Transforming communities through curation

This article comes from Sabina Osorio’s insightful talk at our 2023 Virtual Customer Marketing Summit, check out her full presentation.

How you curate, collaborate, and cultivate your community can be the difference between radical growth and stagnation, between impact and insignificance. You have an incredible opportunity and gift to serve and grow your community, and I'm here to help.

I’m Sabina Osorio, a mindful marketing athlete with over ten years of experience and a passion for community building. I am also the Director of Marketing & Customer Engagement at TED, where we serve our community with love and an obsession with building strong, engaged communities.

Today, we’ll cover three essential topics:

Ensuring a purpose is at the heart of everything you do.
Creating and collaborating generously.
Tips to grow and serve your community thoughtfully.

Let's get started.

Purpose-driven curation

In a world saturated with negativity and an overwhelming amount of content — nearly three hundred TikTok videos are posted every second — it’s easy to feel overloaded with information.

Our minds are tired and desperate for curation.

Frankly, our news-battered hearts deserve to be nurtured with stories that uplift, inspire, and show us that good can prevail. This need for positive curation has transformed the concept of community over the years.

A community is no longer just a place where people gather; it’s a sanctuary of shared knowledge, connection, and innovation. It’s seen as a safe space where positivity can spread and generosity can flourish.

You can turn your community into a vibrant hub that shapes new narratives, fosters trust, inclusivity, and authenticity that propels your members forward. To achieve this, I urge you to define your community's purpose and honor it as your North Star.

Defining your community's purpose

First, focus on your purpose. Define what it is, create a code of conduct around it, and ensure that each new member is educated and aligned with that purpose.

Here at TED, we believe that ideas change people and people change the world. Our purpose is to discover and spread ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding, and ultimately drive meaningful change for the world and society.

With that in mind, we’ve crafted a code of conduct and an application process that reflects our purpose. If you want to attend an in-person experience with us, you first have to complete this application process so that we can get to know you better and ensure that you're joining us for the right reasons and are aligned with our mission. This is how we curate our community as well as the content we share with them.

It all starts with purpose — with why. Be super clear on your purpose, and then go ahead and curate the content, the stories, and the news articles that genuinely uplift, spread great ideas, raise people's spirits, and make a difference in their lives.

Collaborate generously

Moving on to number two: the importance of collaborating generously. Once you have your community's purpose clearly defined, you'll start to attract new members who can then collaborate with you.

We all know that collaboration amplifies the impact of curation. By working with your community members, you can become co-creators with them, shaping the narrative and bringing diverse perspectives to the table.

I urge you to really empower and trust your community. Picture this: I'm showing you a microphone. What I want you to do is pass this mic to your community. Actively choose the most diverse and representative voices, give them a sense of ownership, and make them valuable members of the community. Watch how this will help your community flourish.

There are several ways to facilitate this collaborative process:

Invite members to join a committee: This gives them a formal role and a sense of responsibility.
Host a webinar: Allow members to share their expertise and insights.
Co-host events: Partner with community members for events or discussions.
Feature them on your podcast: Highlight their stories and contributions.
Lead conversations: Empower them to lead discussions or represent you at events.

Get creative —brainstorm, conduct polls, and gather feedback on what they want to hear more of and how they can help. Remember, it’s not about you; it’s about them. The more you showcase them, the more they’ll advocate for you and amplify your brand and community naturally.

The Peloton example

Consider Peloton as an example. They make their community members the actual content. In classes, instructors give members happy birthday shout-outs, welcome them as they log in, and comment on their usernames.

Peloton has even featured real-life community members in their commercials. This approach showcases how collaboration can fuel a community.

Be generous and involve your community in the content curation process, let them drive the community forward. They’ll be so grateful to you for the opportunity.

Cultivate and grow

On to number three: cultivate and grow. This is where I like to use plants as an example, to think of plants as you're growing your community. Cultivating a community is similar. It takes time and effort, but the results are worth it.

Here are five ways to help you grow your community.

You need to play where your community plays. There are plenty of social tools available that are practically free and highly effective:

LinkedIn Groups: Professional and industry-focused.
Facebook Groups: Broad reach and easy engagement.
WhatsApp Groups: Direct and personal communication.
Instagram Close Friends: Share exclusive stories.
Slack Groups: Ideal for focused and ongoing discussions.

Tapping into these social tools will help your community feel connected and valued.

2. Nurture with content

Consistently provide your community with the content they enjoy:

Blog posts: Regular, informative updates.
Email newsletters: Member-only insights and news.
Webinars: Interactive and educational sessions.
Exclusive content: Reports, white papers, and eBooks created specifically for them.
Member recognition: Spotlight individuals in articles or posts. People love to be acknowledged.

3. In-person convening

Bringing your community together in person can be powerful:

Networking events: Join existing events relevant to your industry.
Discussion-led dinners: Small, focused gatherings.
Book club meet-ups: Local, interest-based meetings.
Group attendance: Attend conferences and events as a group.

Capture photos and videos of these events to share and celebrate the community's experiences.

4. Establish feedback loops

Listening to your community is crucial:

Surveys and polls: Regularly ask for their input.
Social channel polls: Engage them directly where they already interact.
Feedback in newsletters: Ask for their thoughts and showcase their responses in future newsletters.

This inclusion makes them feel valued and invested in the community’s growth.

5. Encourage referrals and advocacy

Let your community help you grow:

Share buttons: Make it easy to share your content.
Refer-a-friend programs: Incentivize bringing in new members.
Event plus-ones: Allow members to invite guests.
Nomination programs: Let them nominate new members.
Swag and badges: Provide social media assets or physical items to promote the community.

Look at what successful organizations are doing to grow their communities. The key is consistency: consistently showing up, sharing meaningful content, and engaging with every comment. This can take less than twenty minutes a day but means the world to those who take the time to interact.

Don’t ignore your community. Don’t just give a like —actively reply to each comment and thank them for their engagement. This personal touch fosters a strong, loyal community that will advocate for you and help your community grow naturally.

The power of personal branding

Perhaps the most important tip I'll share with you today is that in our hyper-connected social media world, more and more brands are making people the face of their community. Don’t shy away from this approach.

Look at icons like Sara Blakely, Elon Musk, Reshma Saujani, Tim Cook, Gary Vaynerchuk, Marc Benioff, and Bill Gates. These individuals have enormous followings on social media, often surpassing the recognition of their companies.

People know them more than they know their brands. Brands can leverage personal branding to grow their community.

It's human nature to want to be part of something led by another person rather than a logo or a brand. People buy from people. They seek authentic connections and leadership from recognizable, relatable individuals.

Consider who is the right candidate to be the face of your community. Empower them to create content and to thoughtfully grow your community. This person should embody the values and purpose of your community, serving as a relatable and inspiring figurehead.

By putting a human face on your community, you create a deeper, more personal connection with your members. This approach not only strengthens the bond within the community but also attracts new members who resonate with the personal touch.

Leveraging personal branding within your community can significantly enhance engagement and growth. Embrace this strategy and watch your community flourish.

Final thoughts

I'm going to close by reminding you that you have an amazing opportunity and a unique power to create something remarkable. You can create a purpose-driven community that spreads positivity, generosity, and good information, and can grow like crazy.

Go ahead and embrace this unique gift. Take this responsibility with courage. Curate with care and collaborate with your community. Empower those diverse voices and watch how your community can thrive.

Remember, the essence of a strong community lies in its purpose, collaboration, and consistent growth. By focusing on these elements, you can build a vibrant, engaged community that makes a real difference.

Take these insights, apply them thoughtfully, and witness the transformation. Your community is waiting for you to lead it to new heights.