Michelle Sims promotes strategic community growth at Finimize through focused engagement, feedback mechanisms, and member empowerment, utilizing events and interactive content.

Introduction

In this segment, Michelle Sims, the Global Community Lead at Finimize, discusses the growth of the company from a newsletter brand to a global community. She highlights the importance of hosting in-person events to engage with the community and expand globally. Michelle emphasizes the need to give up control and allow others to build their version of the message and experience. She also discusses the challenges faced in managing the ambassador program and the importance of playbooks in scaling community growth. Michelle shares strategies for building and nurturing a community, including involving them in the mission through a manifesto and creating a sense of ownership.

Expanding the Community

Michelle explains how Finimize started as a newsletter brand with a large user base but no means of connecting with the community. They started hosting events in London, which gained traction and led to people from other locations reaching out and expressing interest in similar events. This led to the expansion of Finimize events to various locations around the world, empowering community members to run their events and connect with others globally.

Giving Up Control

Michelle emphasizes the importance of giving up control and allowing others to build their version of the message and experience. While there are ways to maintain some control, it is necessary to let things run free. She shares a situation where intervention was required to correct a mistake in the ambassador program, highlighting the importance of transparency and trust within the community.

Managing the Ambassador Program

Michelle discusses the challenges faced in managing the ambassador program, specifically how some people were using it as a sales method without being transparent. This lack of honesty led to a breakdown of trust and communication, resulting in the firing of individuals who abused the system. She emphasizes that the program was initially created to connect and educate the community.

Importance of Playbooks

Michelle highlights the importance of playbooks in scaling community growth. Playbooks provide documentation and clear communication of mission and tasks, allowing for effective scaling and growth. She shares her experience in building playbooks at Finimize and other communities, emphasizing the need for systemization and clear processes.

Building and Nurturing a Community

Michelle shares strategies for building and nurturing a community. She suggests involving the community in the mission through a manifesto, encouraging them to participate and support the goals of the company. Creating a sense of ownership and belonging is crucial, and using language that resonates with the community can help foster this. Michelle also emphasizes the importance of culture, responsibility, and ownership in keeping people engaged.

Transitioning Audience into Leaders

Michelle discusses the importance of transitioning an audience into leaders within the community. She mentions the use of ambassador programs to engage with the audience and highlights the scalability of playbooks in supporting the mission. By involving the community in decision-making and providing training and challenges, individuals can be elevated to leadership roles.

Identifying and Elevating Community Leaders

Michelle explains the process of identifying and elevating community leaders within the ecosystem. This includes having internal and external culture mission statements, creating a profile for the type of individuals they want to target, and implementing a vetting process through surveys or sign-up forms. Onboarding calls and training are also essential in identifying committed individuals.

Engaging Podcast Community

Michelle discusses the importance of building a community around podcasts. This involves creating opportunities for interaction and relationship-building among listeners. Suggestions for engagement include surveys, feedback links, and allowing users to submit voice notes or questions. Co-creating content with the community and implementing mentoring programs can also foster engagement.

Leveraging Community-Driven Strategies

Michelle suggests that community-driven strategies may not be suitable for every business, but can be beneficial for mission-driven companies solving a problem. Hiring or outsourcing community management can maximize the impact of community-driven strategies. Michelle recommends checking out communities like CMX, founded by David Stinks, for knowledge and advice in community building.

Conclusion

Building a global community requires giving up control, involving the community in the mission, and creating a sense of ownership. Playbooks, ambassador programs, and effective engagement strategies are essential in scaling community growth. By nurturing and elevating community leaders, businesses can create a strong and engaged audience. Community-driven strategies can be powerful for mission-driven companies, and leveraging existing communities can provide valuable insights and support.

EPISODE QUICK Q&A

Q: What is the importance of hosting in-person events for community engagement? Hosting in-person events allows for face-to-face interaction and helps to engage the community on a deeper level.

Q: How did Finimize differentiate itself from other financial platforms? Finimize differentiated itself by speaking to everyday people in a relatable manner and democratizing access to financial information and community.

Q: What challenges did Finimize face when expanding community events globally? Finimize faced challenges in giving up control and allowing others to build their version of the message and experience.

Q: How did Finimize manage and maintain a self-driven dynamic with a large community? Finimize used playbooks to scale quickly and effectively, providing documentation and clear communication of mission and tasks.

Q: What strategies did Finimize use to build and nurture their community? Finimize involved the community in their mission through a manifesto, created a sense of ownership, and used cultural ideas, programs, and events to foster engagement.

Q: How did Finimize identify and elevate community leaders within their ecosystem? Finimize used a vetting process, including internal and external culture mission statements, and targeted individuals in mid-senior level positions in media finance who were ambitious and entrepreneurial.

Q: How did Finimize engage their audience and transition them into community leaders? Finimize used ambassador programs and encouraged community members to take action, such as voting or sharing a message.

Q: How did Finimize leverage an existing audience to drive community-led growth? Finimize tapped into its existing audience and hired community members to scale quickly.

Q: How can entrepreneurs leverage community-driven strategies? Community-driven strategies are beneficial for mission-driven companies solving a problem, and entrepreneurs can maximize impact by hiring or outsourcing community management.

Q: What is the preferred platform for community professionals? LinkedIn is the preferred platform for community professionals, as opposed to Twitter which may result in receiving strange messages.