Five Things We Learned from the Building a Community for Success Panel at Summer in the City 2019

The Building a Community for Success Panel took place on Creator Day at Summer in the City 2019, on the Fashion & Beauty Stage. It featured Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, Joel & Lia, Bird Keeper Toby, and Sam Richards from Diagonal View.

We all know that building a community can be the key to growing your channel, but what are the best ways to do it? We’ve got you covered! We attended the Building a Community for Success panel at Summer in the City 2019 and picked up these five top tips…

1. Interact with your audience

Toby said: “If you ever get to the point where you feel your audience is drifting, take two days out of your schedule, reply to every comment, and just engage with them again.”

Jessica added that following some of your viewers is helpful, so you can get to know them and what they are interested in.

Sam agreed, stating that it’s important to remember subscribers are people and not just numbers.

2. Make use of other social platforms…

Toby talked about sharing your content on Facebook pages, and Lia pointed out that different social media platforms can be used to communicate with an audience in different ways. “For long chats, Facebook,” she said. “For quick wanna-find-something-out-from-your-audience, Twitter.”

Joel agreed, sharing that his and Lia’s audience is 35-plus, which means they are more likely to use Facebook over other platforms.

3. …and create spaces where your viewers can connect

“It’s important having somewhere to go other than YouTube where they can gather and bond with each other as well as with us,” said Joel. “We’ve got a Facebook group of about 3000 of our most loyal followers”.

Sam suggested that different messaging and revenue services, such as Discord or Patreon, can make communication with your audience easier.

Jessica added that giving a community strong and firm foundations will encourage new viewers to join said community, which can help to build your audience.

4. Engage with other creators

Toby recommended engaging and working with other creators whose content is similar to your own, and said that giving each other feedback can help you to improve your own content and build your circle.

Jessica said it’s key to remember that YouTubers are not in competition: there is no limit to how many creators someone can subscribe to, so you can build a community of other creators to help build your success.

5. Make videos that you’re interested in

Jessica focused on the importance of creating videos that you would want to see yourself. Speaking about content related to the LGBTQ+ community and chronic illnesses, she said: “I think both of them are such incredibly unrepresented communities”.

In the context of outros, Jessica said it’s key to recognise your own habits and what makes you want to hit subscribe.