ABV has forced clarity in my thinking. In discussing some of the concepts of ABV recently with others, I came up with this definition of audience vs. community:

Audiences have awareness–of your product, service, cause.

Communities not only have awareness. They are open to a suggested action–to buy, to adopt a new belief, to give their time.

My husband is in Oprah’s audience. He knows who she is, that she has a talk show and a magazine. He is not open to a suggested action by Oprah, whether it’s to join in a teleclass with Eckhart Tolle or to support her school for girls in South Africa or to subscribe to "O" magazine. He is not part of her community.

Community members are engaged. They are evangelists. They are True Fans. Communities form as a result of meaningful conversation over time, not repeated exposure or wide-spread recognition. It’s why I’m sour on speaking gigs unless you have the infrastructure to keep the conversation going. It’s why book tours are a bust.

Too many people focus on large audiences, rather than tight communities.