For decades, content creators have been told that content is king.
But when anybody can publish a podcast, upload a video, or write an articleā€”and AI makes producing content easier than everā€”is that still true?
Nicole Saunders doesn't think so.
Nicole is the Senior Director of CX Strategy at Higher Logic. She's spent 15 years building communities for organizations ranging from startups to companies like Zendesk.
On the latest episode of Bad Community Advice, she challenges one of the most deeply held beliefs in the content industry:
"Content is great when you're trying to build an audience or when you're trying to share information, but when we actually talk about what builds a community [...] community is about the connections between people and how they connect with each other."
As Nicole explains:
"[What attracts people] may be the content initially, but what keeps me there is that I met somebody that I want to talk to more and I have those connections."
Her conclusion?
"And so to me, connections are king."
When Nicole worked at Zendesk, she discovered something surprising. Customers weren't asking for more webinars or educational resources. They wanted more opportunities to talk to each other.
That realization changed how she approached building community.
In this episode, Nicole and I discuss why content alone isn't enough to build lasting audience relationshipsā€”and what content creators can do differently.
If you're spending most of your time creating content to keep your audience engaged, this conversation may change how you think about your priorities.
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