The Salt Sessions

Transcript

0:09
Hi, I'm Bev Salt, the founder of Add Salt.

0:13
I'm a marketing consultant.

0:15
For more information about me, head to my website: addsalt.co.uk.

0:21
Today, I am absolutely delighted to introduce you to Claire Ferreira.

0:27
Now Claire is the founder of a very special community group called Mums in Marketing.

0:35
In 2020, Claire built that group from scratch to the phenomenon group that it is today.

0:43
I think there are over 7000 members now and 10% of these members are at paid members.

0:50
Claire, can you tell us how did you build this award-winning community from scratch?

0:56
Now there's a question.

0:58
Initially it came from, yes, gap in the market, but that had come through my own experiences.

1:05
So knowing that the space had not been filled, the need had not been met in terms of supporting mothers at any stage of motherhood, of parenting or caring and that they specifically had not been spoken to because I hadn't.

1:21
So it was very much my own personal experiences and then wanting to change that essentially come from I kind of have two in each camp.

1:34
So I'm a marketer with, of course, seeing the space that have other mothers and who were looking for that support.

1:42
And that's really, I would say the driving force as opposed to the marketer.

1:47
But as it goes on, you know, I'm across the tube.

1:50
And you started on Facebook.

1:53
Yeah.

1:53
How do you decide on choosing the right platform for the community you want to build a question?

1:59
So Facebook was a really clear decision for me and that was knowing that we would come together as mothers and thinking about that journey.

2:10
So I think we often get asked as marketers, you know, about where you where do you find your ideal client?

2:17
I mean, it was different for me because it was like, where can I gather up all these incredible mothers and bring them together?

2:23
Essentially, the methodology is the same.

2:26
Where are your focus?

2:29
Who is it?

2:30
Who do you want to serve?

2:32
The second part to that I think Bev is to think about a platform if I said you are comfortable with and say saying that with all the flexibility in the world.

2:43
But if you're hoping to build a community, and this is for anyone who is like thinking about that and looking at it, it's absolute equal importance.

2:53
Where are your future members?

2:56
Where do they like to be?

2:57
That doesn't necessarily say mean that that is the right platform for them because a lot of MIMs as we are on LinkedIn, but the right platform for us to have that safety, the right connection, the right feeling was Facebook because we were connecting as mothers.

3:14
The long side.

3:15
That is to know your own or whoever is looking after the community for you to be able to know your level of comfort with that platform.

3:25
Because I'm trying to think what it would be like to be so passionate and enjoying and invested emotionally or professionally in building your community, delivering great content and not knowing where the hell.

3:41
And I'm censoring myself for first time on language Bev, where the hell no, your buttons are it like those fundamental pieces that, but that I guess would be a top tip that I've just snuck in.

3:54
no, no, that's absolutely brilliant advice.

3:58
And the mums in marketing community are so active.

4:02
There's so much engagement.

4:03
And can I ask what are your top three tips to keeping your community engaged and active?

4:10
I guess that changes over time.

4:12
And yet there's a, there's some core fundamentals within that.

4:16
Number one is to listen as a community.

4:22
Yes, you have your role.

4:24
This absolutely for branded communities, for bigger organisations, essentially knowing what your purpose is.

4:31
So starting out with that, where does that fit in bigger organisations?

4:35
Where is that in terms of your business goals?

4:37
So knowing what your purpose is, listening and ensuring that you're meeting the needs of what you are hoping to create or what you are building, but also that it meets the needs of the members.

4:49
Because when you're really clear on who it's for, then creating great relevant content, valuable content to that might bring engagement feels very natural.

5:03
You know, the point that I love to touch on is to understand what kind of engagement you're looking for.

5:09
Because you can have like clickbait, and you can have whatever you want.

5:13
Probably some of the biggest kind of highly engaged posts for us in MIMs are not the ones that you would expect that is to really there and understand, Like I said, that purpose led to understand what you mean by engagement and also that test and learn, test and learn.

