online_communityFirst, think through what your community members want.

  • News
  • Events
  • Insider knowledge

And they want to be connected to great…

  • activities
  • people
  • professional service providers
  • local establishments

…all specific to their lifestyle.

How do you deliver that?

1. Content / News. If you care deeply about something, you likely read about it in some capacity on a somewhat regular basis. Curate everything (more on that here) related to your lifestyle community inside your Facebook group, and post original thoughts on what you think about those news-worthy items. Do NOT post things, just for the sake of posting. I hate to put number behind it, because it’s not a science — but I’d guess 75% of the content in your group should somehow have a local slant to it. That said, it really does depend on the type of community you have. If you have a community of travelers, then you are going to be discussing exotic locations all over the world and less about your local city.

Absolutely everything your community needs to know, should end up in your private community. If you community delivers this, your members should not have to go anywhere else to get news specific to this interest/lifestyle. It should replace the existing email newsletters, Twitter, or their feed readers.

I’m a member of an industry group where this dynamic exists. And, I can tell you, it is an AMAZING value prop. Everything I need to know, is brought to my attention via that group, meaning I have peace of mind knowing that I don’t need to spend hours trying to find the news I should be aware of.

2. Highlight members. Do interviews of each of your community members, and post them inside the group so as to help members get to know each other. Your goal should be to do one every other week, or, at a minimum, once a month.

3. Local real estate knowledge. Once every three months, send an email to everyone on the list with your own UNIQUE thoughts on what the local real estate market is doing, where it’s going in the future, and why.

Seriously, if you can’t sit down and spend 30 minutes writing a detailed analysis of your local market, you really really shouldn’t even be an agent.

4. Connections. Match up needs & haves. While setting up your community, you should have taken notes on what each person is looking for, and what they can offer to others. Their profession is an obvious one to match on. Other shared interests is another reason for making a personal connection…or a shared experience, such as two people both having gone on a trip to the same part of the world.

Manually connect people via email with a reason stating why you think they should talk/meet (one has a need & the other a have, right?). People want an ice-breaker, and YOU are that ice-breaker within you community. If the relationship provides some sort of value, whether that just be a new friend or a business relationship, that will look favorably on you since you were the gateway to that benefit/value.

5. In person events. Once a month, schedule an in person event or activity. It could be as simple as a back yard BBQ. It could be a fundraiser, hike, fishing trip, happy hour, or some other activity. Of course, what that activity is will depend on your community.

You will have to rally support among community members, one by one, to attend. It will be really hard in the beginning, but the more member-member relationships that form, the easier it will become in the future. Use your email list, when needed, for these events — but know that a blanket email won’t be near as effective as a person one to one email or phone call.

That’s a Wrap

Seems so easy, right? Now, go make it happen in the real world.

I fundamentally believe we are going to see a shift in the coming years of niche online communities into hubs in the physical world. Real estate brokerages are in a prime position to build, organize, and connect those moving to the physical hubs they desire to be part of.

The question is, will you be the community organizer in your city ahead of the curve, or on the outside looking in as it happens?

The decision is yours.

Note: This is part of a 4 part series on the topic of “Turning Clients into Lifestyle Communities”

Happy community building…questions about anything, leave them in the comments or email me (drew at ohheyworld).