This year at #Megaphone18, I had the chance to present a session about online community, well really lead a roundtable discussion, but they sat in rows like a classroom, so I’m going with it. (Hey, I stood at the front of the room and drank a Dr. Pepper while I presented and didn’t burp… small victories people)

The conference host knows I love COMMUNITY and I was so honored when she asked me to lead this session/discussion.

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received came last year after this conference when a friend tagged me in a share on Twitter after listening to a podcast of a true people gatherer. She told me the gal being interviewed reminded her of me. I was honored, but I also felt a calling to continue to live that out. If she, someone who knows me well, sees me as a people gatherer/ community creator, then I need to keep living that out. I own that now as part of my personal brand and try to live it out every chance I get. Its why its part of my blog motto – bridge builder (people gatherer), solution seeker, everyday encourager.

As a good session host, I had 2 pages of notes. I know myself well enough to just put it on paper and be prepared. It was meant to be informal, so I didn’t have slides prepared and really want to treat the time I had like I do any of my big sister chats – with a beverage of choice across a table.

Before I got started with what I thought was going to be the bulk of my session, I had 5 things I wanted to share. These 5 things were pieces I wanted to make sure I was able to verbalize before we dug into any specifics.

•   #1 (ALWAYS) – COMMUNITY MATTERS BECAUSE PEOPLE MATTER
  • I could add so much here and yet nothing at all. People Matter. The end, end of story. Just pay attention to people. Love them like they need to be loved. Love them like you like to be loved. Show up. Put down the phone. Listen, care, respond.
• Don’t be a community leech, be a giver.
  • share the comment love. take some time each day or a couple times a week to get on social media with the sole intent of comment love. Yes, people like a like and need them, but they need engagement. Click on the link and read their post or check out their new adventure. Make a comment, interact with them. We all look forward to the little word bubble with a number by it. We want to see who came for the conversation. But, if you join a group participate fully in what they have to offer and in digital, online community spaces that means interacting digitally
• People know when you play nice in the sandbox, not just dump your stuff.
  • This may direct back more to the previous point, but don’t just drop your goods and run. When you are in a community part of the luxury of being in that group is give and take. Yes, participate in the link ups and sharing what you’ve posted… that’s a benefit of an online community. But, come back and see what others posted – read their posts, pin it to your boards if it matches with your content, share your thoughts and expertise, give advice and provoke thought. Never see you offering to help as someone taking something you learned and being better than you. That’s community! We make each other better by sharing what and who we know.
• Build from authenticity and transparency
  • I’m not really a fake it til you make it gal. Just tell people you don’t know what you are doing and that you are still learning. They might be the one that can teach you!
• Learning something new may mean giving up something else.
  • Every decision we make has consequences – they could be good or bad, but there are consequences to our decisions. Life has chapters and seasons and they don’t all look the same; that’s why they change. Be where you are right now. Be all in. Be present. Be available.

My attendees were awesome. So much good discussion was had around these 5 topics and then we dug in a little to a few pieces that people in the room wanted to discuss:

• Group Pinterest Boards – were they worth it
• Insta Stories – what’s the deal
• Facebook Live – is it necessary
• everyone uses digital tools differently – how were some in the room choosing to use tools for their brands and businesses?
• you don’t have to do all the things (I said it in my whisper voice) – know where your audience is, what they use and be awesome there (see point 5 above).
  • We had kids stores, party venues, ranches, runners, hiking expedition leaders, foodies, chefs, psychologists, wedding venues, stay at home moms all in the same room. And, we talked through how our audiences are present in some, but not all of the popular platforms. Open an account, check them out, but don’t feel like you have to be fully present in all the places. Because we want you to be fully present in the places you are going to be.
• people do business with people
  • its why we have blogs and tell stories. For our wedding venue team, we talked about how these 2 great ladies are part of the memories of all of their brides. Their repeat customers probably come from siblings of one bride and word of mouth to their friends. The venue is beautiful, but the love and hospitality of these people are part of the package. Same for the party venue and psychologist. For our runners and hikers, we know you don’t just go spend a Saturday training or trailing in the woods with just anyone. Yes, many people sell a product, but they want to know the stories of the poeple behind the product. How is it used every day? What does it look like behind the scenes of your company? What is a “day in the life” like at your place?  So many of our posts and podcasts are so polished, people want to know that you are real and have a “case of the Mondays” on Thursday where you don’t want to do anything but watch TV or read a book.
• write/ post about what people are talking about
  • other sessions during the weekend talked about how to search for popular topics and find keywords and prompts that could give you writing topics. Just follow what those sessions (ie Taylor Bradford) taught us. But, pay attention to just generally what people in your feed are concerned about whether its a national topic, local, regional, seasonal or random. If you have something you’ve already written, put it back out there. Or, if you know someone else has already been through it, connect the two people. AS we say at bigpittstop, “build the bridge.” I LOVE to connect people whether it’s for a job, to solve an issue, to share knowledge or just a random opportunity. When you are in it for people and actually listen to what they are saying and can even read between the lines, you know how to connect.
• tools people are using to share and promote
  • we did a little round robin here to see what people do to share and promote other’s work. Many mentioned adding a listing to a weekly link up and then scrolling through or coming back and scrolling through the other listings. Many use Tailwind app to schedule their Pinterest posts and add other’s pots to that mix. Someone suggested spending a few minutes each time they go into Instagram or other platforms to post they spend a few minutes scrolling and sharing comment love. Some have monthly or weekly rhythms where they do certain maintenance things each day or on a certain day just to keep it from all getting overwhelming. Hootsuite, buffer and sprout social were other scheduling tools mentioned during the weekend that people use to schedule content.
• just get back to writing – new content means better SEO, it gives you things to post, it gets you back in the saddle. It’s like riding a bike, but you have to get the bike out of the garage and sit on it.
• Be ok with others getting what you are working towards. Cheer them on and invite them into your process. In a community, other’s successes are your successes!
  • It’s hard. we all have lists sitting on our desks and in our heads in our dream space. We are all working towards similar, but different goals. When one person in your tribe makes a win, it makes your tribe better. That person will often share their struggles and what successes pushed them over the edge. But cheer them on, fan the flame. Not to ride their coattails, but to simply be a fan.

The room was full of newbies and oldtimers; bloggers, authors, social media mavens and minds full of curiosities. We didn’t even talk about money or monetization. We just shared simple facts that we are all learning and really championed the idea of just showing up and being present in your community. Its really what matters most.

What community, tribes or groups are you part of?

I recently launched a new community – Arkansas Influencers – where we will gather online and share ideas, support each other and when the opportunity arises, share the stories of Arkansas through paid sponsorships. Join us, add value and be part of the conversation of making our community better and sharing about AR.