Sali Wijesinghe’s Post

Community building is no longer a luxury. It’s essential for the growth of your business. Does the process seem daunting? Overwhelming? The truth is that building a strong community for your business is simpler than you think. Avoid: ← Focusing only on selling and neglecting the customer experience. ← Trying to attract everyone instead of a specific group. ← Ignoring member feedback and failing to provide value. Instead: → Define your community’s purpose and dream outcome. → Engage with members regularly and create value. → Build a roadmap that guides members to success. → Create opportunities for meaningful interaction. Focus on these strategies for the first 1-3 months: 1. Identify your community’s purpose. ↳ Reflect on what outcome you want for your members and what value you provide them. 2. Create a clear onboarding process. ↳ Ensure members know what to expect from the beginning and have a clear path to follow. 3. Engage your members with valuable content. ↳ Offer guides, discussions, events, and opportunities for learning and growth. 4. Foster active community participation. ↳ Encourage feedback, create spaces for members to connect, and recognize achievements. 5. Provide consistent support and follow-ups. ↳ Regular check-ins, structured events, and a team member dedicated to client success will keep engagement high and churn low. P.S. Remember, community building is a journey, not a destination. Stay focused, provide value, and enjoy the process. P.P.S. If you don't want to deal with it yourself & are looking for a shortcut, feel free to DM me and see if I can help. 😊

Given our collective efforts to strengthen downtown, we want to emphasize the reasons why your involvement with the DBA is crucial. Join us and be part of the momentum! Together, we can achieve more for our downtown community. Joining the Downtown Business Association is a crucial step toward cultivating a more robust and dynamic downtown community. Here are several key benefits that businesses can gain by becoming members: ◾ Networking Opportunities: Membership provides ample chances to connect with local businesses, potential customers, and community stakeholders. These connections often lead to collaborations, partnerships, and increased visibility. ◾ Advocacy and Representation: Through collective action, the association can advocate for policies and initiatives that benefit downtown businesses. Members gain a stronger voice in addressing issues like infrastructure improvements, safety concerns, and regulatory changes. ◾ Marketing and Promotion: The association organizes events, campaigns, and activities to drive foot traffic downtown. Members can leverage these initiatives to enhance visibility and attract more customers. ◾ Professional Development: Many associations offer workshops, seminars, and training sessions to help members improve skills and stay current with industry trends. This ongoing development is crucial for business growth and sustainability. ◾ Community Engagement: Membership facilitates active engagement with the local community, fostering goodwill and providing insights into customer needs and preferences. ◾ Collaborative Opportunities: Collaboration among members can lead to innovative projects, shared resources, and mutually beneficial partnerships. Businesses working together can achieve more than they could individually. In conclusion, joining the Downtown Business Association is a strategic decision that offers numerous advantages for businesses seeking success in a downtown environment. From networking and advocacy to marketing support and professional development, association membership plays a pivotal role in enhancing individual business outcomes and the overall vitality of the downtown area.

Empowering Your Community Through Seamless Forum Integrations In today's fast-paced business environment, community engagement has become a vital element in achieving success. Whether you're a business executive, mid-level manager, or entrepreneur, understanding how to boost community engagement is crucial. #BusinessSuccess #businesssuccess #CommunityEngagement #CommunityEngagement #ForumIntegrations #ForumIntegrations #generativeartificialintelligence #GenerativeAI #UserExperience #UserExperience

COMMUNITY RELATIONS- WHERE TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING The idea behind public meetings is either to pass information, recieve information or influence some decisions. In any of these situations, it important to choose where to hold the meeting for maximum impact. Consider accessibility, safety, availability of services like toilets. Holding such meetings at the communities backyard makes them feel valued. A place like under a sacred tree in the village will make the community feel that their culture valued and in return they will corporate. Incase you wish to influence certain section of the community, you can have the meeting offsite to a hotel or your offices, but, at the end hold in villages. Brand the venue with your corporate colours, have some corporate give-aways, plan a tree planting ceremony before the meeting. Consult widely with community to unstand their structures and protocols and follow them strictly. Use local master of ceremony who understands the community better. Acknowledge the community hereos, mention the recent happenings in the society, empthasise with them. Never wish away any comment by the participants, appreciate and interogate. Visit the community valued site as part of your tour to the community.

