This episode is a line up of the best tips on community building from guests we’ve featured in past episodes. It’s all right here– pro tips from Tyler J. McCall, Elisa Camahort Page, Jen Cole and Bella Vasta.

From Episode 68, Tyler J. McCall talks about the best ways to engage with your community on Instagram. 

Question: What are the best ways to engage with your community on Instagram?

Answer: Getting people to direct message you and responding to comments to continue building and nurturing those relationships. Think about how you are engaging outside of your own account. How are you going out into hashtags, other people’s accounts and engaging with new people to introduce them to your brand? Especially on Instagram, people complain about stagnant growth or a decline in followers, but they’re only posting content with hashtags and logging off. If you want to see the results on Instagram, you need to post great content, use hashtags, go find new people, bring them into your account and engage with them.

From Episode 50, Elisa Camahort Page shares her tips for growing an engaged online community. 

Question:  What are your tips for those of us looking to grow an engaged online community to support our businesses?

Answer: I would say be human. Talk about human things. Don’t be afraid to say feeling words. Be Responsive. Be Consistent. When you’re managing the community be transparent about why it’s managed the way it is. Really live that ethos of reciprocity, that nobody owes you. A community is not a fixed asset. It’s a constantly living organism and it needs tending. The last thing is to have a stated policy. What’s the code? What are the community guidelines? Then enforce it evenly and fairly. You can’t make everyone happy, but you can make everyone feel understood and heard even if in the end you agree to disagree. Some people are going to be nasty. That happens all the time, but that’s their prerogative. If someone is going to leave your community because they think you’re doing it wrong, in the long run, you’re probably better off. If you start to see an exodus of your community, that’s a problem you need to look into. What have you changed? What have you done to alienate the people who were your community? That’s a very important thing to figure out. 

From Episode 103, Jen Cole shared her tips for brands looking to build an engaged online community. 

Question: What are the top 3-5 tips you have for other brands looking to build an engaged online community?

Answer: You need to have a Twitter account and engage in Twitter chats that are industry related. It’s a wonderful way to collaborate and to have smart conversations with like-minded people and to stay on top of things. Embrace live video. Live video has done wonderful things for the company I co-founded. We have a live show every Friday where we highlight someone in the Wichita area who either owns a business or is doing something super inspirational. Our community is very devoted and we have wonderful conversations in real-time. Do Instagram Stories. They’re so engaging and you can do a lot with them including polls, add gifs, tell a story, do a behind-the-scenes, so many things. Have a Facebook group. That’s where you’re really diving in more intimately with those who are truly devoted to your brand. Be genuine and devote time to your community. When you’re nurturing your online relationships the same way you’re nurturing in-person relationships, it goes really far because people are familiar with you, trust you and enjoy spending time with you.

From Episode 101, Bella Vasta has three helpful tips on how to add value to your paid Facebook groups. 

Question: How do you add value to your month to month paid Facebook groups?

Answer: There are three major ways: 

#1: Show up. Let your group know how and when you’re going to show up. If you’re doing an “Ask Me Anything”, be sure to use the event function within the group. When you do that, everyone will get a notification and that’s powerful because not only are you showing up, but they are showing up and finding value. 

#2: Plan your content. You have too plan your content, have some sort of an outline or foundation. It is up to you as the creator if that’s 5 posts a day or just 1 post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You get to make those rules, but you have to plan your content. 

#3: Be different. Stop the monotony. The first whacky Wednesday, cute. The second whacky Wednesday, okay. The third whacky Wednesday, nope. Keep things fresh by switching it up quarterly. To conclude, you want to add value to a Facebook group by showing up, planning content and being different. 

Tools and Links Mentioned:

• Strategies for Staying Connected Through Social Media with Tyler J. McCall – Ep 68
• Inside the Career of a Master Online Community Builder, Elisa Camahort Page – Ep 50
• How to Build a Branded Community with Social Media Examiner’s Jen Cole – Ep 103
• How to Create a Profitable Online Business with Communities with Bella Vasta – Ep 101

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How to reach Kami:

If you’d like to learn more about Kami Huyse, visit her website at www.zoeticamedia.com. You can contact her by email at kami@zoeticamedia.com or tweet to @kamichat.

How to reach Madalyn:

If you’d like to learn more about Madalyn Sklar, visit her website at www.madalynsklar.com. You can contact her by email at madalyn@madalynsklar.com or tweet to @MadalynSklar.