So you want to build an EPIC Community? Good for you! For most people, we love the idea of building a tribe of people who love what we do, say and stand for – who wouldn't? The perception is that, build your tribe will help you build a successful business.  It's how you create engagement and attract customers – right?

Well the answer is yes and no. Surprised?

There are a lot of different ways to build your community and your tribe.  Not only am I going to share my thoughts, but I'm also going to give you a reality check on what it takes, my experience and the pros and the cons. Sound good?

When I started in business a few year ago, the first two BIG things that I did was firstly create a closed Facebook group call EPIC Women in Business and the second was to run a women in business conference, called EPIC Summit. As business coach and brand experience consultant, both of these things were great community builders for my business, brand and reputation.  At the time when you're starting at a based of zero, it was all about the numbers.  How many people could I get into the group? How many people could I get to attend the event?

Build, build, build and numbers, numbers, numbers.

When I look back, I can honestly say that I learnt so much during this time.  As they say you learn the most by doing.  On the flip side I honestly had no idea how much work either would take.  The reason they were so much work is because I had NO idea (seriously NO IDEA) what I was doing at the time when it came running a large event or building a closed group.  Because I'm all about responsiveness, inclusion and connection, I was there all the time – every minute of the day that I had spare.  Things are a little different these days.  Once the community becomes more connected and engaged then they can do some of that community management for you and respond to newbies or help each other out.  It's a nice place to be, but it took time and a lot of my time to get there.

Hopefully if you're lucky, you will also build your reputation in your area of expertise and clients will come out the work you're doing in your community.  It was good then and it's still good, but there have been big lesson's learnt and it's been really interesting to watch other people who have run events and facebook groups much better and bigger than me, decide to opt out.

So let's break it down. Here are a few different ways you can attract, engage and build relationships with your community.

Events

Pros: Events allow you to meet people face to face and press the flesh.  They also get to know you better and what you're all about.  Whenever I talk about marketing, for me the only marketing I like is relationship marketing.  Connecting with people, getting to know them, really understand what's going and then work together.  That's where the best clients (I've found) come from.  Saying that, I've also had great clients who I didn't know but who came through referrals or who have been watching me and my videos for some time – so they feel like they know me.  Events can be a great way to show case your knowledge, build your list and create a deeper connection than just being online.  I think one of the things I've really enjoyed has been taking my online relationships off line and building ongoing connection that way.  I also think that when you're inperson you can see the quality of someone's work, communication, content and personality.

Cons: Events cost money to put on and if you put them on the way that we do in The Connection Exchange, nine times out of ten, they cost a fair chunk of cashola. We love flowers, great food and wine, goodie bags and gifts – for us it's about the experience we give our community.  So when something costs a lot of money the profit margin is either low or zero. The first time I ran EPIC Summit, it cost around $40,000.  Yes you read that right.  At the end of the day we broke even which was a miracle as it was our first big event and we didn't have the reputation we do now.  We had 80 women in the day and 120 in the evening at CIRCA in Melbourne, I didn't have any financial sponsors and at the time didn't really have any money sitting in my business bank account – so I took this money out of my personal savings.

At the time I really wasn't sure I was going to make the money back – but lucky for me, we did (big props to my hubby for having nerves of steal and an unwavering belief that I could pull it off!).  That was 3 years ago now and I've learnt a lot along the way! Depending on what the event is for, there are ways to make money but you have to be smart about how you spend your money and how you sell or follow up on the day. If you go into an event with no planning or no idea of how to manage it or get the most out of it then you could find yourself loosing more than you make.  I share more of my lesson in a mini online course, The Event Experience I created because I was getting so many questions.

Facebook groups

Facebook groups have been part of our landscape for a long time now and most women in business are part of several groups.  There are always new ones popping up and you have to make a decision where you want to be otherwise it can get pretty overwhelming.  I recently took myself out of about 50 or more groups.  The interesting things was that most of them either hadn't had any posts in them for several months or they had been archived which I hadn't even realised. I just made the decision that if I wasn't active in the group, if I did really know anyone or I had no idea what the group was then I needed to leave.  I've said to my Facebook ladies that if they aren't active in the group or they no longer get value from it then I'm happy for them to leave and make room for others that will get value out of it.

