Thriving creators active on platforms like YouTube, or TikTok (basically anywhere creators share content) don’t succeed because of their follower count.
In fact, you can thrive as a creative too with only a fraction of MrBeasts’ follower count (133M subs).
The key to successfully monetizing your content? Your community. A loyal community.
Still not sure how this is possible? Keep on reading ⬇️
The difference between your audience and your community & why it matters
The terms are often used interchangeably. Your audience is crudely described as a group of people with similar interests who follow you.
Your audience could also be described as a group of people with specific criteria and generalizations including their age, living situation, income + more. This would then be called your target audience.
But not everyone who
- went to college
- makes more than $65K a year
- is married and has a mortgage
Will necessarily be your ideal customer…
They’re the ones who’ll have your back if someone comes at you sideways in the comment section too.
More importantly, they’ll want to support you when they can. Think email, SMS, or Patreon subscribers. And better yet, brand advocates.
Community members also include those who may not sign up and buy anything from you either. At least for a while. But what makes them loyal community members is the trust you’ve built with them.
MrBeast
Jimmy Donaldson started his career on YouTube back in 2013. Over time, his approach to content creation changed. He now amasses 130 million subscribers on YouTube. Sure, that’s a lot of followers and quite the milestone.
Jimmy didn’t just stop at YouTube. MrBeast has expanded and invested in creating businesses such as
Diving into ventures like Feastables and MrBeast Burger was only possible because he knew he had a loyal fanbase that would want to try it out. Using his platform on YouTube he was able to announce the event for his restaurant's opening. It was a hit. Cars were lined up for miles ready to get a free MrBeast Burger.
Most kids in the US own their first cell phone between the age 11-12 . His marketing team understands that a majority of their community members are kids 18 and under. Behold, the power of SMS:
The key takeaway → Your community will follow you.
Create consistent & valuable content
One challenge that plagues the real + online world - the fear of failure. Feeling like you wasted your time. The rate small businesses fail in the first year is 20% - that means 80% make it through their first year.
Consistency is defined differently for each brand or business. Whether that be
- Instagram lives 1 x month
- Weekly YouTube videos
- Sending out an email newsletter 1 x a month
- Texting your community 2 x a month
The cadence you choose is best when it supports your ability to push out content that’s valuable.
“High-quality” content doesn’t mean 4k videos or professional lighting. Sure, those are definitely bonuses, but not necessary.
Your content will work best when you can attract, repel, and retain people simultaneously.
Consider a fitness coach. There are TONS of fitness coaches out there pushing their services. What nudges a potential client to sign up?
It could be the way the instructor appeals to them based on
- their own personal fitness journey
- their social interests
- location
- the way you explain how the exercises are to be performed
- Your video style
- Your PDF download offer for subscribers
To reach your leads on a deeper level, share content that’s useful, relevant, and informative. This will help you penetrate their psyche.
Engage with your community
A community is not a 1:many conversation.
It’s a tangled web of conversations and ideas shared among various individuals within your community.
How can you show up for yours?
- Set up a time in your day or week to be active in your community
- Reply to your comments
- Host Q&As
- Invite them to reply to your email
- Participate in discussions
- Ask your community for feedback
This shows your community that you value their efforts to interact with you and your content. When you reply to someone, it demonstrates that you took the time to read what they shared- positive or negative.
The greatest value here is giving them the opportunity to communicate with you to develop a personal connection with them.
Make your community feel exclusive
Exclusivity can be a great tool for businesses when trying to attract and retain community members.
It’s an effective way to make people feel valued and part of something, well-you guessed it- exclusive.
The sense of belonging empowers your community to feel like they’re in the right place. This plays up a crucial role when it comes to loyalty and engagement.
You can reward your loyal fans and followers by giving them access to bonus content made available just for them. Community members are more likely to stay invested in your brand by offering a sense of exclusivity.
When done correctly, exclusivity can help make a business stand out from the competition.
Take a look at your niche neighbors.
What can you do to make yourself stand out and entice them to come and see what you have to offer?
Analyze what your niche neighbors are doing and consider if you can do it better or more efficiently.
Get creative and show up for your community
Creators and business owners across all industries are getting more and more creative over time.
There seems to be an upward trend for brands that are willing to collaborate with regular people.
Let’s continue speculating over MrBeast’s tactics for his chocolate bar line Feastables
To promote his new line of chocolate, they made videos asking random people if they were willing to try his chocolate bar while doing something extreme - like sky diving.
This option may not be up your alley, but the spontaneity definitely grabbed the attention of about 1 million folks. When it comes to creating content- the sky’s the limit.
Audit your industry and see how other creatives are showing up online and for their community.
Is there a gap anywhere?
Are you able to fill in that gap?
For it to work, your audience will need someone to fill in that gap for them.
You may be the creative one who takes the plunge and makes an impact in your industry.
Conclusion
A large follower count doesn't equal a profitable business. It all comes down to you and how loyal your community is.
Start with your ideal audience segment and figure out how you can best show up for them. You’ll attract your ideal audience by weaving your story and infusing your personality into your offers/content. Those who resonate with your message will make an instant connection with you.
If there’s one thing that’s not going anywhere this year in marketing it’s personalization. Marketing tools like email, SMS, and community forums offer the chance to personalize your message, making a bigger impact and impression on your audience.
