Building a community is perhaps one of the most powerful things you can do online. Today on social media platforms, you have the chance to connect with millions, if not billions of people online.
Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more let people follow you. People follow you because you add value to their lives. This action of adding value to their lives is what allows you to build a community.
But some people try to do too many things too quickly, which ends up spoiling all your efforts. Here are five mistakes that people commit while building communities online.
Don’t Try too Hard to Sell in the Beginning
When you start, you provide value for free. That is the norm and for a very good reason!
When you provide value for free, everyone is willing to give you a chance, or should I say that they are willing to sacrifice a few minutes of their life for an unknown person whose video’s Thumbnail and Title look pretty good. Suddenly, it sounds much more precious, right?
Another reason would be that when you provide value for free and people like it, you gain credibility.
Yes, credibility, and that’s powerful.
If you start selling something after gaining credibility, people will think, “If you provide so much free, how good the paid experience would be like!”
That’s where you want to be.
Many creators like Ali Abdaal, Matt D Avella, and more have successfully used this strategy to gain favourable responses from their audience or community about their products.
Don’t Try to Fake it
You should give absolutely give your everything to make the best content, but that doesn’t mean that you should project a false image of yours.
Social Media is the “highlight reel” of people you follow; it is not how they usually are unless you follow some incredibly real and genuine people, haha.
If you think you have to be a certain way to gain an audience, think again! Today more than ever, people are looking for other people like them; they want someone they can relate to, so yeah, your personality has its own place on the internet.
Being Inconsistent
When you start, you are already competing with thousands if not millions of people for attention. This is why when you get a chance, you need to make the most of it.
Being consistent allows you to hook in people in a more orderly manner. In the start, by being inconsistent, you risk people forgetting you, and that happens with everyone.
There are people who upload scarcely but still make it, but they are not the majority.
Be consistent, deliver quality, and you have the perfect start.
Not Engaging in a Meaningful Way
This is a tough one, but it had to be included.
In the beginning, people overdo and underdo things, which is also the case with engagement.
Sharing absolutely anything with no meaning or intention can go both ways. So, that’s something you should remember.
Not Having a Plan
The truth is, whether you have a plan or not, you are going to struggle, but without a plan, it’s more likely that you will get derailed from your original motive.
A plan will help you stay on the right path, which means being consistent, engaging and creating, and that is important.
Conclusion
Those were 5 mistakes that you shouldn’t make when you start community building.
If you are thinking about how you can be more consistent, check out our article on how we created a system to create short videos for multiple brands each week.