5 steps to creating community

To start the FIRST Marketing Monday… I will be sharing a handful of tips on creating community and how important it truly is!

It is our human nature to have the desire to belong and to be apart of something far bigger than ourselves. I challenge you to be intentional about creating community in your own life… today!

Webster defines community as “a unified body of individuals and a group of people with common interests.” There are many different kinds of communities that we will belong to in our lives. As we grow and our interests/stages of life change, our communities may change. The key is to remain in communities no matter where we are at in our lives. Connecting with other people is one of the most crucial aspects of our lives (in my opinion)!

I want to share with you a handful of tips that I personally think are helpful when building a community!

5 steps to creating community (or joining one)

1.) Surround yourself with like minded people

This does not mean that you need to find a group of people who agree on everything and have the same exact goals and outlook on life. No! This means that it is important to surround yourself with people with the same type of vision that you have in this specific area. People who will encourage you and build you as well as challenge you. For instance, if you are wanting to create a book club which would be a community of people who love to read and have the desire to come together as a group in order to relate and connect on an intellectual level about the chosen title of the month… You wouldn’t have people in this community that hate to read and/or complain about having to do it. That wouldn’t make much sense!

2.) Join an association

Associations are a great way to meet people and to network with these like minded individuals! There are associations for all kinds of things. If you’re a wedding photographer – find a wedding association in your area to join and if there isn’t one… start one!! Small businesses NEED to help one another and this is an awesome way to meet other entrepreneurs in your area!

3.) Share purposeful content

Communities don’t only occur at meetings or over coffee. They can be created by those that read your blog or follow you on social media… The people that you are helping to lead by creating content that is both purposeful and helpful to them. If you’re a wedding photographer and you are posting helpful information for couples planning their wedding… You are creating community for those couples and they don’t even know it! Be creative and find a way to bring the couples together in an avenue where they are able to relate to one another. After all, they have a common interest in mind… THEIR WEDDING! If you’re a photographer that teaches workshops to other photographers then you are also creating a community of like minded individuals who could benefit from interacting with one another! Be purposeful with what you are sharing and start leading your community!

4.) Be yourself

This tip is very important! Be true to yourself and create/join communities that reflect who you are and what you’re passionate about! If you’re a photographer… get out there and meet other photographers! Create a group of photographer friends that can meet once a week or month or whenever works to connect with! There is something insanely encouraging about having other photographers to relate to! You have someone to talk technical stuff with that not everyone else in your life may have an interest in. Not to mention the joy of having other artists to push you and encourage you! Be sure to be personable, inviting, and sincere with those in your community!

5.) Step outside of your comfort zone

This is key and may be the most crucial tip I can give! Creating community can be intimidating for most people… I know it is for me! If you’re not an outspoken extrovert it can be tough to step outside of your comfort zone and approach others or even to join a community that has already been created. However, the scariest things usually have the greatest rewards once we overcome the fear and take that leap!

All of these steps can be applied when creating community in any area of your life… It doesn’t only apply to photographers and those in the wedding industry. You can fill in the blank with whatever type of community you are looking to create and the tips work the same!

I hope this helps anyone with the desire to be intentionally creating community! If you have any additional tips please share them!!

“You have everything you need to build something far bigger than yourself.”

– Seth Godin