Fifteen Not-so-Secret Tips to Building a Community

I’ve almost always missed webinars. Live that is. Always catch them recorded. So imagine my delight when I caught Alok, live, on a Digital Vidya webinar on how to build a community – The story of the Rodinhoods. (Thanks, Asha!)

And from this inspiring webinar that I caught live, this afternoon, I would like to share a bit of what I learnt with all of you.

This is how it started, for me. I got a wake-up call from Asha’s post and registered immediately! There were some glitches but I called Ajay at Digital Vidya and he sorted them out in a flash! Thank you Ajay! Thank you Digital Vidya for such a fabulous webinar!

 

1. START SMALL

Each major movement, each huge corporation began small. It takes only one person to start something. So be patient. Don’t worry about numbers or scale. Think purpose, think vision, think service. Those are more important than volume. 

2. HAVE A PURPOSE, HAVE A MEANING 

Why are you building the community? How do you hope to help its potential members? Think about how you can serve them and lo, Behold! The Universe will conspire to make it happen. 

3. PERSEVERE! 

Nothing comes easy! Keep at it. DON”T FADE AWAY INTO OBLIVION! Your community needs you. So keep on going. That is a must if you want to build a community because it takes time and consistent effort. It takes grit. Your service will bear fruit so stay focused. Post often.

4. BE THE BRAND

You must embody your brand! You cannot be someone in your personal life, someone else in your professional sphere and a third person on your online persona! BE THAT ONE BRAND. Stand for something and stand for it everywhere! There’s power in a fist – five fingers that say the same thing – rather than five open fingers!

5. TELL IT AS YOU SEE IT!

Be bold. Be true to what you believe in and stand for! Share it like you really see it! Be open and share your opinions as they are. this makes you vulnerable but the net is all about being vulnerable, being who you really are deep down inside. the world is quick to spot an inconsistency, or confusion in your mind or a phony persona. 

 

6. GO OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY

Yeah, sounds contrary, doesn’t it? But Alok’s point is that when you participate and share in other forums, your understanding of your own community grows stronger. You understand better how to communicate with its members, what works, what doesn’t. In effect, you become a better community manager by being outside it, as well. 

7. LIVE THE BRAND

Emphasising this point, Alok gave the example of Sir Richard Branson and how he is so strongly himself – that is, his brand, at all times, in all roles. This makes him a larger-than-life brand. He is always RICHARD BRANSON. To the hilt!

Your community needs a clear identity and only you can provide it. So no stepping back and retiring into the shadows. Step out and be the cause, the company, the community that you espouse!

 

8. POST USEFUL CONTENT

The best content that attracts people and can be pivotal in building a community is content that is useful to its members. So don’t engage people for the sake of engaging them. Go that extra mile to understanding them, finding out what they need from you and posting content that’s of genuine use to them. they will bless you and keep coming back for more!

More than half a million people have used the Rodinhood ‘Funding Pitch Template’ for how to pitch to a VC! And they continue to use it and often express their gratitude!

 

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9. SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY

Remember: You are here to serve. The community is your effort to help people so try and see how you can help them. Do you have access to events, to books, to periodicals, to information that they don’t? Then post that and help them by giving them information that they would never have got. Give them access to the rich learning you have inside you in the true spirit of a servant. (Servant comes from French, ‘To serve’ and has no connotation of the way we use the word today – as a domestic.)

10. YOUR COMMUNITY IS THE HERO!

Your members are the real heroes, celebrate them. Give them their place in the sun. Be like the Founder of TED who know one knows but whose community is among the most powerful influencers and disseminators of knowledge in today’s world. Btw, how many of you know who the founder of TED is? Brownie points to you all! 

11. REWARD YOUR COMMUNITY

Offer your community members a sense of achievement by creating a system of rewards. Just like we have our tees and laptop skins at Rodinhoods, which cannot be bought but must be earned! These help you acknowledge those members who render service to the community in any form, for they are the real Rodinhood (or whatever you choose to call your members!), each one of them.

12. USE MEDIA EFFECTIVELY 

India has so many newspapers, magazines and online media. Do learn to use them effectively to garner some spotlight for your community. Start talking to journalists, follow bylines and build connections. Be useful to the journalists and not a spammer or they will ignore you. There is an excellent ppt on this by Alok, on the Rodinhoods site. Don’t forget to give it a read! 

 

13. BE INCLUSIVE

Include all the most unlikely people – they may or may not be members of your community. Rajesh autowallah from Gurgaon is a case in point. He attended one of the Rodinhoods Open Houses and has been featured extensively on the site. He is an autowallah with an analytical bent of mind who can quote stats about his passengers, believe it or not. He’s also available on call and is a saviour for women who need to get from point A to point B safely. These are people unlikely to be online but they offer a world view which is necessary for us to appreciate and empathise with.

14. GO OFFLINE

Online has to go offline to create real life bonding. Start off in your office or your garage or your lobby and see the ties that develop. We are still human enough for real faces and voices to make a difference! As soon as you go offline, you will see more involvement and engagement. Of course, this takes time,energy, effort and resources but it’s worth it. At Rodinhoods we meet often and go dutch on the expenses. 

15. LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANT, GET A CO-FOUNDER!

You need another soulmate for your community avatar! Rodinhoods is lucky to have our very own Asha Chaudhry as the co-founder! Even if it’s tough to find one, do search. Intent is important and as said earlier, the Universe does conspire in your favour! You just have to want it badly enough! Your co-founder should bring another perspective to the table and help you to be more grounded. You need honest and fearless feedback and someone to keep your nose to the f=grindstone (at least, every now and then). Your co-founder ought to be able to keep you on track. Members need more than one touchpoint in the community and he or she should be empathetic to others. 

So, don’t hesitate, don’t falter, just follow your heart and your gut and set up that blog or that community that you have always wanted but worried if you could do so. YOU CAN SERVE. YOU CAN BUILD. May the force be with you!

In this picture are some happy Rodinhooders (L to R): SriHarsha Bandaluppi, Senior Tech Consultant at Tecnova, Asha Chaudhry, Co-founder & Editor of TheRodinhoods, Pranav Bhatia of Stirring Minds, Anamika Joshi of Nailbites and Nidhi Kukreja, Visual Merchandiser, Shopper’s Stop, proudly displaying their Rodinhood tees which have been won through serving the community!

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The webinar recording can be watched here.

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