What Businesses Get Wrong About Building Community in 2026 - Social Media Decoded

Summary4 min read

Social Media Decoded — Episode Summary

Episode: What Businesses Get Wrong About Building Community in 2026
Host: Michelle Thames
Date: November 20, 2025

Overview: Main Theme & Purpose

In this impactful episode, host Michelle Thames delivers a reality check for brands, entrepreneurs, and organizations preparing for 2026. She dismantles common misconceptions about community building, reframing it not as a fleeting trend or a marketing tactic but as a foundational business model essential for long-term success. Thames emphasizes that true community is an "emotional and relational system," underlining how trust, belonging, and shared identity will be the driving forces behind the most successful businesses in the years ahead.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Community Matters More Than Ever (01:10)

Shifting Consumer Trust: Thames highlights a paradigm shift: "People trust people more than they trust companies. Consumers want connection over campaigns, relationship over reach, resonance over perfection, shared identity over random posts." (01:20)
Defining Community: She dispels the myth that a Facebook group, email list, or chat channel equals community. Instead, she paints community as the emotional and relational feeling people have towards a brand.

2. Top Mistakes Businesses Make with Community (02:08)

Michelle identifies five key mistakes nearly all brands will continue making if they don’t adapt:

Mistake #1: Treating Community Like a Marketing Channel
- "Community is not where you push your offers. It's where you celebrate belonging. Audience consumes, community contributes." (02:20)
Mistake #2: Delegating Community to Interns
- "Community is a leadership function. Let me repeat that. It's a bar. Community is a leadership function. It requires strategy, emotional intelligence, and brand stewardship. You can't outsource connection to the newest hire." (02:42)
Mistake #3: Equating Content with Community
- "Posting daily does not mean you're building an actual ecosystem. Communities are built on identity, shared purpose, belonging, storytelling, transformation, values. Not posting consistently." (03:10)
Mistake #4: Failing to Invest in Community Leaders
- Lack of dedicated roles such as "community directors, connection strategists, or relationship marketers" results in low customer retention and engagement. (03:35)
Mistake #5: No Community Continuity Plan
- "Most brands try to get people in a community, but they have no system to keep the people engaged or uplifted. This is where most brands lose millions without realizing it." (03:50)

3. What Community-Driven Companies Will Do in 2026 (04:15)

Forward-thinking brands are already shifting to a community-first approach and will:

Prioritize Relationship Equity: Every meaningful interaction is a trust-building opportunity.
Build Community Around Values: "People don't join for features, they join for identity." (04:30)
Spotlight Stories Over Sales: Humanizing the brand through real member stories.
Create Hybrid Experiences: 2026 will be about blending digital and in-person interactions—“digital, in-person, live learning, social content events, and micro communities.” (04:55)
Invest in Community-Led Ambassadors: Distinguishing between community advocacy and traditional influencer marketing.
Leverage Community for Retention: "New customers matter, but nurtured customers sustain the business." (05:30)

4. Core Philosophy: “Community is the New Currency” (06:00)

Michelle shares her guiding principle:

"We don't grow alone; we grow in community and businesses who understand that not only will grow faster but they'll grow deeper, with more loyalty, with more revenue stability, and more brand impact." (06:10)
She credits community at the heart of her own success: sold-out events, brand partnerships, a global audience, and more—driven not by ads but by authentic connection.

5. Support for Community Transformation (07:00)

Michelle offers direct ways she can help organizations:

Corporate workshops, community strategy consulting, event and experience design, brand partnership activations, internal team training, and community-led marketing frameworks.
She encourages listeners to reach out directly via LinkedIn or email for collaboration opportunities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Community as Identity:
“People don’t join for features, they join for identity.” — Michelle Thames (04:30)
On Delegating Community Roles:
“Community is a leadership function... you can’t outsource connection to the newest hire.” — Michelle Thames (02:42)
On Longevity:
“New customers matter, but nurtured customers sustain the business.” — Michelle Thames (05:30)
On Business Growth:
“We don’t grow alone—we grow in community, and businesses who understand that... will grow deeper, with more loyalty, more revenue stability, and more brand impact.” — Michelle Thames (06:10)

