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If you’ve been following digital marketing trends, you’ve likely noticed the shift from velvet rope communities to online spaces where specialists or people with common interests can network, share, learn, and network.

Our own industry is no exception. I’m a member of at least two general marketing communities and then a handful of social media, content strategy, and creative professionals. These communities received an extra boost during the coronavirus, especially as in-person conferences that we used to fly to and speak at have been canceled for the near future. In addition to long-standing groups such as OldTimers List in Google Groups and Online Geniuses, trades have come into play. For example, Adweek recently took over Social Media Week and Salesforce took over the CMO Club last year.

One community I recently joined is Serial Marketers, founded by David Berkowitz.

The email was started in 2016 as an occasional public newsletter (originally called “serial sporadic”) and became a weekly trend in the interplay of technology and marketing. By 2018, LinkedIn professions were stale or dying after botching their advantage at the center of careers and social media. Filling the void has seen explosive growth of “walled” groups for business interest groups on new platforms like Slack.

Once featured on a blog by Aaron Strout of the W2O Group as a “serial marketer, not killer,” the name stayed with Berkowitz and he used it to refer to his company.

In his roles at agencies like 360i and MRY, as well as on the client side at Sysomos, Berkowitz has gained experience connecting people in different areas of the industry and has found that there is a whole class of colleagues who have learned from them like him. The serial marketer’s motto is: “Learn. To attempt. Divide. “- attracting people who learn when they can and those who tend to give back to others.

With a Slack-based community backed by a newsletter, events, and services, serial marketers are growing rapidly at a rate of 100 members per month, and they frequently send more than 1,000 messages per week within the community.

I asked Berkowitz if the timing is right – or the product?

His answer is both. “I’m playing with a hypothesis that marketers’ needs have changed, so community tools and formats must change with them,” he said.

It is clear that B2B communities such as serial marketers can solve these (at least) seven needs:

1. Job seeking: People sign up for these communities to look for a job or a new project. Berkowitz also senses the “so it’s there when you need it” mentality of joining.
2. Job placement: While many employ recruiters and job boards, marketers will also see these curated groups as a way to find, or even easily review, candidates for open positions.
3. Partnering: In addition to filling jobs, there is a desire to find good employees to work with, regardless of whether it is a partnership on a project or a referral from companies.
4. Navigate in a new room: Perhaps you are new to a role or industry. A digital community can be a convenient way to learn concepts, nuances, or ask questions.
5. Research: Another area that Berkowitz has seen a ton of activity is in members who use the community to rate martech platforms, especially CRM – a great opportunity for the sales side. “Hubspot should be everywhere in these communities,” he says.
6. Divide: Marketers are extroverted by nature, and the communities offer numerous opportunities to answer questions and share opinions. Almost every group, including serial marketers, has an active #selfpromo channel. We’re all wired to sell.
7. To stay updated: Whether it’s keeping up with trends, technology, or even books, communities feature topics on all of the above.

Channel selections all play an intentional role

For Berkowitz, the Slack group is a great way to organize conversations and prevent niche high-energy topics from polluting the entire conversation. Also, members can create sidebars via direct messages to get to know each other.

The newsletter, on the other hand, helps keep members updated and reduces the need to constantly return to the platform to stay up to date.

Events bring members together through a mix of “salons” that include guest speakers and group interaction, as well as one-on-one speed networking events through the upstream platform.

How do you market a marketing community?

Predominantly word of mouth, including among influencers and listing by other groups, has fueled the growth of the community. After the first year, serial marketers membership switched from Berkowitz’s 1st degree connections on LinkedIn to his 2nd degree. “It’s important to find out who the catalysts are,” he said. “You are not always what you predict.” He’s also made it easy to make transfers within the platform so people can add their friends who will go through a simple review process by a few staff.

However, Berkowitz is exploring other channels as well, including a new partnership with ExecThread that is already bringing in new members and adding to its diversity, including more women and people of color.

Currently, Serial Marketers are powered by premium membership and sponsorship income. The activities in it have also generated additional ideas, such as Marketerfaves.com, a product recommendation engine that was only launched on February 1st. The add-on services are so diverse and interconnected, and have evolved so rapidly that Berkowitz created a visual map to put everything in perspective as an ecosystem.

“What is most important for a thriving community is that it has to be a place where most of the value is carried by members who create value for one another,” he said. “When you have that, people get involved and stick with it, and your members will be your best lawyers.”