167: Transform Your Approach to Community-Building with Gina Bianchini
How do we use technology to facilitate real relationships? That’s the big question driving Gina Bianchini’s epic entrepreneurial quest. Today we’re talking about the magic phrase that will transform what you’re building, the difference between social networks versus social media, why a course is not a community, how to avoid working too hard as the host, and why you might benefit from building a small, tight-knit group before trying to grow a bigger audience.
As Gina writes in her new book, Purpose, “Community takes things from incremental to exponential: If a community of just five people each helped the other members get just one percent better every day, that one percent compounded by four over a year ends up making everyone two million times better.”
More About Gina: Gina Bianchini is the CEO and Founder of Mighty Networks, where creators, entrepreneurs, and brands use cultural software to build digital communities. She’s also the creator of Community Design™, a proven strategy framework for understanding and growing communities online and in the real world. Over 8,000 people have taken her Community Design Masterclass where they learn how to build a community so valuable you can charge for it, and so well-designed it essentially runs itself. Today we’re talking about her new book, Purpose: Design a Community and Change Your Life.
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🌟3 Key Takeaways:
Fall in love with the expression, “So that we can . . .” This will help you more clearly communicate the transformation you are working toward while building new features and services in your business and/or community.
One of the worst things you can do is make membership about fandom, where members are active only in relationship with you as the host. A much more powerful value journey is facilitating connections with and for other members.
Community questions evoke meaningful responses and spark a connection between people. Try Gina’s “question generator” formula with two key elements: an unlocking phrase (e.g. name one thing, how do you know when, what was an unusual, what do you value most in a…, etc.) and a topic tied to the purpose of your community. For example: What’s your favorite book about meditation? What’s the first time you remember hearing the phrase generational wealth?
📝Permission: You do not have to produce a lot of content! Flip the script from producing content to convening human beings towards a common goal. This is one of the most profound shifts any of us can make, not just in building communities but how we approach life.
✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Gina defines your Ideal Member as the person who needs your community right now. “Remember, you’re not building a generic community. Everyone is not welcome. By definition, your Ideal Members already have a lot in common.” Jot down the qualities of your ideal member (how they think, what stage of life/business they’re at, core challenges, what they’ve already tried) and write about the transition they are currently experiencing.
📘Books Mentioned:
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
🔗Resources Mentioned:
Gina on the web, Instagram: @mightynetworks, Twitter: @MightyNetworks and @GiNab, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube
What Works with Tara McMullin: What is the creator economy? with Gina Bianchini
🎧Related Podcast Episodes:
Pivot 228: How I run my Business without Social Media and We're All In This Together—From Blame to Belonging with Mike Robbins
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