What is Your Community?

The founder of Facebook is a 22 year-old genius named Mark Zuckerberg.  When addressing a group of thought-leaders at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mark was asked "what is the best way to build a community?"  His response was "You can't".

Continuing, he explained that communities already exist, our job is to help them organize themselves and do what they do, just do it better.

What does that mean to you as a marketer?  Your customers, your vendors, your employees, your colleagues...all should be looked at as a community.  How can you engage with them?  How can you provide a platform that will HELP them engage, help them to do what they do, only better?  This is the power of the internet.  Part of this is, of course, groups like Linked-In and Facebook.  These are powerful social media that have already changed sales and marketing dramatically.  Create a group, as we did on Xing, (Marketing to Americans), and promote this to your "community".  Provide though-provoking questions and encourage them to add their own thoughts and content.  Then mine this for ideas on how to better serve your customers, your employees, and your colleagues.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at some of the ideas.

Dedicated to your successful sales in America.

Jim Worrell