Important Segment Timestamps

00:00-01:10: Episode intro and framing the topic
01:10-02:08: Why community matters more than ever
02:08-03:50: Five critical mistakes businesses make about community
04:15-05:55: Actions of community-driven companies in 2026
06:00-06:45: "Community is the new currency" and personal reflections
07:00-end: Michelle’s offerings and call-to-action (excluding outro)

Tone & Takeaways

Michelle delivers her insights with a passionate, direct approach, blending practical tips and inspiring calls to action. Her language—"get your pens and your notepads ready because you already know gems are about to be dropped"—sets an energetic, actionable tone throughout. The core takeaway: Businesses that center authentic, emotionally intelligent community building will dominate in 2026 and beyond.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
Hey, hey, hey. Welcome back to Social Media Decoded. It's Michelle Thames. And today's episode is especially for the brands, companies, leaders and organizations planning for 2026. Because I'm about to share something that most businesses still don't understand about building community and is costing them money, retention, loyalty and long term growth. It's not a marketing trend. It's not a social media hack. It's a business model. And. And companies who understand community in 2026 are the ones who will win. So get your pens and your notepads ready because you already know gems are about to be dropped. So why community matters more than ever? We're heading into a new era where people trust people more than they trust companies. Consumers want connection over campaigns, relationship overreach, resonance over perfection, shared identity over random post. And the businesses who are thriving already have figured this out. Community isn't a Facebook group. It's not an email list. It's not a discord. It's not a slack space. Community is the emotional and relational system your brand builds. It's what people feel when they think about you. The top mistakes that businesses will make in 2026. Yeah, let's go there. Because most companies are completely missing the mark. Mistake number one, treating community like a marketing channel. Community is not where you push your offers. It's where you celebrate belonging. Audience consumes, community contributes. Mistake number two, putting community on the intern's plate. Community is a leadership function. Let me repeat that. It's a bar. Community is a leadership function. It requires strategy, emotional intelligence and brand stewardship. You can't outsource connection to the newest hire. Mistake number three, thinking content equals community. Posting daily does not mean mean you're building an actual ecosystem. Communities are built on identity, shared purpose, belonging, storytelling, transformation, values. Not posting consistently. Mistake number four, not investing in community leaders. These brands don't have community directors, connection strategists or relationship marketers and then wonder why their consumers don't stick. Mistake number five, no community continuity plan. Most brands try to get people in a community, but they have no system to keep the people engaged or uplifted. This is where most brands lose millions without realizing it. Now what community driven companies will do in 2026. The brands who will win are already shifting into a community first approach. Number one, they prioritize relationship equity. They know that every meaningful touch point builds trust. Number two, they build community around values, not products. People don't join for features, they join for identity. They spotlight their people. Stories versus sales. They create hybrid experiences in 2026. It's a mixed ecosystem. There's going to be digital, in person, live learning, social content events and micro communities. They also invest in community led ambassadors, not influencer marketing. Totally different thing. This is community advocacy marketing. They also leverage community for retention and longevity. New customers matter, but nurtured customers sustain the business. So here's my point of view on Community is the new currency. This is something that I've been saying for years. We don't grow alone regrow in community and businesses who understand that not only will grow faster but they'll grow deeper with more loyalty, with more revenue stability and more brand impact. This is how I've built sold out events, a thriving community, brand partnerships, a top podcast, a global audience, multi city activations, corporate trainings. Not because of ads, but because community has always been at the center of everything that I do and my best clients who have gotten the most amazing, amazing results all have community at the center of what they do. So if your organization is ready to enter 2026 with a real community strategy, not just content, not just campaigns, but a true relationship ecosystem, I would love to support. I offer corporate workshops, community strategy consulting, brand partnership activations, internal team training, event and experience design and community led marketing frameworks. If you want to learn how community can transform your business in 2026, send me a message on LinkedIn achelleth ames or email me directly at michelle michellethames.com let's build something powerful together. I hope that you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share it with a friend and go ahead and leave a rating and review over on Spotify and Apple. It helps the social media decoded podcast reach more people. Thank you so much for listening and I will talk to you in the next one. Peace.