Top 10 Ways To Accelerate Community Growth

Sue Reddel & Diana LaskarisCo-Founders of Food Travelist

Why Do you Want A Thriving Community?• People are hungry for real communities that share their

personal interests

• A thriving community offers you greater opportunities and the perception of being an influencer and expert in your area

• The primary way to make money is to have influence over a large number of people with common interests that can be marketed to

#1 Engage Your Audience • Create unique and focused

content

• Make interaction simple

• Welcome new members and encourage participation

• Cultivate key members

Quick Tip: Use Google Analytics to learn where your audience is coming from and build on it.

#2 Connect With Other Influencers• Don’t be afraid to reach

out

• Be friendly and be yourself

• Comment and interact with them

• Add value

• Stay on topic

Quick Tip: Follow influencers, comment on their posts tell them how the information helped you & share with your audience.

#3 Make Content Sharable• Make the headline

catchy

• Use high quality visuals

• Make it easy to share

• Share everywhere relevant

Quick Tip: Use a headline generator like: www.internetmarketingcourse.com/freeheadlinegenerator

#4 Clearly Define Your Niche• Be obvious and stand out

• Be consistent in your messaging

• Provide unique value

• Include in all communications

Quick Tip: Find successful influencers in your niche and learn from them. Don’t copy – learn and refine.

#5 Listen For What They Want• Find the common interests

• Ask and answer questions

• Pay attention to trends

• Spend time with your analytics

Quick Tip: Respond to every comment and question as quickly as possible. Set up email alerts.

#6 Make It Rewarding For Them• Say thanks

• Respond to questions

• Be part of the conversation

• Celebrate their wins

• Acknowledge evangelists

Quick Tip: Everyone needs encouragement. A quick thank you or share of their work can make someone's day.

#7 Be Consistent• Post regularly and often

• Use your own voice

• Be honest and respectful

• Be concise

Quick Tip: Create an editorial calendar and use scheduling tools like HootSuite, TweetDeck and Buffer to make your life easier.

#8 Let Your Personality Shine• Be natural & use your own

words

• Imagine you’re talking to friends

• Use humor and tell stories

• Share appropriately

Quick Tip: Share your experience and expertise. Don’t tell them about your vacation tell them why they need to go.

#9 Keep Quality High• If the photo is fuzzy don’t use it

• Don’t use 10 words if 3 will do

• Proofread before publishing anything

• Would you read it?

Quick Tip: Use photo editors like VSCO Cam & iMajiCam on your phone to do on the fly photo editing. Also take more photos than you’ll think you need.

#10 Have FUN! • Remember you are asking for

their spare time

• Keep it light

• Entertain, inform and educate

• Inspire them with your ideas

Don’t ever permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure. Joe Maddon, Cubs Manager

Quick Tip: Take time to celebrate the wins.

Examples of Vibrant Communities• Gypsynesters

Examples of Vibrant Communities• IAmAileen

Examples of Vibrant Communities• Food Travelist

Tools You Can Use• Sharing tools: Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Buffer

• Content Creation: Feedly, Pocket, Canva, Stock Photos, IFTT

• Managing Followers: JustUnfollow, Twitter Counter, Iconosquare

• Find Influencers: Communi.it, Buzz Sumo

• Managing Your Brand: Google Alerts, Mention

• When to post: Tweriod

Contact info: Sue Reddel sue@foodtravelist.com

Diana Laskaris diana@foodtravelist.com

foodtravelist.com

@foodtravelist

#foodtravelchat Wednesday Nights 8pm ET