Exactly one year ago, on March 21, 2022, this was the headline: ‘Facebook Parent Meta Employees Seek Greener Pastures Post Stock Meltdown.’

Then, reports claimed Meta Platforms, Inc META employees were burdened with underwater stock options and looked to exit following plunging stock prices.

As of March 2022, Meta employees with $100,000 worth of restricted stock units around its September stock peak found them worth ~$57,000.

A series of internal leaks put massive political pressure on the company fueled by the multibillion-dollar sting of privacy changes from Apple Inc AAPL and Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google.

Opportunists from other companies like Microsoft Corp MSFT, whose price was down 10.3% as of March 2022, could theoretically “buy the dip” by taking a job at a beaten-down company like Meta and getting more stock options at a lower price.

However, by November, things changed, and the falling stock price signaled trouble. Finally, in November 2022, Meta fired 11,000 people, or 13% of its staff, scaled back budgets, and shrunk its real estate footprint in the face of macro uncertainties.

Again on March 14, 2023, Meta disclosed plans to downsize team strength by around 10,000 people and to close about 5,000 additional open roles to make it a better technology company and improve its financial performance amid macro uncertainties.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that his restructuring plans focused on flattening its organizational structure, dumping lower-priority projects, and reducing hiring rates.

Meta highlighted investing in building AI tools as ChatGPT adoption gains momentum worldwide. It emphasized how the last downsizing improved efficiency and reduced costs by cutting out duplicative work and helping execute its highest priorities faster.

As of March 2023, Meta reportedly slashed the price of Quest Pro to fend off competition from Apple’s upcoming MR headset launch. It also remained rattled by the success of ByteDance Ltd TikTok and had forgone projects to win back lost users to the popular Chinese social media platform.

Major tech players saw huge losses in 2022, weighed by higher interest rates, high inflation, and uncertain economic conditions. Meta lost two-thirds of its value. Amazon.Com Inc AMZN also lost half its value.

Interestingly, Meta shares gained over 64% YTD, beating the broader index returns of 14.96%.

Price Action: META shares closed higher by 2.24% at $204.28 on Thursday.

As social media continues to rapidly evolve, the pressure on founders to ensure they have an active and growing community for their business can often feel all-consuming.

In fact, online purchases via social media platforms are predicted to reach a staggering 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars by 2026, so this reliance on profit-generating communities, a.k.a. “social commerce” for brands, all whilst simultaneously appearing authentic is only set to heighten the pressure — and fast.

With the daily grind to actively engage with your brand’s community on various social platforms as a means to generate more conversions, many of us can start to feel exhausted, and to be honest, on some of the uglier days, downright unmotivated.

Not to mention the mixed emotions you may feel when you’ve spent hours trying to master that latest TikTok trend, only to stumble across a random video gone viral, with the new creator behind the phenomenon effortlessly gaining thousands of followers overnight — no strategy required.

If this love-hate relationship of creating social commerce for your brand feels all too familiar, it’s time to take a back-to-basics approach to community building.

Read on to discover three easy strategies you can implement today to build a stronger online community for your business:

Related: 5 Steps to Level Up Your Social-Commerce Strategy

Tip #1: Take advantage of Facebook groups

Building a community for your brand begins with understanding your audience, and there’s no simpler way to do this than by joining Facebook groups.

With the emergence of flashier marketing tactics on TikTok and Instagram, it can be easy to overlook the older “less exciting” Facebook platform. However, the truth is: In today’s information overload world, we as consumers will continue to seek out long-term value connections and a sense of belonging — something which joining a free Facebook group still effortlessly provides.

In fact, as of August 2022, over 1.8 billion people are active amongst Facebook groups across the 10 million+ groups currently live on the platform.

Once you join some Facebook groups related to your industry, it’s important to not instantly push your product or services but rather use the new community as a tool to observe and connect with like-minded people.

Collecting data and asking those within the group their thoughts on how to improve your product or offering, for example, rather than taking a direct sales approach will help build that genuine relationship with potential stakeholders and allow them to organically interact with your brand.

After observing and participating in popular groups, you could even start your own Facebook group and invite your personal network, previous purchasers and current social following along as a way to form deeper connections with your existing brand community.

Ultimately, having a Facebook group for your business as part of your marketing strategy will naturally help you achieve a relationship-building focus for your brand rather than fixating your efforts solely on follower count.

Tip #2: Connect with other like-minded businesses

One of the best ways to build your own brand community is to be a cheerleader within other brand communities adjacent to your offerings.

Consistency here will work in your favor, and taking the time to show up online to support other businesses you admire will show you’re a team player in the industry. Over time, this will improve your own brand awareness within the sector. Plus, the potential collaborations that may come from supporting others can lead to great exposure and growth for your business.

If you’re not sure where to start, exploring entrepreneurial communities like the Female Startup Club will help you discover more powerful ways to approach community building whilst simultaneously connecting you with other like-minded founders sharing their advice and marketing success tips daily.

Related: Social Commerce Is the Future of Marketing. Are You Ready?

Tip #3: Email your customers

Last but not least (and arguably the easiest method to implement within your own business strategy today) is getting into the habit of interacting with your customers on a more personable level.

You could start by setting yourself a regular goal to personally email five customers who have placed an order with your business that week to introduce yourself and see if there’s anything they would like to share about their experience with your brand. This more authentic and direct two-way engagement with your customers will build better brand loyalty long term.

Founders who are approachable will be quick to gain the trust of their brand’s audience, so the benefits of taking the time to personally show up each week for your customers in some small way will be felt tenfold down the track.

While these strategies may not appear as scalable as perfecting that viral-worthy TikTok, taking the time to consistently connect with your brand’s community on a more personal level using the key tips above will be the mindset refresh you need to win big for your business in 2023!

Related: What Brands Need to Know About Social Commerce