Hey stunner,
I’m writing this with that slightly knackered-but-buzzing feeling you get after something really good has happened.
Yesterday, I hosted my very first Socially Shared meeting as the Sutton & Coleshill host. I won't play it down - it was a cracker.
A full room. Proper conversations. Women actually talking to each other, not just swapping Instagram handles and legging it.
People left with new connections, new opportunities, and the foundations of their 2026 marketing strategy properly mapped out. Not “inspired”, not “motivated”, but clear.
And it reminded me of something that's been becoming clear to me for a while now, but which feels more true than ever right now:
Community is the funnel.
Let’s call time on the “post and pray” strategy
For years we’ve been told that marketing works like this:
Post content → gain followers → hope someone buys.
And sure, sometimes that happens, but when it does, it’s slow, it’s unpredictable, it feels like hard slog for very little return. And it relies on algorithms being in a good mood.
What I see working, consistently, is this instead:
Conversation → relationship → trust → opportunity.
Community-based marketing isn’t new. It’s just been drowned out by louder, shinier tactics.
In 2026, it’s coming back with force.
What community marketing actually looks like (in real life)
Community marketing isn’t about building a massive Facebook group and then panicking when no one posts.
It’s much simpler - and much more human - than that.
It looks like:
- turning up regularly to the same networking spaces so people recognise you
- creating rooms (online or offline) where conversation is the point - not trying to perform to the audience, but getting real about life right now
- moving from broadcasting content to inviting dialogue
- nurturing relationships over time instead of chasing instant results
Yesterday’s Socially Shared meeting was a perfect example. People didn’t leave with “leads”. They left with conversations that will become leads, faster and more naturally than any cold DM ever could.
That’s the power of community.
From content out to conversation in
This is the shift I'm hoping more people to make this year.
Content still matters, of course it does, but not as a megaphone. As an invitation.
If all you ever do is put content out there, you’re doing half the job. Community is built when you bring people in.
That might look like:
- hosting or attending regular in-person or virtual meetups
- creating a small group around a shared challenge or theme
- using your content to ask better questions, not just share opinions
- following up conversations and actually continuing them
Community doesn’t need to be big. It needs to be alive. Those creators with hundreds of thousands of followers aren't actually engaging or converting 99.9% of their audience. You don't need a huge audience, you need an engaged one. An audience of 250 who talk back to you is more powerful than an audience of 25000 who scroll past and take no notice.
A quick side note (because I’m very excited)
You make have noticed... I also finally revealed the name of the podcast today 🎙️
“Don’t Quote Us On This: Brand, Marketing & the BS In Between”
It’s exactly what it sounds like - honest conversations between me and my co-host Nic Mooney, about brand and marketing, minus the performative bullshit and terrible advice. First episode drops Wednesday! More on that very soon, but I wanted you to hear it here first.
The podcast itself is another example of the exact trend I'm talking about - building community. It’s not about reach for the sake of it. It’s about creating a space for real questions and conversations with people we respect and admire.
If you want to build your own funnel this year, start here
If this has got you thinking “okay… I need more of this”, here are a few places to start:
- Show up regularly in the same rooms - online or offline. Rooms that make you feel welcome, but also challenged - rooms that stretch you, at least a little, without judging you.
- You are, of course, always welcome in my rooms - whether that's in person at my Socially Shared meeting on the third Thursday of each month or virtually in my Slack Community, the Wild Collective.
- Stop chasing new audiences and start deepening the one you already have.
- Create spaces where people can talk to each other, not just to you.
- Treat every conversation as the beginning of a relationship, not a transaction.
Funnels don’t need to be complicated. They need to be human.
Next week, I’ll be rounding out January with the final 2026 trend: strategy as the real differentiator - and why doing fewer things, better, is the smartest move you can make this year.
For now, if you’ve been craving connection over content… you’re right on time.
Ro x
P.S. If you want to learn how to build the strategy, there's still time to sign up for the 5 Day Strategy Sprint - where I'll walk you through the entire journey til you have a fully planned out funnel tha enables you to capture and convert your ideal clients. 26-30th Jan. Drop me an email if you want a chat about it.
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