The biggest benefit of networking isn't business opportunities. It's community. I was asked about the purpose of our monthly Long Room event (that's been going on for about 7 years) at this month's installment. I fumbled through an answer in the moment, but thinking about it later I realized the real answer for me: It's a way to create community. It's certainly an informal, not-too-organized, just-once-a-month, community. But it's a group of people that are there to connect with each other. And right now, lots of research points to a huge void where we used to have communities. Membership in civic organizations, faith-based organizations, and other community groups has fallen. And much as I'm a fan of LinkedIn, social platforms can not replace the power of our in-person interactions in groups. My suggestion as we end 2024 and start 2025: Find ways to connect with others in your local area. Find communities to join and give to - I promise you'll get a lot more back in return. And if you can't find a place to join...make a place for others to join! Andy Crestodina Catherine Altman Morgan Megan Knee Haley Sutliff Danny Schuman Mark J. Carter Goldberg Joe Martin Keith McGorisk Anna Carbonara Zach Person Joshua Phillips Scott Dayton

Darius Fong and I made a list of 9 ideas that you can run with to build a SUPER loyal community this year for your brand: He started Run Tech Club in 2020 as a gathering point for LA entrepreneurs and pre-entrepreneurs to connect over shared interests in health, personal growth and technology. Now they have over 700 members across the country. 1. Create a multi-faceted community experience Don't limit your community to a single interest or activity. Explore how you can weave multiple aspects of your brand’s ethos or your audience’s interests into the community experience. 2. Harness the power of shared activities for connection Organize regular events or challenges around these activities to encourage participation, interaction, and a sense of achievement among members. 3. Think beyond traditional business models Consider initiatives like mentorship programs, community funds, or support networks that contribute value beyond your core product or service offerings. 4. Prioritize diversity and inclusion from the start Actively seek and encourage participation from underrepresented groups within your community. This could involve outreach programs, partnerships with organizations focused on diversity, or highlighting diverse voices within your community platforms. 5. Reimagine retail and brand experiences Design your physical or virtual spaces to encourage community interaction. This could mean hosting events, workshops, or creating areas within your store or website that encourage customers to engage with each other and your brand on a deeper level. 6. Engage in authentic collaborations and partnerships Seek out partners who share your brand’s values and have communities that would benefit from what you offer. Collaborate on events, content, or products that serve both communities’ interests and foster a sense of mutual growth. 7. Focus on organic growth and co-creation Encourage members to lead initiatives, share their expertise, or contribute content to foster a sense of ownership and investment in the community. 8. Cultivate a mindset of sustainable growth This is fueled by the continuous exchange of value between a brand and its community. Identify key actions or contributions your community members can make that add value to the community. Incentivize these actions through recognition, rewards, or opportunities for greater involvement in the community. 9. Embrace legacy building through community Consider the long-term impact of your community-building efforts. Foster an environment where members can grow, lead, and contribute to the community's legacy. ___ I write a weekly newsletter where I share examples of how the best founders and marketers built their loyal followings from the start (link in the comments) Hope it's helpful.

Community matters in business. It's more than a concept. It's a core strategy. Successful businesses understand this. Businesses with strong communities stand out. Attracting more followers. This isn't by chance. It's by design. Engaged communities support business growth. They provide feedback, foster loyalty, and drive innovation. Successful companies know this. They engage. They listen. They evolve. Their communities are their base. This engagement fuels growth. It fosters loyalty. It inspires innovation. Building a community takes time. It's an investment. An investment in people. In relationships. In the future. It's about creating an environment where dialogue flourishes. Where feedback is valued. Where loyalty is nurtured. In 2024 communities can be vast. They can be across the globe. Yet, they can feel as close as a local neighborhood. They're where your brand comes to life. Where it gains meaning. And purpose. These communities become your brand's advocates. They spread the word. They defend you. They're your most authentic form of marketing. Because when a message comes from the community, it resonates deeper. It feels genuine. Because it is. So, cultivate your community with care. Engage with sincerity. Listen with intent. Grow together. Because when your community thrives, so does your business.

