Build a Community & Grow Your Standout Business – Tara Gentile

When you have a small business, you’re always on the lookout for your next customer. They might pop up at a networking event, they could subscribe to your email list, they might fill out the contact form on your website.

Too often, knowing where your next customer is going to come from seems unpredictable at best and, at worst, like a huge gamble.

Luckily, there’s a way to ensure you always know where your next customer is coming from—and that your existing customers purchase from you more often—and that’s by building a community.

All sorts of businesses can benefit from making community-building part of their growth strategy and many can benefit from making it part of their business model, too. Whether it’s an informal community (like an email list or Instagram hashtag), a brand-driven community (like a free Facebook group that brings together people in love with the same brand and values), or a dedicated community (like a local group, interest-based social network, or a support group, your business can cultivate deeper connections with existing and potential customers.

Of course, an engaged community doesn’t just happen. If you want to reap the benefits of community-building for your business, you need a plan.

In Build a Community & Grow Your Standout Business, Tara Gentile, the founder of the small business support & social network CoCommercial, will share the must-dos, nice-to-haves, and compelling extras you need to make the most of the community you build around your business. By the end of this class, you’ll have a plan for making community-building an integral part of your marketing strategy—and always knowing where your next customer will come from.

Tara will cover:

• Simple ways to generate community without a group or forum
• Why and how to level up into a dedicated space for your business’s community
• How to create a clear reason Why for joining or participating in your community
• The systems and procedures you’ll need to manage the workload
• How to avoid community management burnout
• How to plan to earn more through your community—whether that’s through charging for membership, selling add-on offers, or generating more word of mouth marketing

Stop waiting for your next customer to come to you and start building a community that brings new business your way every day.

Lessons

• 1 Class Introduction Duration:21:32
• 2 Why the Market is Primed for Your Community Duration:18:55
• 3 How Community Can Transform Your Business Duration:16:39
• 4 Why This Isn’t About You Duration:24:18
• 5 What Community Means for Your Business Duration:09:12
• 6 Take Advantage of Network Effects with Mighty Networks Founder Gina Bianchini Duration:32:31
• 7 Interview and Q&A with Gina Bianchini Duration:34:53
• 8 Craft Your Community Vision Duration:11:05
• 9 Craft Your Community Vision Define the Boundaries of Your Community Duration:39:23
• 10 Invite Your Charter Members Inside Duration:19:03
• 11 Create Your Community Story Duration:18:25
• 12 Hot Seat with Mollie Fagan Duration:06:17
• 13 Discover Why People Use Your Community Duration:20:16
• 14 Discover Why People Join Your Community Duration:14:44
• 15 Craft the Right Message (Hot Seat with Nadia Santiago) Duration:15:38
• 16 Make Your Members Feel at Home
  Duration:16:51
• 17 Design Your Community Onboarding Systems Duration:13:36
• 18 Hot Seat with Ayelet Marinovich Duration:16:08
• 19 Craft Your Member Support Philosophy Duration:14:51
• 20 Craft Your Member Support Plan Duration:08:38
• 21 Choose Your Platform Duration:37:56
• 22 Create Your Member and Contribution Plan Duration:23:01
• 23 Develop Your Community Policies Duration:13:13
• 24 Deal with the Bad Eggs & Misfits Duration:10:19
• 25 Communicate Who Belongs in Your Community Duration:10:56
• 26 Create a Context for Joining the Community Duration:34:47
• 27 Retain the Members You Have Duration:11:50
• 28 Hot Seat with Alice Karolina Duration:15:26
• 29 How Community Can Transform Your Brand Duration:10:14
• 30 Support Your Customer’s Journey Through Community Duration:18:54
• 31 Decide Whether Your Community is Free or Paid Duration:21:29
• 32 Leverage Your Community for Other Offers Duration:18:45

Tara McMullin