✨ Niche Cubed: How To Build A Viral Movement

I recently spoke at the Community-Led World Summit in London July, 2024 about The Community Collective story and how to build a viral movement - a true pinch me moment! It was fascinating, exhilarating and amazing all at the same time. I’d love to share the key takeaways with you so you see what we down.

So grab a chai latte, play this music I composed for you and let’s dive in.

Purpose

I’ve been studying the key traits of movements and I've realised that the heart of any successful movement lies in co-creation and being niche. It’s not just about gathering people together; it’s about empowering them to take ownership and actively shape the direction of the cause.

What makes Black Lives Matter so powerful?

How are Swifties taking the world by storm?

Some of the greatest movements of our time start because they serve a niche group of people and co-create a space where they all believe in something that’s greater than themselves. So the purpose of this is to unpack a key framework called The Community Compass to understand how viral movements are built.

But what exactly is a movement?

I’m so glad you asked. Let’s unpack a key definition.

And what makes something go viral? 

Ahhhhh have you ever dreamed of putting a post out on social media and having it just POP off? I’m sure it’s all crossed our minds. Or perhaps you’ve seen a TikTok video travel faster than covid-19 did in 2020… 😅

Well let’s define viral so we’re all on the same page (and we’re not talking about the sickness kind here people…).

Pretty simple right?

But remember. Not all movements are built to go ‘viral’. Nor are communities. It should definitely not be the aim of building a community to make sure it goes ‘viral’. If that’s your aim then you might be waiting a real long time… just like Pablo Escobar…

😂 So that’s not the point here. The point is that you can have a perfectly successful community with 5 people in it who support one another and connect with each other deeply.

But there are great community building tactics that we can learn from viral movements. So let’s unpack those.

Community building tactics we can learn from viral movements

The biggest thing I’ve learned from movements is that the many of the greatest leaders build them WITH people, not FOR them. They include people every step of the way, right from the moment the idea is born.

To ensure you’re set up for success to understand how some of the greatest viral movements of our time are created, we’ll unpack a simple framework called The Community Compass.

You can also use this framework if you’re launching a new community from scratch or need to implement a new idea/offering into an existing community. Because after all, us community builders can learn a lot from viral movements…

So let’s dive in.

The Community Compass

After studying viral movements, there seems to be 4 key steps that great leaders take. Of course there are MANY more in between but in the light of simplicity, let’s break it down and keep it simple.

The 4 keys steps within The Community Pass include:

1. Notice and be niche

2. Engage early

3. Share the solution, and

4. Who, not how.

The Community Compass can act as our guide when we’re trying to build a movement or community. Just as most of us need a map to know where we’re going, use this to show you the way to build mind blowing communities (or movements 😎).

1. Notice and Be Niche

The greatest movement leaders always start here. They first identify a specific problem experienced by a niche group of people. The more specific you are, the more impactful it will be.

To apply this step in your own world, it is essential to notice a problem that a niche group of people experience. Identify what needs to happen, what you are creating, and the decisions that need to be made. Start by identifying the problem and writing down your assumptions. Then, pinpoint a specific group and document their traits.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I noticed that community builders in the startup space in Melbourne felt overwhelmed, lost, lonely, and confused when building community. This observation was based on my own experience and led me to question if others felt the same way. I wrote down who else might experience this and reached out to other community builders in the Melbourne startup space to learn more.

I connected with Melia and Jaala, and we discovered that we shared similar experiences. Together, we got really specific about who else might experience these challenges. This is where we got niche.

Introducing Niche Cubed

It’s not enough to be ‘niche’ anymore to stand out. You have to be ‘niche cubed’ to cut though the noise.

To help us get even more specific about who was experiencing the challenges that we noticed, we used the concept of Niche Cubed (AKA niche to the power of 3).

Niche: Most audiences within businesses have a niche target persona with one trait, such as a profession. For us, it was "Community Builders."

Niche Squared: However, going even more niche involves adding more traits. This is what we call Niche Squared—having two traits, like community builders in the startup space (e.g. a profession and an industry).