🤝 A key principle of community ops: if community is part of your business model, you need to assess its ROI just like any other part of the business. The need for community is fundamental to being human. But with the rise of the internet, the nature of community has changed. From the first social networks to the pervasively interconnected online world of today, there has been a shift toward communities of interest, often as a replacement for communities of place. As part of this shift, community as a service has emerged in the modern business world, with the companies leading this drive building communities of interest around their products. For these companies, community is a competitive advantage, creating authentic connections and a real sense of shared identity among their customers - and unlocking unprecedented scale and value as a result. If community is a business initiative, its value has to be assessed like any other business initiative: - to determine its effectiveness - to ensure that resources are being allocated appropriately to it  - to identify areas for improvement But measuring the impact of a community is hard! Unlike the outcome of an isolated program or project, a community's impact is often multifaceted, nuanced, accretive, and emotional. Some tough questions that immediately arise: 💡 How do you define positive outcomes, and how do you capture data about them?  💡 How do you tie the network effects of the community back to the business strategy? 💡 What are the appropriate metrics to evaluate intangibles like cohesion, trust, and social capital? It begins with defining a clear and strongly-held vision for your community. Can you answer these questions? 👋 Who is your community and what is its purpose?  🤲 What do you want to do for and with your community?  👏 What does success look like in your community? Value is an inherently qualitative concept and will always elude quantitative evaluation. But assessing what you’ve done in the context of what you set out to do is a great framework to start to understand your community’s value. Next time: how to measure what matters!

"The Power of Community: How Resilience Unleashed, LLC is Revolutionizing Business Practices" "The Hurt Locker Smoke Pit" has crafted a business model with community involvement and support at its core. This strategic decision forms a fundamental pillar for us. Integrating community engagement into every aspect of its operations, we contribute to society's greater good, build a fiercely loyal customer base, and cultivate a positive brand image. This unique approach goes beyond traditional business-customer dynamics and establishes a deeply mutual relationship. Customers are not simply treated as transactions but as valued individuals whose opinions and values are respected. As a result, customers feel genuinely seen and appreciated. This creates an unbreakable bond of trust and loyalty, transforming them into passionate advocates of the company's mission and values within their own networks. One of the exceptional advantages of emphasizing community support is the ability to stand out in a highly competitive market. We have successfully established a distinctive brand identity centered around empathy, resilience, and transformation. By actively partnering with mental health awareness-aligned organizations, hosting community events, and directly engaging with community members, the company showcases an unwavering commitment to making a tangible difference. This resonates strongly with customers who prioritize supporting businesses that contribute positively to societal challenges. Through effective communication of these efforts and their impact, we strengthen our brand image, attract a loyal customer base, and share the company's values wholeheartedly. In addition, the prioritization of community involvement keeps Resilience Unleashed, LLC firmly connected to the needs and preferences of its customer base. This ensures that the company's offerings are always relevant and impactful. This invaluable feedback loop enables continuous improvement and innovation, propelling the company to develop solutions that resonate with its community. As a result, "The Hurt Locker Smoke Pit" maintains its position as a leader in its field and sets a new standard for how businesses can and should operate within their communities. This business model drives economic success and paves the way for a more empathetic and resilient society. We showcase the profound impact that a purpose-driven business can have beyond its immediate commercial objectives. By seamlessly integrating community support into its business strategy, the company exemplifies how businesses can become catalysts for positive change, ultimately contributing to the betterment of society.