# How Online Communities Can Foster Growth

- Show: [The Manufacturing Executive](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive)
- Published: 2022-10-11
- Length: 47m
- Episode: 123
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth
- Listen: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-manufacturing-executive#episode-d8cb4742-a411-43a1-af24-6dac1a0a11f2

## Summary

Brendon Forrest and Peyton Warren, strategists at the B2B marketing agency Gorilla 76, explain how manufacturing leaders can build online communities to foster growth and gain customer insights. They contrast their interactive 'Industrial Marketing Live' (IML) community with traditional product-pitch webinars, citing examples like weld.com and Industry 4.0 Club to show that even niche industrial audiences are active on platforms like Reddit and Facebook. The guests advise starting with small Zoom series, prioritizing value over sales, and using community feedback to drive content and product development.

## Chapters

- [0:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=56) Introduction: Gorilla 76 and the Concept of Online Communities
- [5:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=311) Defining Online Communities and the IML Example
- [9:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=541) Evolving IML from Webinars to Interactive Dialogue
- [15:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=900) Manufacturing Audience Presence on Reddit and Facebook
- [17:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=1040) Case Studies: weld.com and Industry 4.0 Club
- [22:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=1362) Platform Agnosticism and Audience Selection
- [24:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=1472) High-Value Themes for Industrial Communities
- [29:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=1750) The Danger of Product Pitches and Community Rules
- [33:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=2016) Motivations: Customer Insights and Feedback Loops
- [37:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth#t=2247) How to Start: Small Zoom Series and Content Repurposing

## Topics

- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Gorilla 76 (company)
- Industrial Marketing Live (product)
- weld.com (product)
- Industry 4.0 Club (product)
- Reddit (other)
- Facebook (other)
- Zoom (tool)
- Slack (tool)
- LinkedIn (other)
- Clubhouse (other)
- Proto Labs (company)
- Greco Inc. (company)
- Aptigy (company)
- Refined Labs (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [BONUS: 4 LinkedIn Tips for Manufacturers](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2021-04-20-bonus-4-linkedin-tips-for-manufacturers) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [066: E-Commerce Platforms for Launching a Consumer Product](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-03-09-066-e-commerce-platforms-for-launching-a-consumer-product) (Product Startup)
- [How to Engage the Modern Customer Using Social Media](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2019-12-23-how-to-engage-the-modern-customer-using-social-media) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [192: The Importance of Building a Community for Your Hardware Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-09-07-192-the-importance-of-building-a-community-for-your-hardware-startup) (Product Startup)
- [256: Timeless Industrial Marketing Strategies and New Ways Manufacturers Can Reach Their Ideal Customer featuring Wendy Covey of TREW Marketing and Joe Sullivan of Gorilla 76](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-10-07-256-timeless-industrial-marketing-strategies-and-new-ways-manufacturers-can-reac) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-11-how-online-communities-can-foster-growth. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Manufacturing Executive.