Building a Thriving Social Media Community

Social media isn’t about you. It’s about your community. Whether it be YouTube, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram, it’s where your people live and come together.

Who Are Your People?

The first step is to decide who your community members are. Create a buyer persona to define your audience and then invite them to join. You can ask them via email, phone, postcard, or social media, but get the word out that you’re on social media.

The IMTA recently joined Instagram and Facebook. We announced it in their email newsletter and are cross-posting on LinkedIn. 

According to Statista, Instagram accounts with less than 1,000 followers grow about 9.4% over a six-month period on average, while accounts with 10,000 to 1 million followers grow at a rate of 16%.

It’s a slow build, but Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you’ve got to start somewhere. Put the social media profile logos on your business cards and packaging, or create a promotion, such as “get a 20% off coupon for following us on Instagram.”

Infrastructure: Planning Your Social Media Community

Even some of the smallest towns in South Dakota have a post office, grocery store, community hub, Dairy Queen, bar, or church. What does your community need, and what do they find entertaining? Decide what you want to get out of your social media community. Is it leads? Donations?

Do Your Research

Look at what other people are doing and remix and reuse it for your community. Don’t just copy and paste; put your own stamp on it. Notice what you like and don’t like. Here’s what that looks like:

1. Go onto the different platforms you’re considering and check out companies that pique your interest. 
2. Next, like or follow them. 
3. Ask yourself, what is the purpose behind their posts? Are they:

• Building awareness?
• Educating their customers?
• Helping them make a decision?

If your industry lacks inspiration, look to the outside of it. Inspiration can come from anywhere.

Designing Your Community

When designing a community in real life, community centers, parks, or meeting places are worked into the plans upfront to create hubs and spots to gather. Resources are thought out from water to trash, and a city government is established. Social media also requires a plan so it can thrive and grow.

Set up and design your social media marketing for success by establishing upfront how you’ll handle the following:

• Content storage, images, and documents.
• Will you use Meta Business Suite or a scheduler, like Hootsuite, to schedule content?
• Who will schedule your content?
• How often will you post?
• Who will monitor your community and engage?
• Who will answer technical questions? A customer service team? The owner?
• How will you measure success?
• What social media channels should you be on?

Building Your Community

I read somewhere recently that 80% of your content should entertain, and about 20% should sell. So please don’t overdo it on the promotional content. It’ll feel like a snake oil salesman and turn people off. 

Instead, focus on:

• Educational Posts: Share tips, tutorials, or insights that help your audience solve problems.
• Exclusive Content: Offer behind-the-scenes looks at how your products are made, your process, sneak peeks, or special discounts.
• Interactive Content: Get to know your people by using polls, quizzes, or challenges to spark engagement and conversation.

Posting fun or entertaining posts is counterintuitive at first. It sure felt weird to me as my brand, but the idea is to give your organization a voice and personality. It lets your audience know who you are and what you stand for. It builds positive brand equity but builds trust and a connection with your audience, one post at a time.

A quote, for instance, can inspire and motivate your audience and give them warm and fuzzy feelings about your brand.

Town Hall: Engaging with Your Community

No one enjoys a community where nothing is happening and a tumbleweed is blowing across Main Street. People need places to visit and share stories. Engagement is a big part of social media today, and it can take many forms.

Comments & Messages

This isn’t a one-way conversation, so respond quickly to comments and messages to show your audience that you care and are listening.

Tagging

Tag contributors, but always ask for permission first, according to social media best practices.

Ask Questions

Be a good conversationalist. Be genuinely curious about your audience, and ask questions that are open-ended to encourage a conversation, such as:

• What do you think?
• What are your thoughts?
• How would you improve this product or process?

Your People

Your people are also a great content source, called user-generated content (UGC). Encourage your community to share their experiences with your product or services by:

• Writing a review
• Filming themselves while they use your product
• Creating a testimonial
• Sharing photos of your product or event

Partner Up

Hire influencers or partner up with advocates. Strategic partnerships build trust and bring new people into your community. Here are a couple of examples. One is an unpaid partnership, and the other is an example of influencer marketing.

Big Waves is partnering again this year with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department to give away free gun locks. This gives them the reach of their audience and the reach of Adams County. 

Sashco hires influencers like Matt Risinger to promote their products and lend credibility. Influencers don’t have to be huge celebrities to impact your business or organization, either. Nano influencers (1,000–10,000) can help you grow your audience, too; they have a closer connection with their audience because they’re smaller. 

No matter the size of the influencer, though, their audience should align with your target audience and be relevant to your brand. This Forbes article outlines the steps for choosing the right influencer for your brand.

Celebrate!

Most folks like a good party. Remember to celebrate the small moments together too. It can be your company’s anniversary, an employee’s birthday, or even better, milestones you and your community achieved together. 

These are just a few ideas to get you started down the right track.

Rennovate & Rebuild

Don’t let things get stale. Like that old abandoned house, you must keep things fresh and maintain social media regularly to ensure your community is growing and happy. 

Review your metrics monthly to see what content is working and what isn’t. Experiment with content like videos, carousel posts, and stories. Don’t get too hung up on metrics month to month, but look at bigger trends every quarter and adjust your plan accordingly.

Building a thriving social media community is a slow process. These strategies will foster a sense of connection, improve brand loyalty, and create a community where your followers feel heard and seen and can look to you as a trusted friend and resource in their time of need.

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