Should you start a community? Probably (here’s why)

Hey folks 👋

It’s me (Kirsti), hi, I’m the newbie, it’s me. 

If you read that to the tune of a certain T. Swift song, let’s be friends. But, more importantly: This is my first time at the helm of this newsletter (Tami’s finally taking a well-deserved break), and I’m so happy to be in your inbox. 

If you haven’t seen me around, I’m Buffer’s newest content writer. I’ve been here a little under a month now, and naturally, I’m already working on an article all about it. So, if you want to know what it’s like to join Buffer, watch this space. 👀

If you’d like to get to know me a little better and find out how I landed here — or you’re just another Swiftie, and you want to be mates — you’ll find all my links here. 

Onto the good stuff.

💌 In today’s email:

• 🤗 Community-building 101: Why cultivating a community on social media might not be what you think it is + how to do it right
• 👀 We want to see you clearly — tell us whether or not you use Buffer
• 🤖 Use this AI Assistant prompt to teach your audience how to do anything
• 📱 Mitra recommends a quick and easy way to edit your TikToks📣 The latest social news, features, and bonus reads
• And as always, all the latest and greatest content from the Buffer blog.

Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next Friday!

P.S. Collaborating on content with your team just got a whole lot easier. 🥳 You can now leave internal notes on content in Buffer! Try it out → 

✅ Are you a Buffer user?

Last week, 61% of you said you would like to see a self-directed course over email from Buffer. 🌟

🏊 Deep dive: Should you start a community? Probably (here’s why)

There’s a reason ‘connection’ and ‘belonging’ are right up there in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. 

One study found that we crave belonging in the same way we crave food. Another, that a lack of connection is felt in the same region of the brain in which we experience physical pain.

Community is a fundamental human need. No surprise, then, that fostering a sense of community among your followers or around your brand comes with some pretty powerful benefits, like:

• Word-of-mouth marketing
• Ready access to feedback
• Community-led content
• Increased retention

And it feels good to boot. 

So, how do you build community on social media, then? First, you need to understand that simply having an audience or following does not a community make.

Community requires intentional work to not only forge stronger relationships between you/your brand, and your members but between the members themselves. That means:

Being clear on your purpose: Pinpoint something that goes beyond your life or product — something your community can connect with and rally behind.

Be authentic & transparent: Both transparency and authenticity really help engender trust and make it easier to build relationships faster.

Show that you value engagement: When it comes to community-building, engagement is a two-way street. 

Encourage discussion: Part of facilitating multi-directional communication means inviting members into discussions with each other.

Elevate your members: Whether it’s sharing their content or highlighting their achievements, using your platform to celebrate your members can be a powerful piece of connective tissue in your community.

Make connections: Connect members who have something meaningful in common. If your content resonates so deeply with both of them, there’s likely plenty of overlap.

Surprise and delight: Giveaways and swag go a long way in showing your members you appreciate them.

Learn how to build a community →

🏎️ Four creators speeding up their growth with Buffer

We pride ourselves on being an excellent tool to help creators grow on social media — and our users were more than happy to back us up.

• Erik Berglund on Linkedin: “I've been able to consistently post for the last 5 months. I've never posted this frequently, and I've saved a ton of time while doing it. I likely save 4+ hours a month by using Buffer”
• Onlinemarketinges: “On TikTok we went from 110k to 310k with Buffer!”
• Reid on Twitter: “Doubled follower count and engagement has gone up 4x”
• Marian on Instagram: “I've saved weeks of time and have increased my engagement at 50%”

Want to skyrocket your growth? Try out Buffer for free today!

👇 The latest from the blog

• How to Find Trending TikTok Sounds While They’re Still Popular (+ 11 of the Best From 2023): How to source the best audio clips for your TikToks while they’re still popular, plus examples of TikTok sounds with staying power.
• 3 Social Media Executives Reveal How to Build a Career in Social: We interviewed three industry experts at companies known for their top-notch social media strategies. Here is their advice for someone looking to grow in the field.
• How the YouTube Shorts Algorithm Works, According to YouTube: In this article, we'll dive deep into the YouTube Shorts algorithm, drawing insights from these YouTube insiders.
• How This Business Owner Went from Earning $250 a Month to Owning a Six-Figure Company: In our new series on financial transparency, founder Ari Krzyzek shares her growth path and the business and financial lessons she’s learned along the way.

🤖 Compare topics for your audience with this AI prompt

Use this prompt in Buffer’s AI Assistant to walk your audience through a step-by-step process for doing anything.

Write a how-to [Platform] post on [Topic]. Please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Platform: [Will you publish on LinkedIn or Twitter?]
• Post Format: [Is it a Tweet, Twitter thread or LinkedIn post?]
• Target Audience: [Specify the audience, e.g., professionals, entrepreneurs, general public]
• Audience Purpose: [Specify what the target audience is trying to achieve that your content will help them with]

Note: [Insert your requirements like word count, no hashtags, etc] 

Get this prompt in Buffer →

📱Social tip of the week from Mitra, Buffer’s Social Media Manager 

Just CapCut it!

Have you noticed a few videos on TikTok using the same template with a ‘CapCut’ logo at the bottom of the video like this one? 

These templates are incredibly easy to use and it’s a really fun opportunity to participate in popular trends on TikTok. There are stock photos, footage, and meme clips that mean you don’t even have to be in the video. 🙌

Here’s an example of a video we made for TikTok using a CapCut template — and it took two minutes to get this created and scheduled in Buffer (I repurposed it for Instagram, too)!

So, the next time you see one of these videos pop up on your ‘For You’ page, use it to make your own version, fuss-free.

📣 What's happening in social?

YouTube thumbnails with closed mouths get longer watch times, according to top creator Mr Beast. He shared results on Twitter after using YouTube’s AB testing feature for thumbnails (to be rolled out more widely soon). TikTok seems to be exploring new features like messaging, new sharing functions, in-stream chats, and more, while Instagram may soon allow you to share feed posts with ‘close friends’ only.

What would you like to see more (or less) of in the newsletter? Give us all your feedback in this form, or let us know by commenting below!