So what does it mean to build a community with your blog?

In the blog and social media world, building a community has become a buzzword.

What does this mean for the average person who just wants to start a blog for any of a number of reasons? It could be a classroom teacher, a pastor, a state legislator, a auto repair shop owner, a local real estate agent, a mortgage broker or a lobbyist at the state capitol.

Move away from the computer for a few minutes and think about the people involved in your world.  For instance, you are a state legislator.  Who would those people be?  Homeowners.  Senior citizens.  Teachers.  Young parents.  Grandparents.  Auto workers.  Bankers.  Local officials.  You get the drift.

Another way of thinking about it: I have a friend on the east side of our state who is a community leader.  He’s a former city council member and a former state legislator.  When he walked into one of the local coffeeshops, he would need an hour to get to the front door to pay for his hamburg and chili.

He would be stopped going from booth to booth and table to table with people who knew him making comments and asking questions.  There was some real communication taking place.  He would take some notes as would the people he would be talking with.

This was his community or part of it.

The same applies to your blog.  You intentionally use it to build your community.  You’re sharing the same things that would share going through the local coffeeshop.

You would let your community know that you have the blog and invite them to visit it and to leave comments.  And when they did you would comment back.  Pretty soon your community expands.

Now this is an over simplification.  What if your community is nationwide?  What if your community is real estate agents around the country?

I share more thoughts down the line.

Tagged as: Blogging, Community