Brands are feeling the pressure to “own their audience,” and figuring out the best way to do that isn’t always straightforward.

Many launch Slack groups, Discord servers, or branded forums without knowing what their audience needs, and then get discouraged when no one shows up or engages.

With community responsibilities often landing on marketing teams, they can get caught up in the framework we do best: Build campaigns quickly, promote hard, and then move on to the next thing. 

But strong communities don’t form around marketing goals and frameworks; they grow from trust, shared purpose, and sustained presence.

At MozCon, I’ll show you how to participate in and build sustainable communities that provide value and support your brand goals long after the launch hype fades.

Marketing is becoming increasingly fragmented. Channels like social and search are controlled by algorithms you don’t own, and every update feels like starting over. 

Additionally, we are witnessing a shift in SEO, where forums like Reddit and other user-generated platforms appear higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

People trust people, and search engines are rewarding that trust.

This is where community can come into play. Unlike rented audiences, a community is one of the few audience channels you own. You are not at the mercy of changing feeds or volatile algorithms because you set the pace and shape the space.

Done right, your community becomes a key differentiator that keeps your customers coming back. 

Take HubSpot, for example: their community is so valuable that customers stick with the product just to keep access to the people, conversations, and support it offers. 

An engaged community is one of the most sustainable growth and retention levers you can build in an era of short attention spans and unreliable platforms.

If you're ready to stop guessing and start engaging or building a meaningful community, I’ll show you what I’ve learned.  

Here’s what I’ll cover in my MozCon talk:

Social listening before you build

Before you build anything, you need to listen. Find the corners of the internet where your audience already trusts each other. I’ll show you how to find these spaces, what to look for once you’re there, and how to engage meaningfully. 

Launching your community with purpose

 Launching isn’t about creating a new space for its own sake. You want to build something rooted in shared purpose, aligned with your brand, and designed to provide value from day one.

How to grow and scale a community that supports your brand

 I’ll share how to evolve your community without losing its essence. You’ll learn how to embed your product and brand values organically, highlight member contributions, empower ambassadors, and foster peer-to-peer connections so participants feel genuine ownership.

How to measure success and show business impact

Community success isn’t always linear, but that doesn’t mean it’s invisible. I’ll walk you through measuring what matters, the signals to track, and how to translate all of that into ROI that your stakeholders understand.

This session is designed for anyone feeling the pressure to “build community” but unsure where to start or how to do it meaningfully. It’s especially relevant for:

• Heads of Marketing, Brand, or Community
• In-house marketers exploring community-led growth
• Brand leaders looking to build trust, not just traffic

The old playbook for audience building isn’t working as well anymore. You can’t just publish content and hope people stick around. You need to earn trust, and community is where it begins.

This talk gives you the mindset, frameworks, and practical next steps to build something people want to be part of.