How do you get people to genuinely care about your brand when the algorithms seem to be working against you?

It's a question I was asked recently, and the answer isn't necessarily more advertising, better hashtags or finding the perfect time to post. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to reach more people that we forget about the relationships we're building with the people who are already there.

In this episode of the Talk Podcast, we're exploring the role of community in marketing, why having an audience isn't quite the same as having a community, and how creating opportunities for genuine conversations can help people connect with your business, remember what you do and keep coming back.

Community Is More Than a Facebook Group

When we talk about building community, it's easy to immediately think about starting a Facebook group or creating a membership. But community can exist in plenty of places, including your email list, networking circles, events and even among customers who return to your business regularly.

What matters is how people feel when they interact with you. Do they feel welcome to ask questions? Are they comfortable joining conversations? Do they feel connected to the people behind your business? Those experiences are what turn occasional interactions into relationships.

An Audience and a Community Are Different

You can have thousands of followers and still have very little community. Equally, a business with a smaller audience might have people who regularly recommend it, attend events, share content, and genuinely want to see it succeed.

An audience might watch your latest video and move on. Someone who feels part of your community might share that video with a friend, ask you a question or come back weeks later to tell you they tried your suggestion. That participation is what makes the relationship different, and it's worth paying attention to rather than measuring everything by follower numbers.

Give Your Marketing Somewhere to Land

One of the things I teach through my Marketing Tree Method is that reaching people is only part of the picture. We also need to think about what happens after someone discovers us and whether we're giving them a reason to stay connected.

Think about how the different parts of your marketing ecosystem work together. Someone might discover you through social media, learn more through a podcast, explore your website and then join your email list or attend an event. In my own ecosystem, communities such as Business, Business, Business and the Ideas to Impact Marketing Circle give people opportunities to interact beyond simply consuming content.

Those connections help people develop a relationship with your business that doesn't depend entirely on whether an algorithm decides to show them your next post.

Start With a Conversation

Building community doesn't have to become another enormous project on your to-do list. You don't necessarily need a new platform, an elaborate strategy or a perfectly organised membership before you begin.

Sometimes it starts with asking a useful question and actually responding when someone answers. It might mean introducing two people who could help each other, sharing a resource or participating regularly in a community that already exists. The important thing is giving people genuine opportunities to connect, rather than waiting until you've built something elaborate.

Give People a Reason to Participate

If every conversation in your community is about buying something, people will quickly realise they've walked into a sales room. There's nothing wrong with promoting your products or services, but people need other reasons to keep turning up.

They might enjoy learning something new, meeting other business owners, getting answers to questions or sharing their own experiences. Think about the communities you enjoy being part of yourself. What makes you want to return? Those are the sorts of experiences worth creating for the people who connect with your business.

Your Community Is a Listening Post

One of my favourite things about community is how much you can learn simply by paying attention to the conversations happening around you.

The questions people ask, the things they're confused about, their successes and the challenges they're working through can all help shape your marketing. Those conversations might become your next podcast topic, a useful resource, a video or something you add to your content plan. You're hearing directly from the people you want to help, which is far more useful than constantly guessing what they might need.

Build Relationships Beyond the Algorithm

We don't control social media platforms, and we certainly don't control when their algorithms change. But we can build relationships that encourage people to actively seek out our content, visit our websites and stay connected with our businesses.

That means showing up as a real person. Share your knowledge, explain things in your own way, contribute to conversations and let people get to know the experience behind your business. Polished content has its place, but genuine relationships are built through the interactions that happen around it.

Your Challenge

Take a look at your marketing ecosystem and think about where people can actually connect with your business, rather than simply consume your content.

Ask yourself:

• Where are people already having conversations with us?
• Do we make it easy for people to ask questions and participate?
• Are we giving people a reason to keep coming back?
• What could we do to strengthen the community we already have?
• Is there an existing community where we could become more involved?

Choose one small action. Start a conversation, respond to someone who's reached out, introduce people or create an opportunity for your audience to participate.

And if you don't have a community space of your own, you can always come and join the conversation in Business, Business, Business.

Community doesn't have to start with hundreds of people or a complicated plan. It can begin with one useful conversation and grow as you continue showing up, sharing your knowledge and making room for others to participate.

Highlights

• 00:00 Why Community Matters
• 00:48 What Community Really Means
• 01:25 Audience vs Community
• 02:15 Giving People a Reason to Stay
• 02:43 Community in Your Marketing Ecosystem
• 03:45 Start With a Conversation
• 04:25 Give People a Reason to Participate
• 05:12 Community as a Listening Post
• 05:55 Building Beyond the Algorithm
• 06:20 Your Community Challenge