5:32
So some things will absolutely fly, but it's not just about the likes, it's not just about the comments.

5:40
It's that sense of community.

5:43
So that sense of belonging will always be the biggest engagement that you can look for.

5:50
And that is, again, understanding who you're speaking to and understanding your purpose, why that community is there.

5:58
That's great advice.

5:59
Having a unified message of what does Mums in marketing stand for?

6:03
I think everyone in the community is pretty clear on that.

6:07
So when do you decide on dedicated resources to manage the Mums in Marketing community?

6:13
Because I assume you've got a team behind you now?

6:16
I do now.

6:17
But that did not happen soon enough.

6:20
I had to have my fingers pried off it before I completely bled the entire world dry of caffeine!

6:27
And I absolutely talk about my journey.

6:30
You know, there were two things happening personally and if this resonates with anyone, please do get in touch.

6:37
But two things were happening.

6:39
I was very purpose led on growing our community and I knew exactly talk about how close that mission is and that vision.

6:46
But in the same instance, I was growing a business.

6:48
So two things were happening really quickly and because of how I felt and still do still feel not sure that I let it go soon enough.

7:02
And still you guys will see me a lot in the community.

7:05
I'm very present.

7:06
It's absolutely my space, my safe space that you guys provide for me as well.

7:13
So around that in terms of the right time, if someone's listening and they're either making a start for themselves or as an organisation, those answers differ slightly.

7:23
I think if it's your own community that you're looking to build.

7:26
And again, give me a shout if that is something that you're doing because I just, I love it.

7:31
Community is totally my thing.

7:32
As soon as you can bring it in, in the ways as you would strategically look at growth.

7:41
So bringing resources as soon as you can because it puts you in a greater position to drive the business forward and ensure that your community meets the needs of its members.

7:53
From an organisational perspective, that's about great community management, ensuring that your community managers again know exactly what the purpose is looking after them as well.

8:05
You know that as a salary.

8:06
It's interesting to watch how community managers are recruited and to understand the impact of community on an organisation, on the bottom line.

8:15
So communities have different purposes.

8:18
They can obviously meet the needs in terms of support as we know it, but support from a product level and on the bottom line, that's going to look very different.

8:28
As you touched on there Bev, we have a paid element to our community.

8:32
We have the incredible Mims membership and those resources that that particularly was something for me that is very important that is maintained and has a brilliant team around it.

8:43
And luckily I do have that.

8:45
So shout out to the Mums in Marketing team for that one.

8:48
And it's a fabulous community.

8:50
And I just want to tell listeners and viewers that I am a founding member.

8:54
So I have been here since day one.

8:57
So please do look it up.

8:59
And Claire, how can people find Mums in Marketing?

9:02
Who those for those of you who want to join, brilliant.

9:05
Well, please do if you're listening and you want to come and join, but also if you're listening or watching and you're not a mum in marketing, but you're interested in building your own community or growing one, there are two ways.

9:17
So connect with me.

9:19
Definitely connect with me on LinkedIn.

9:20
Come and find me on LinkedIn.

9:22
It's Claire Ferreira.

9:23
Or if you just look for Mums in marketing, you will find me and love, love, love for everyone to come and connect with me on LinkedIn.

9:31
And if you are a Mum in Marketing and you'd like to come and join us, then you can find us on Facebook.

9:37
And if you type in Mums in Marketing, you're going to come straight to us.

9:40
But the link is facebook.com/groups/mumsinmarketing.

9:46
You'll get to us or head to our website.

9:48
I'm going for it now.

9:49
Bev,

9:50
Or head to our website: mumsinmarketing.net.

9:53
That probably is the easier version.

9:55
Brilliant.

9:56
Well, thank you so much for your time today, Claire, and I'll look forward to seeing you soon.

10:01
Thank you, Bev.

10:01
Thank you so much.

10:03
Bye bye.

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