Communities start growing when your customers recognize themselves and their motivations in your brand values. Customers feeling that connection will give you the most powerful marketing channel of all - word of mouth.In this episode, Kurt Elster talks about what it is going to take in 2022 and beyond to build a brand. He also shares tons of ideas on community and what he predicts the future holds for brands.Join us and enjoy this episode!KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODEYou need a story that will serve as proof.When you are growing your story, a lot of it is trial and error. With that, you inherently also end up building a nicer and smoother experience.Community, word-of-mouth, and user-generated social proof are all tough to fake.Understand who your customers are and what their motivations are.This year video has become the default communication medium on the internet.You may not be so sure when a Facebook group makes direct sense for your brand, but you have to try.Authenticity is a requirement for a community to work.Having a name for a community or the community members is a strong indication that you are doing it right.Making money today means keeping those PPC ads going; Making money tomorrow means having organic community-building efforts.Push yourself out of your comfort zone a little. Be 1% better every day.Recommended tool/app: TextExpanderhttps://www.textexpander.comRecommended Audiobook:Locke & Key by Joe Hillhttps://www.amazon.com/Locke-Key-audiobook/dp/B010PNSBYI/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3MP2ZY7X02OUO&keywords=locke+and+key&qid=1644499933&s=books&sprefix=locke%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C407&sr=1-2Unf*ck Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Lifehttps://www.amazon.com/Unfu-Yourself-Your-Head-into/dp/0062803832Today’s Guest:Kurt Elster is the host of The Unofficial Shopify Podcast and a Senior E-commerce Consultant who helps Shopify store owners uncover hidden profits in their websites.The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is a podcast that aims to answer the question, “How’s an entrepreneur like me supposed to grow my Shopify store?”.Connect and learn more about Kurt Elster and The Unofficial Shopify Podcast here:Website: https://www.kurtelster.comTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/kurtincPodcast: https://www.unofficialshopifypodcast.com This month's sponsor is... Postscript, the leading SMS vendor for growing Shopify and Shopify Plus brands. Loved by companies like Olipop, Kopari, Brooklinen, and 6,000 more. Get a free 30 day trial of Postscript at https://postscript.io/installWe love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:https://mindfulmarketing.co/growthplan-applyIf you've been paying attention and your brand is ready to GROW, apply now to be the one new brand we take on this month!https://mindfulmarketing.co/apply