Social Media as a Community Building Tool

Trying something new with this newsletter.

Still writing about all things social, content, and growth, but going to use a more casual format (kinda like a blog).

Vs the typical, overly formatted newsletter with intros/outros, ads, logos, etc.

The goal is to just deliver the content you want as quickly as possible without all the fluff – just like I would if I were telling you in-person.

Some editions will be short, some will be long, but all of them will be worth reading.

If ya enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend.

Ok, enough chatting.

Let’s dig in.

Social Media as a Community Building Tool

I often see people who misinterpret social media as a community building tool.

It can be used as such, but very tough to do.

(and most people who think they are doing it right are just building another distribution outlet — which is great, but different from building a community)

It requires a slightly different approach than the average social strategy.

Some thoughts on a typical audience vs community vs general fans below:

Before we dig into what I’d personally do to build a community via social media, let’s define the difference between the two:

Social Platforms (like X, LinkedIn)

• Open networks

• Content dependent

• Great because people are usually spending lots of their time there

• Tough to stand out since you’re competing against the algorithm, other creators, brands, and everyone else in the feed

Community Platforms (like Discord, Slack, Circle)

• Usually closed networks

• Dependent on user engagement

• Great for consolidating your core group of members

• Very tough to maintain over time since you need people to come back to your specific group (even tougher if engagement is declining)

Ok, so how do you use social platforms top build an online community?

Here’s how I’d do it:

1. Define your community

2. Share it on your social accounts, in your bio, etc.

3. Align your content around this community and what they love

4. When you create your content, keep this specific community in mind

5. Share updates publicly just like you would within a Discord channel

6. Allocate a good chunk of time per day to community management

7. Nurture your most engaged followers by supporting their content

8. Make introductions directly in the feed wherever possible

9. Use your platform to elevate others in your community

10. Introduce group language that people can use

Here are two people who I think are crushing it:

Zach Pogrob

Zach is building a community around “Obsession”.

See the replies to the post below and in his other content.

There’s group language like “Obsessioncore” & “The Dark Place”.

There are similar interests like running & working on your obsessions.

And he’s actually converting all of this to IRL meetups like his NYC run club – great way to further deepen trust with his cult-like following.

More examples below:

Jack Butcher

Jack is building an online community of people who love digital art and using the internet to scale themselves.

He’s popularized lots of the black and white imagery that we see today, has coined terms that his community references like “Build Once, Sell Twice”, and has translated all of this to his business ventures in the productized services & NFT world.

People who follow his tribe often have similar views on technology, the internet, art, and business.

It’s worth going through the replies in the post below to get a feel for what I mean.

More examples below:

How do you know when you’re doing it right?

• People will use your account to discover others with similar interests

• People will use your language and phrases in their posts

• People will use the comments section of your posts like a forum

• People will host meetups or connect with one another IRL at events

• People will often tag you in content related to your community

In closing,

Yes, you can use social platforms like X & LinkedIn to build an online community.

But it requires much more effort than just posting content about your brand or the problem you solve.

You’ve got to constantly keep the community you’re serving top of mind, put in the time to nurture your members, and be consistent over a long period of time.

Cheers,

Ish