Building a Community Around a Specific Design Niche

How to build a thriving community in 2025 (w/o burning out or wasting time)? Previously, I shared why I believe intentional community building will be the next big competitive advantage. But how do you actually build a meaningful community that drives real value for you and your members? After running dozens of events (from casual meetups to sponsored gatherings with Fortune 500 companies), here are the practical steps I’ve learned along the way: 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 • Your community should solve a specific problem or fulfill a deep need. • Are you bringing together early-stage founders struggling with fundraising? • Sales leaders who want better strategies without being stuck in echo chambers? • Solo consultants looking for support and referrals? Without a clear purpose, you’ll attract a scattered audience with no real reason to engage. Tip: Define the ONE outcome people should get from being in your community. If you can’t explain it in one sentence, it’s too broad. 𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 > 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 Bigger isn’t always better. The best communities prioritize quality over quantity. People come back because they trust the room will always be full of the right people. • A 15-person dinner with high-caliber individuals is more valuable than a 300-person networking event with random attendees. • A niche Slack or WhatsApp group of engaged members beats a massive, dead LinkedIn group. Tip: Make joining a privilege, not a right. Qualify before. 𝟯. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀𝗸 Your community shouldn’t just be about you. It should be about them. • Share valuable insights, templates, or playbooks for free. • Introduce members to each other based on shared goals. • Feature their wins and amplify their stories. Tip: If you make it easy for people to win inside your community, they will want to stay, and invite others. 𝟰. 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 Not all communities need a Slack group or a Discord. Some work best as: • Monthly in-person meetups • Exclusive WhatsApp or Telegram chats • Weekly Zoom masterminds Tip: Choose the format based on how your ideal members prefer to engage. The easier it is for them, the faster it grows. 𝟱. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 The biggest mistake? Launching a community and letting it die. Keep the momentum going by: • Hosting consistent events or discussions (weekly, monthly, quarterly) • Bringing in guest speakers or experts to share insights • Encouraging members to lead discussions and share their own knowledge Tip: Every thriving community needs a mix of content, connection, and contribution to keep engagement high. 2025 is the year of intentional community building. Those who invest in it now will have an unfair advantage. #sales #marketing #startups #events

I often see people who misinterpret social media as a community building tool. It can be used as such, but very tough to do. (and most people who think they are doing it right are just building another distribution outlet — which is great, but different from building a community) It requires a slightly different approach than the average social strategy. Social Platforms (like X & LinkedIn) • Open networks • Content dependent • Great because people are usually spending lots of their time there • Tough to stand out since you’re competing against the algorithm, other creators, brands, and everyone else in the feed Community Platforms (like Discord, Slack, Circle) • Usually closed networks • Dependent on user engagement • Great for consolidating your core group of members • Very tough to maintain over time since you need people to come back to your specific group (even tougher if engagement is declining) Ok, so how do you use social platforms top build an online community? 1/ Define your community 2/ Share it on your social accounts, in your bio, etc. 3/ Align your content around this community and what they love 4/ When you create your content, keep this specific community in mind 5/ Share updates publicly just like you would within a Discord channel 6/ Allocate a good chunk of time per day to community management 7/ Nurture your most engaged followers by supporting their content 8/ Make introductions directly in the feed wherever possible 9/ Use your platform to elevate others in your community 10/ Introduce group language that people can use How do you know when you’re doing it right? • People will use your account to discover others with similar interests • People will use your language and phrases in their posts • People will use the comments section of your posts like a forum • People will host meetups or connect with one another IRL at events • People will often tag you in content related to your community In closing, Yes, you can use social platforms like X & LinkedIn to build an online community. But it requires much more effort than just posting content about your brand or the problem you solve. You’ve got to constantly keep the community you’re serving top of mind, put in the time to nurture your members, and be consistent over a long period of time.

Serving a niche? Start building a community...yesterday. If your startup caters to a specific industry or customer segment, there’s no better time than right now to create a space where those people can connect, share, and grow. But before you spin up a Facebook group or Discord channel, here are a few hard earned lessons that can make (or break) your efforts: 1. People > Brands Communities need faces, not just logos. Be present. Build trust by offering value beyond your product. The more connected people feel to you, the more likely they’ll explore what you’re building. 2. Pick Your Platform Wisely Your customers might live on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Discord or somewhere else entirely. Choose your “home base” based on where they already hang out. Expand later. 3. The First Year Is a Grind Seed conversations. Reply to every post. Clean up spam. Keep showing up. Your energy is the fuel in year one. 4. Public vs. Private...Choose Carefully Public groups = discovery, awareness, and light engagement. Private groups = deeper discussion, networking, and stronger connections. You can do both, but know your goals before you click "Create." 5. Protect the Vibe Don’t spam your own group with promotions. Allow competitor discussion. Encourage memes (when they fit). People join communities to connect, not get pitched. We added a podcast and in-person events as we gained more popularity, which has been a major life to both my personal and professional brand. Already building (or built) a community? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you. Also, if you're in the boating/watersport industry, feel free to join us!-> https://lnkd.in/g96Di-5E