Building Communities with Anthony Burke

How can building online communities help your agency’s marketing strategy? 

In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by Anthony Burke, the Owner of “Brits in Dubai”, as he shares his journey building and monetising online communities as well as his story of living in Dubai and what inspired him to start  his community.

Brits in Dubai is a private Facebook Group that originated in 2014 and is dedicated to helping British expats settle and thrive in the UAE. A great place to get advice, support and network. 

Since then, the group has grown into the number one British expat group with more than 25,000 members and over half a million posts in the last six months alone! 

How can you apply what Anthony has learned and achieved in your agency business?  That is what we set out to explore in this episode.

Time Stamp

[1:29] Anthony’s journey to building a number 1 Facebook community 

[6:00] Tips on how to build momentum in your group

[9:11] How much time is needed to invest in managing an online community?

[11:21] Why delivering great value is important in monetising a Facebook Group

[13:55] What is the best and cost-effective way to build professional partnerships

[15:44] Why you should ‘go unique’

[16:50] Building landing pages and searching the best keywords

[18:37] How to find the balance in delivering the value and selling your products/ services

[20:18] The importance of building your email list

[21:20] Tips in marketing your products/services to the members of the group

[26:50] The impact of Covid in business decision making

[28:33] Living the ‘digital nomad lifestyle’

[31:44] What is Anthony’s advice to his younger self 

Quotations

“The thing that I always tell my audience is that when you are creating outbound communications, whether it be through a Facebook group, email marketing, social media, videos or whatever, you need to get this balance of 80% providing value and only 20% selling. ” - Rob Da Costa

“It's about being human, and it's about being real and authentic. If you have a community, listen to what your community needs, then you make sure you produce products and services that they want as opposed to thinking about what's better for them, and you're going to create something that nobody ever buys because they don't actually need it.” - Rob Da Costa

“I'd always say, ‘go with your gut. If it works fantastic, if it doesn't, there are more options.’” - Anthony Burke

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Useful links mentioned in this episode:

• Anthony Burke -  Facebook, Brits in Dubai Facebook Group
• Got questions for Anthony? Email him at [email protected]
• Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel 
• The Self-Running Agency Book
• Get in touch with Rob at [email protected]