Niche Cubed: But the hallmark of great movements is going even deeper with Niche Cubed—identifying three traits that a target persona group all have in common (and must have in common to join in the early days). For instance, our focus was on community builders in the startup space in Melbourne (e.g. a profession, an industry and a location).

This approach allowed us to connect deeply with a very specific group and profoundly impact them. Basically it blows the mind of a group of people who have rarely met others who are so similar to them.

Kinda like this group coming together…

Another great example is The Tall Society, a community specifically for women in their local city who are over 6.2 feet tall. This level of specificity ensures that the right people feel included and supported (and is super easy to refer to others).

By focusing on one niche group in one city and replicating this approach across different locations, you can gradually grow the group to be larger and larger. This means that because your space is so specific, people can easily recommend it to others. Thus making the Niche Cubed group go viral…

The point here is to avoid the mistake of trying to go global and serve everyone all at once STRAIGHT AWAY. It’s too hard. Because if you try to serve everyone, you end up serving no one effectively.

And remember, communities are exclusive by design to be inclusive for the right people.

In summary, many great movements start because they serve a niche cubed group.

2. Engage Early

Once you've noticed a problem experienced by a niche cubed (N3) group, the next step is to engage with them early. Before acting on any assumptions or building anything, it's crucial to connect with your N3 group—those with the specific 3 (or more) traits you've identified.

Some of the greatest movements in the world didn’t just ‘hard launch’ one day. They gradually built up over time, engaging more and more people early.

To apply this step in your own world, start by finding 50 people within your N3 group and engage them in one-on-one conversations. This helps to understand their needs, goals, and challenges deeply. As the quote goes, “Incorrect assumptions lie at the root of every failure. Have the courage to test your assumptions,” and it’s important to do this early on.

For instance, Melia, Jaala, and I initially assumed that building communities was challenging for this N3 group and that they needed support. To verify this, we listed all potential contacts and organisations in Airtable and reached out to them for deeper conversations. We organised dinners and regular meetups to learn more about 3 specific questions:

Understanding these aspects is crucial, especially ‘where do you go to gain support?’ because there’s no point in building a new space if one already exists nearby.

By engaging early, you co-create with your ideal members, involving them in the journey before it officially begins. This approach ensures that by the time you launch, you’ve already built strong relationships and have a collective understanding of how to best serve your N3 group.

After all, a movement is just a significant amount of quality relationships grown at scale.

3. Share the Solution

Now that you've noticed a problem experienced by a niche cubed (N3) group that you have engaged with early, it’s time to share the solution (again and again and again), to co-create together.

When Kayla Itsines set out to build the Kayla Sweat App, she didn’t just launch the app without consulting her dedicated female fitness following. No. She shared multiple versions of the solution with them to get their feedback, ideas and perspectives. This contributed to her success of building one of the largest female fitness movements in the world.

Some of the greatest movement leaders always share the first version of their ideal solution with the N3 group. They continuously seek feedback and make adjustments based on their input.

They don’t just build a solution alone in their bedroom with no input what so ever. They ask, listen and respond. After all, it’s the N3 group they are serving, not themselves.

This is co-creation at it’s finest.

For example, after running our free meetups for 12 months at The Community Collective, we noticed that members wanted more support. They wanted coaching, mentoring, frameworks and deeper 1-1 conversations about community building. We engaged with them early and spent 3 months interviewing them from July 2022 to understand their needs.

These insights led us to come up with our version 1 solution - an 8-week program to level up community builders. Instead of building straight away, we tested our assumptions and posted on LinkedIn about this potential program.

The result? We had 100+ people express interest which was enough intel for us to go all in on the program and build it.

We created version 2 of the solution and continuously gathered feedback from our N3 group to understand if we were on the right path.

Thus when we launched the final version of our Community Cohort program, we had 37 people purchase it to join. To date, we’ve run 4 programs with 160+ alumni across 10 countries and an audience of 9.8k people. We would not be where we are today if we hadn’t shared the solution again and again and again.

Hot tip: Co-creation means embracing a certain level of unpredictability. Letting go of control can be daunting, but it’s essential for growth. I’ve witnessed firsthand how the most innovative solutions often emerge from the synergy of different minds working together. In moments of doubt, reminding myself of the collective wisdom within the community has been a powerful motivator.

