A strong connection with a nurtured community can activate others.
The reason to build a community is to have closer ties with others. When it comes to asking, it becomes easier as there is a continuous trade in value.
When you take a responsibility and lead, things do happen. You have to build a community, to action a community.
I have looked at a number of articles that look at the role of building communities (for instance, have a read of why it’s better to feed your community, rather than thinking you have continually grow it). A large proportion of The Content Revolution looks at the role of building a community. This article looks at the evidence that is out there where there has to be a strong connection and affiliation to cause an action.
The Alternative
What is the alternative? The alternative is the get rich quick, short cut to success and ‘ways to’ game the system posts that are awash on your timeline everyday. The past 48 hours I have seen ads telling me to write a book to make more customers, build 1,000 subscribers everyday and Elite PPC (whatever that is). Everything is centred from a place of take, selfishness and short-termism.
A Vested Interest In A Community, Creates Action
When there is shared mindfulness, it leads to shared responsibility.
This is something that regional press title Manchester Evening News (MEN) did after the Manchester Arena attack in May. MEN set up the We Stand Together Fund with the anticipated hope to raise £250,000. The fund has so far resulted in over £6m (it achieved £1m in the first 24 hours). The money is to be distributed to the families of those killed and injured in the terrorist attack.
The reason I am highlighting this is that it represents an initiative started by an organisation (MEN) that has a continually vested interest within a community. This led to an action that produced a return above and beyond their initial expectations.
Whilst brands are allocating budgets away from regional press and into the safety net of social media channels that don’t have any affiliation within communities, something holds true. A regional newspaper has far stronger links within a community, rather than thinking that the answer is to always target a demographic group via Facebook. The value of community is when there is a real sense of shared empathy.
Keeping the regional newspaper focus still intact, I spoke to Business Editor from the Bournemouth Daily Echo, Darren Slade on the role of having a vested interest in the local business community.
Darren explained, “Regional newspapers have been around a long time — 117 years in the case of the Echo — so everybody locally knows them.”
“You also see our billboards outside newsagents many times on any journey around town. But our strength is not just that brand recognition — it is that we have been making connections in that community for all that time, whether it is taking pictures at schools or running amateur football and cricket results. Our target demographic has basically been everybody in that community.”
“In our area we have got a strong start-up scene and a big creative and digital sector, as…
