The Value of a Social Media Community vs an Audience

“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.” — Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks

Imagine you’re in a room packed full of your target customers. You deliver a talk to inspire them and every member sits silently, watching you, nodding as you go along. Now, imagine you’re in a second room, also packed full of your target customers. In this room, you also deliver a talk, but this time your customers are asking you questions, talking with each other about the points you’ve raised, all while you’re at the epicentre of the discussion. Now, which room would you prefer to be in?

Of course, it’s the second room, because you’re visibly listening and witnessing the feedback. You’re creating a buzz that is attracting the attention of even more of your target audience to enter the room and join you if it wasn’t already packed full. You can read more about this, by the way, in my article: The Two Rooms of Social Media.

What we’re learning from this is the value of a community over an audience, which doesn’t require getting your customers into a physical space. This can also be achieved with your digital marketing activity, none more easily than social media, which is where we will focus on here.