"A tactical primer for any business embarking on the critical work of actively building community."-Seth Godin, Author, This is Marketing
"This book perfectly marries the psychology of communities, with the hard-earned secrets of someone who's done the real work over many years. David Spinks is the master of this craft."-Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable
The rise of the internet has brought with it an inexorable, almost shockingly persistent drive toward community. From the first social networks to the GameStop trading revolution, engaged communities have shown the ability to transform industries. Businesses need to harness that power. As business community expert David Spinks shows in The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community your Competitive Advantage, the successful brands of tomorrow will be those that create authentic connection, giving customers a sense of real belonging and unlocking unprecedented scale as a result.
In his career of over 10 years in the business of building community, Spinks has learned what a winning community strategy looks like. From the fundamental concepts-including how community drives measurable business value and what the appropriate metrics are-to high-level community design and practical engagement techniques, The Business of Belonging is an epic journey into the world of community building.
This book is for decision makers who want to better understand the value and opportunity of community, and for community professionals who want to level up their strategy. Featuring a foreword by Startup Grind and Bevy cofounder Derek Andersen, it will give you a step-by-step model for strategically planning, creating, facilitating, and measuring communities that drive business growth. Attracting and retaining community members who are also loyal customers, brand evangelists, and leaders-that's the goal for today's connected businesses, and this book is the map to getting there.
Foreword ix
Introduction xiii
Becoming a Community Professional xv
Building the Community Industry xvi
The Community Era Has Arrived xviii
Notes xix
Chapter 1 Why Community is the New Competitive Advantage 1
A Customer Community is Born 1
The Rise of Community-Driven Business 3
Giving Customers a True Sense of Community 6
The Unrivaled Scalability of Community 8
Community is an Extension of Your Team 10
The Power of Owning a Topic in People's Minds 12
The One Thing They Can't Copy 13
Good for Business, Good for Humanity 14
Notes 17
Chapter 2 The Fundamentals of Community Strategy 19
The Three Levels of Community Strategy 19
The SPACES Model: The Six Business Outcomes of Community 22
Metrics and the Attribution Challenge 35
Finding Your Community Focus 36
Growth Engines vs. Cost Centers 39
Choosing a Measurement Framework 42
The Community Investment Journey 45
Notes 53
Chapter 3 Creating a Social Identity 55
The Social Identity Cycle 55
Who is Your Community Built For? 60
Who Doesn't Belong? 63
Investing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Day One 65
What is Your Community's Personality? 68
How Can You Make Your Members Feel "Cool"? 70
Should Your Community Have a Unique
Identity from Your Company Brand? 72
Finding Sub-Identities within Your Community 74
Defining Identity by Levels of Contribution 76
Notes 78
Chapter 4 Mapping the Community Participation Journey 79
The Commitment Curve 79
The Four Levels of Participation 81
How to Attract Members to Your Community 86
Creating Intentional Barriers to Entry 89
Designing a Compelling Onboarding Experience 90
How to Move Members Up the Commitment Curve 92
Activating Successful Community Leaders 94
Notes 96
Chapter 5 Validation, Rewards, and Incentives 97
Creating Habits with Rewards 97
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivations 99
Avoid Replacing Social Norms with Market Norms 101
SNAP! A Framework for Effective Extrinsic Rewards 102
The Thing about Gamification 105
Come for the Utility, Stay for the Unity 107
Measuring Community Health and Engagement Using the Social Identity Cycle 108
Notes 114
Chapter 6 Designing Community Spaces and Experiences 115
The Two Kinds of Community Experiences 115
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition 117
The 7Ps of Community Experience Design 120
Curating the Right People for the Right Purpose 123
Aligning Size with Purpose 124
Choosing Community Software Platforms 126
Should You Host Your Community on a Free Social Network? 129
Designing Spaces That Make People Feel Seen 130
Starting with a BANG! 131
Creating Peak Moments 133
Facilitating Small-Group Discussions 135
Tell Your Members How to Participate 138
How to Get Members to Be Open and Vulnerable 140
Keep Your Rules Short and Simple to Start 143
My Three Go-To Community Rules 145
Using Metrics to Optimize Community Spaces and Experiences 148
Notes 151
Chapter 7 Activating Community Engagement 153
Engagement is a Constant Experiment 153
Personal Invitations and "Doing Things That Don't Scale" 154
Ask for Permission 157
Don't Fear the Crickets 158
Talk Funny 160
How to Spark Great Debates 162
Moderation is Never Personal 164
Default to Transparency and Admit Your Mistakes 166
Use Your Authentic Voice 167
Keep Your Energy High and Positive 169
Go Forth and Build Community! 173
Bibliography 175
About the Author 177
Acknowledgments 179
Index 181
