thought this came from the 10x is easier than 2x. And, um, I thought, Hmm, that's interesting. Shared rituals. So, um, it sounds kind of like cultish, right? I know every community has shared rituals. And so I was thinking about like, what are our shared rituals here in my community?
And I think one of them is celebration. I think that celebration is a ritual and a practice that We so often, um, neglect, but that is one of the most important parts to creating success is celebrating it because whatever you celebrate and focus on, you create more of, right? So, what are the rituals and the practices in your community?
Think about that and lean into those, right? Uh, and next is, let's see, that's one, two, three, four. Okay. So number five is An enemy, every community needs an enemy enemy is one way of, of thinking about it, but I also think of like the, an antithesis, right? So, think about what is the antithesis of your community or what is, it could be an enemy, right? So it could be an idea that isn't the antithesis, or it could be an actual. Enemy. Um, so I think about for my community, [00:18:00] the enemy would be like the inner critic, the inner critic that tells women that they're That they have nothing to offer the world that they, are not able to achieve financial freedom or create a successful business or that they're worth being paid money for the ideas and experience that they have, like that whole line of thinking.
Is the enemy in this community, right? Or the way that we do business as women is not as good as the way. You know, business has been done for, I don't know, hundreds of years or whatever.so the enemy can be a line of thinking or, you know, uh, a physical person, place or thing. Right.
So that is important because it's like, brings you around this enemy, this common thing that we are moving away from, right. The antithesis. And then finally, you create community with a common language. So there are certain things that we talk about in my universe on this podcast, like simplicity,financial freedom, doing business like a woman, like what that means, like those are things that.
Yeah. A lot of just normal everyday people that are not in our community don't really think of or talk about in the way that we do. So we have our own kind of language here, or if we're talking about fulfillment or purpose or,Goals and making money and things like that. Like a lot of people don't use those types of words.
So what is the vernacular or the words that you use in your community? So, [00:20:00] so that is how we create it. I'm going to just summarize that real quick. So number 1. We create community by having a leader, which is you, the leader of your business number two, having an origin story, number three, a common ideology or mission and purpose principles, that sort of thing.
Um, number four, shared rituals, number five, a common enemy. And number six common language. So it's like our secret handshake. Maybe that's a ritual. Maybe we need to come up with a secret handshake. I don't know. Um, okay. So finally I want to talk about, so now we know how to create the community. How do we build a community?
And so this is where I think, so in all of these aspects. We're communicating it. It's all part of communicating, right? We're communicating these, you know, the story, the ideology, the shared language, like all that communication is all part of your marketing and all of your marketing uses these community aspects, right?
So you see how creating community is a marketing strategy. So finally, I want to talk about how do we build community? Right. How can you start today? Build your community and think of your marketing and your business. And your clients and your team and your prospects all as a community. Well, number one is just recognizing this is what you're doing as an entrepreneur, as a CEO, a leader of your business, you are building a community.
Congratulations. Welcome to the community that you're building. Right. Uh, [00:22:00] and then number two is. To talk to them, think, think about anytime you're posting or creating or, telling stories or any of that, just think about the community. You don't have to think about the nebulous blob of people that's outside of your community.
Just think about your community group of people that get you and you get them and you're on this mission together. That's who you want to talk to. That's who you want to create for in everything that you're doing. Okay. And then. That's Number three, I encourage you to have conversations with them.
Literally. This is something I think that I, you know, in the digital age online world, I have relied a lot on online methods to communicate with people. And over the last year of, of building this e women network chapter, this community, um, around the women entrepreneurs here in Northern Colorado, I have learned.
The power of having one on one conversations with actual humans, and I know that sounds silly, but, that, you know, to a lot of age groups younger than I people think that, you know, other people don't really want to talk to people. But, I have decided and, you know, kicking and screaming sometimes that I, um, want to talk to people one on one and so picking up the phone and dialing the phone and calling them or setting up a coffee chat or, just taking time to really listen to them has not only Helped build my [00:24:00] community, but has also been an incredible education for me.