Remember, the journey of co-creation is ongoing, filled with learning and adapting. It requires patience, humility, and a genuine commitment to inclusivity. Yet, the rewards are immense. By embracing co-creation, I’ve witnessed movements grow beyond what could have been achieved alone.

4. Who, Not How

You made it to the last step!

Not that you've noticed a problem experienced by an N3 group that you have engaged with early and shared the solution with, it’s time to adopt the ‘Who, Not How’ mindset.

‘Who Not How’ is a fantastic book by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy that’s all about shifting from thinking with an individualistic approach to a collective approach.

This is the mindset many great movement leaders have. Instead of thinking:

• How am I going to identify a niche cubed group?

• How am I going to build a community to serve them?

• How am I going to come up with the first version of the solution?

• How am I going to do this alone?

They think:

• Who can help me identify a niche cubed group?

• Who can help me build a community to serve them?

• Who can help me come up with the first version of the solution?

• Who can help me along this journey? Who has mastered this before?

The crux of this is to not take on all the responsibility yourself.

Movements would never occur if there weren’t multiple leaders within the group growing it collectively.

You can apply this to your own community by, identifying and empowering leaders within your community to share the load and bring diverse perspectives and skills.

For example, if I had thought back in June 2021 “How am I going to serve community builders in the Melbourne startup space alone?”, The Community Collective might not have 9.8k in our audience and 700+ in our community across 18 countries.

We might’ve still gotten there, but it would’ve taken 10 x longer and been 10 x lonelier. 

This was the exact reason Melia and Jaala and I joined together. Together we could combine our resources, ideas, networks and dedication to bring this to life.

Growing members into leaders is a great example of this done right. At The Community Collective we ensure we’re building our community WITH our members by having Ambassadors to co-create with us. They help us open doors that we could not even have imagined knocking on.

Because building a viral movement isn’t just about building great relationships at scale, it’s about leading others to become great leaders. 

And there you have it.

In Summary

Building a viral movement is not about creating something for your N3 group but with them.

By using The Community Compass framework—Notice and Be Niche, Engage Early, Share the Solution, and Who, Not How—you can foster deep engagement and a sense of ownership among your members.

This approach transforms a simple community into a self-sustaining movement, driven by the passion and leadership of its members.

Remember, the best movements are born from collaboration, shared purpose, and the collective efforts of many.

How can you apply this to your own role?

Grab a good old piece of paper/pen and write down your answers to these questions to get some thoughts flowing:

1. What problems have you recently noticed?

2. What do you find challenging yourself?

3. Who is a niche cubed target persona that needs support?

4. What do you believe in that’s greater than yourself?

5. What assumptions do you have about this problem?

6. How can you engage with this nice cubed target persona?

7. Who can help you find 50 of them to ask them 3 quality questions?

8. How can you come up with the first version of a solution to solve their problems?

9. How are you going to get feedback on your first version solution from your niche cubed target personas?

10. Who can help you on this journey?

And keep rolling from there my friend.

You made it

Alrighty, you made it to the end. I’ll be back in your inbox on 17th to answer your most pressing questions.

Which reminds me, have a question you’d like to ask about community building? Hit reply to let me know. I’d love to help you.

Until then,

Paz Pisarski
Co-Founder of The Community Collective

You can expect this newsletter on the 17th of every month.
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Bonus Section

Still reading huh? Well you made it to the bonus section where I share an insight into my life.

Proud moment: I absolutely loved speaking at the first Community Led World Summit in London to share The Community Collective story and talk about how to build a viral movement. It was a true pinch me moment. More details here. Plus very excited for The CC’s Birthday Party with Cake & LUNA coming up in August in Melbourne. Come along.

Challenging moment: Half way through my talk in London my slides froze and I had 0 speaker notes. My slides were my prompts! Every speakers worst nightmare… however I ended up making a joke and rolled on to what I could remember from memory.

Personal moment: About to spend 1 month working 3-4 days remote in Europe to lap up the summer here and make the most of the trip to London!

See you next time.