Pros: The pros of having a facebook group is that you can set the tone, topics and focus of your group and hopefully if it resonates for people then they will join and if it's doesn't then that's good too!  I've found my facebook group to be a great foundation for relationship building.  It's been great to build my brand, share my content and what my expertise is and it's also allowed other women in my community to get their message out there and build great relationships with women that they actually get to know at a deeper level.  Being able to promote your services and gain new customers is a great in groups (as long as it's not spammy) and sharing insights, conversation, struggles and wins has been amazing in specific groups.  The great thing about groups is that it can be a private conversation.  I'm part of Denise Duffield-Thomas's money bootcamp and I love the freedom to talk about money without the taboo around the subject. If you find the right group then you can get great support.  If you're building or managing a group then as I mentioned you can set this tone.

Cons: Time – groups take a lot of time! It takes time to build, it takes time to get real engagement and it takes time to cultivate an environment that doesn't feel overwhelming for everyone in the group.  Recently I read a post on why some of the big group community builders archived their groups.  Groups like FreedomHackers which had over 42,000 people in it.  Kimra sited community management as being a large commitment, her offers and services getting lost among the thousands of posts, surveying her clients and realising that they didn't purchase from her because of the group but they had come from other places.

At the end of the day we grow communities not only for the community but we grow them so we can grow our business.  Spamming activity can be hard to manage as well and keeping engagement up so that the group is worth coming back to. Recently at Problogger Jadah Sellner said – “when you manage a community there should be “no comment left behind”.  I also have this philosophy which means that you have to be on top of what's happening. If someone gives their time and attention don't just leave it hanging – it's not a nice feeling for someone and as I'm all about brand experience this is a lot of work.

I've recently capped my group at 3000 people and won't be going above that.  If I'm honest, as people leave, there won't be more added unless something changes.  I would rather go down in numbers than up. I'm hoping that Facebook insights comes out with ‘people who are not engaged' like your email list, so that we can remove those people too.

Subscribers

So as they say, build your list, build your list, build your list!!! People need at least 5 different touch points to build a solid relationship with you and popping up in their in box every week or so with VALUABLE  content (I personal think) is key.

Pro's:  The pros are that you can provide direct information to the people that (hopefully) want to hear from you!  They are interested in what you have to say and what you provide helps them.  Even when I advertise my events through Facebook I still get people who book through my email list as that's where they are – YES it's amazing….not everyone is on Facebook! I get to share some of my personal insights that I may not share anywhere else. I can predict sales of courses based on the stand percentages that are floating around based on the number of people on my email list – yes it does actually work and is scarily accurate!

Cons: You have to come up with content – a lot of content to make it valuable.  It takes time and effort to create something that is worth reading.  Sometimes things like links, image or your brain just doesn't work.  I just sent out an email on a Wednesday this week saying “happy Monday” – it's happens!  Everyone's inbox can feel a bit BLAH and full or bloat – so it's important to be quick and too the point.

Want to subscribe and get my community love letters? Head over here plus get your yearly planner to boot! 🙂

OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

When I say ‘other' social platforms I really probably just mean Instagram – but yes there is snapchat and twitter etc but for me InstaStories has been a game changer!! get onto it if you're not already!

Pros:  InstaStories is quick, easy, you don't have to be perfect, you can be adhoc and share what's happening for you.  The engagement is crazy awesome!! I love the conversation I have through InstaStories chat and I am definitely building better and stronger relationships with the platform.  It allows people to get to know YOU.  Not the perfect inst image you, but the “I'm getting coffee, I'm having a crappy day, I'm at a concert, I have a business tip, did you see my new shoes” kinda you! I love seeing that when it comes to other people.  It's all about the behind the scenes. Remember – when I get to know you and like you, I'm more likely to buy from you! #justsaying (make sure you follow @suzchadwick if you're not already!!! we love new friends!)

Cons: It disappears in 24hrs so if you have something really good – unless you save it, then it's gone! People already feel a bit overwhelmed with things so if you're not on it you may feel like it's ‘just another thing you have to do!'

Networking

Pros: I don't get out to enough networking events but when I do, I always find them valuable! Just through networking and speaking at events, I've found that people have joined my community and tribe. Once again, it's when you make personal connections that people can see if you're for them or not.  Networking also gets you out of the house and talking to more people about what they do and what you do.  The more people you connect with, the likelihood of you getting more business is going to be higher than just sitting behind your desk!

Cons: Apart from it taking time, costing money and you do need to find the right networking event  – the worst bit is you have to get out of your PJ's. I know……..

So those are some of my lessons on building your tribe and community and what I've found to be the pros and cons.  I'm sure other people may have different experiences.

What's worked well for you and what hasn't? I'd love to know!

 

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