In what people are thinking, what the women in my community are thinking, what they want, what they need, how I can help them. And what's been so amazing is that when I call people up and talk to them. You know, 9 times out of 10, they'll be like, this is so nice. I'm so glad you called. This is, you know, what a, what a surprise to get a phone call and they enjoy it.
And I enjoy it too. And it really has filled. It fills my bucket. And, um, So I just encourage you to have conversations with people and yeah, you might not have to pick up the phone all the time, but like send DMS and invite people to DM you and have those conversations and ask the questions because it's not often in our lives that people sit down with us, look us in the eye and ask questions and listen.
It's not often that we give each other the attention and listen, and, I absolutely love doing that. And so that's, you know, why I've put some things in place with this podcast where I can listen to you, where you can reach out to me. You're always, always welcome to DM me on social media. Or leave a message on our, speak pipe, uh, which is in the show notes, the link there, you can leave a voicemail message for me and I would love to hear from you, but have conversations with your community that.
Builds the community, ask them, you're burning questions, you know, instead of going to AI and asking, what is my ideal client want from me? Go ask your ideal client. They would love to tell you, and they would love for you to ask them and actually listen, [00:26:00] look them in the eye, or, you know, have that quiet time on the phone and say, tell me, how can I best help you?
Serve you. What do you need that I can offer?
So that really helps build community is taking time to listen to one another and remember that your marketing and your community building is not just you talking at people or projecting, you know, to your, you know, Nebulous blob of social media followers. It is having conversations with the members of your community with your clients, with your prospects, with your, um, collaboration partners, with your team members, right?
It's listening and having those conversations. And I think that is part of community is conversing. It's the give and take it's giving, but also asking and receiving, right? That's how relationships are made. Relationships are built Through giving and receiving. So make sure that you have built into your marketing, your communications, your community, the ability.
For you and for everyone in your community to give and to receive, right. and then finally, in building a community, just as a result of these conversations, you know, create the services and products and experiences. Thinking about your community, and I just love that idea because sometimes we struggle.
So, Much in thinking about, you know, what's next, what can I create for my, you know, quote unquote best fit clients that will make me money or whatever. Um, but the truth is, if you have attended to and intentionally [00:28:00] created this community around your business and the services that you provide, you will never have to ask yourself that question.
And I think that's something that really struck me, and I don't know if Sandra Yancey said this on the podcast episode number 108, or if it's something I've heard her say in other circles, but that she is so close to her community that she never has to wonder what is next to offer them or what she's going to create.
As far as an experience or an event or a product or a service offering. She never wonders that because she is in such close contact with her community that she knows what they need at all times and what they, you know, and how she can best serve them. She knows that at all times. And so, I think that that's something that we all can, strive for, you know, And that that really is how we build the community.
And so, and, you know, remember that you as a woman, that we as women, are experts on this, so if we just lean into our natural inclination to connect and create community, that will help make marketing so much easier sales and client experience so much easier. It will help us to create better results for our clients and.
It will help us to build our business and make the money and the impact that we want to make. So really think about leaning into your business. As creating a community and you as the leader. All right. And so that's what I have for you today. I hope you found this to be valuable. I would love to hear how this idea this strategy lands for you, please reach out on social or if you're on my email list, which I hope you are.
You're [00:30:00] always welcome to reply to any email that you get from me, but to this podcast email and let me know what you think of it. I would love to hear your ideas. And if you have any questions, um, I would love to continue talking about this and maybe I will continue in the next episode to talk more about the importance of building community as part of your life.
As a marketing strategy, but I think, it really has changed the way I run my business and the way I have built a community. And, um, I hope it does the same for you too. All right. I'll talk to you next time. Take care. Bye.
Hey, if you like this podcast, I would love for you to become a part of my community. Sign up for my Friday celly. The link is in the show notes, and each Friday I'm gonna deliver to your inbox, my weekly celebration. I. As well as my thoughts on the latest in business and marketing, and I wanna keep you in the know about my upcoming events, free trainings, free gifts, book clubs, all the fun things.
And of course, I'm gonna send you notification of my latest podcast episodes. So get signed up and I'll see you there.
