Community engagement

Community engagement is a critical aspect of building a successful and sustainable business. By fostering strong relationships with the communities in which they operate, founders can gain invaluable insights, build trust and create a loyal customer base.

The following compilation of resources offers practical guidance for founders to effectively engage with their communities and create meaningful connections.

Books:

1. The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community your Competitive Advantage by David Spinks – 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.
2. The Power of Community: How Phenomenal Leaders Inspire their Teams, Wow their Customers, and Make Bigger Profits by Howard Partridge – The Power of Community provides a step-by-step approach to transforming your organization by tapping into the human need to connect with and feel valued by others. By creating a company culture based on core community values, you’ll empower your workforce, build customer loyalty, and drive profits and growth.
3. The Shape of Engagement: The Art of Building Enduring Connections with Your Customers, Employees and Communities by Scott Gould – Expert consultant and speaker Scott Gould demystifies and breaks down engagement into seven profoundly simple shapes that explain the mysteries behind what makes people form enduring connections with ideas, brands, organisations and each other.

Articles :

1. Seven ways to build a community as your startup grows by The Pitch – The Pitch reached out to a range of businesses to ask them how they have approached the idea of community as their companies have grown. Here’s what they told them.
2. Strategic Community Engagement: A Unseen Power For Business Leaders by Forbes – Community activities can be a healthy and productive complement to our work. This article by Forbes explores some of the risks and opportunities of investing in your community.
3. When Community Becomes Your Competitive Advantage by Harvard Business Review – Many communities are now organized around businesses and brands and providing profound opportunities for companies around the world. Here’s how you can use your community to your advantage.
4. Small Business Community Engagement in the UK: How to Get More Involved by Adobe – Small business community engagement is just as important for the livelihood of your local community as it is for your business. Discover the advantages of community engagement.
5. Seven Ways To Build Community Engagement And Grow Your Business by Forbes – To help shed some light on how to choose which community engagement projects to commit to, seven members of Forbes Chicago Business Council offer their top tip for effectively engaging community members.

Podcasts:

1. Community Conversations by The Community Roundtable – Community Conversations features some of the smartest minds in the online community and social business space. The podcast series highlights what they’re working on, why they do what they do, and what advice they have for you.
2. Community Signal by Patrick O’Keefe – Community Signal is a podcast for experienced online community professionals, including those working in audience engagement, association management, developer relations, moderation, trust and safety, and more.

The insights compiled above highlight the critical importance of community engagement for founders aiming to build a successful and sustainable business.