How to Nurture and Grow Your Community - Shane Dallas and Natalie Discala
1. HOW TO NURTURE AND
GROW YOUR
COMMUNITY
SHANE DALLAS AND NATALIE
DISCALA
2. 1 CONTENT
Quality content is the foundation of any website or
blog. If you want readers to keep coming back,
provide them with quality information they can’t
find anywhere else.
3. 2 BUILD TRUST
There are so many places to find information on
the Internet. Make your site a destination where
people know they can find reliable, authoritative
information, delivered in a friendly voice. Don’t be
afraid to tell the truth about an experience or
destination. Honest reporting will earn reader trust.
4. 3 GO WHERE YOUR
READERS ARE
Harness the power of social networks. Make sure
that your brand has a presence on the social
networks that make sense for you.
-Facebook
-Twitter
-Instagram
-Pinterest
-Vine
-Google+
-LinkedIn
-Tumblr
5. 4 COMMIT TO
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Social networks are feeds that run 24 hours a day,
7 days a week. If you establish a following on
Facebook or Twitter, it’s incumbent upon you to
be present on those networks, update regularly
and participate in the conversations that are
happening there.
6. 5 REACT & RESPOND
It can be tempting to use social networks to
constantly push out your content but you’ll never
build a community that way. It’s all about
relationships. Be sure to respond to comments and
questions on your social networks and your blog.
Think: Dialogue, not monologue.
7. 6 SOLICIT FEEDBACK
Ask your readers for their opinions. Find out what
they like, what they don’t like and what they’re
looking for more of. Social networks provide a
direct line of communication to your readers. Find
out what they want, then act accordingly!
8. 7 BE AUTHENTIC
Speak, tweet and post in your own voice. Don’t
auto-tweet out replies, rather craft thoughtful
responses. Avoid scheduling tweets and Facebook
posts in advance. Your presence on social media
should mean that you’re actually present.
9. 8 READ YOUR ANALYTICS
Stats from Google Analytics and Facebook
Insights can help you determine what content your
readership finds most engaging. Use this
information to better serve your community.
10. 9 BE INSPIRING
Be a positive voice that readers turn to to be
inspired, motivated and encouraged. Connect with
your readers on an emotional level.
11. 10 BE RELEVANT AND
ENTERTAINING
Don’t just tweet and post your own content. Share
information that’s relevant (even if from competitor
sources), newsworthy and just plain entertaining.
Not everything you say has to be ‘on brand
message’.