Why building authentic communities in 2025 is a great way to remain visible in an AI world!

When Empathy Leads: The Secret to Building Authentic Communities

What happens when your brand stops chasing likes and starts cultivating real relationships? In an era of AI, automation, and polished perfection, it's easy to forget there's a human behind every screen. But if you're serious about building authentic communities, you’ll want to lean into empathy, and no one does this better than Samantha Kelly.

Samantha is known as the Tweeting Goddess, a community builder, founder of Women’s Inspire Network, and the powerhouse behind Ireland’s Social Media Fest. She recently joined me on Strategy Talks to dive deep into how empathy can drive connection, collaboration, and even conversions.

Why Building Authentic Communities Starts With Being Real

We reconnected on LinkedIn this summer after Samantha posted a vulnerable video about how quiet business had become.

It hit me hard.

Like many of you, I’ve been there too: doing all the right things, showing up, staying visible, and still watching client work slow to a crawl.

Samantha didn’t post that video to get sympathy. She posted it because nobody else was talking about what we were all quietly going through.

“It made me question everything… my business, my identity. But I needed to stop living in the problem and start living in the solution.”

That video led to two new clients and countless messages from people saying, “Thank you for saying what we couldn’t.” That’s what real community is. Not the one that applauds you only when you’re winning, but the one that shows up when you share the messy middle.

The Strategy Behind Empathy

It’s easy to say “be empathetic,” but what does that actually look like in your day-to-day strategy?

For Samantha, it starts with listening. Not passive scrolling, but active listening.

“That avatar is a human. There’s a story there. There’s pain there. Maybe they’re grieving someone. Everyone has something.”

And when she says listen, she means it.

Samantha built her community on Twitter by making lists of people she’d love to have tea with.

Now, she uses LinkedIn’s “ring the bell” feature to follow people whose content she wants to engage with. Strategic? Yes. But it’s also human.

“People want to be brought along the journey. Instead of waiting for someone else to lead, you lead the way.”

Empathy Isn’t Just for Personal Brands

So what about brands and corporations? How do they show up with empathy and authenticity?

Spoiler: It’s not through carefully worded press releases.

The biggest mistake Samantha sees is brands posting content… and ghosting their audience.

“Engagement is the number one thing. These are potential clients commenting, and no one’s answering them. That’s just leaving money on the table.”

If you want to build an authentic community around your brand:

• Give someone real ownership of engagement

• Create a social media policy and host a workshop to explain it

• Empower your team to respond, not just post

• Feature your employees and clients—tell their stories

• Give value, consistently, without asking for anything in return

One of Samantha’s clients, a law firm in Belfast, built a thriving business community just by hosting a weekly hashtag chat (#BelfastHour). Another ran LinkedIn Lives featuring their CFO to talk about startup scaling. That’s human. That’s helpful. That’s how trust is built.

Empathy Scales—If You Let It

Not every team member needs to be a content creator, but everyone should understand the brand voice and feel empowered to use it.

That means the CEO can’t micromanage every comment or DM. Trust your team. Train them. And then let them go.

“There needs to be a social media policy, not just something to tick a box. Do a day-long workshop. Let people ask questions. Give them incentives to engage.”

Samantha also emphasized how brands need to go beyond surface-level customer data and truly understand their community. ]

Not just “Mary, age 45, two kids.” Know what your people are struggling with. Know what makes them feel seen.

Because when you do, the right people will find you—and they’ll stay.

Trust Your Gut (And Leave the Room If You Need To)

Building authentic communities also means knowing when something’s not right.

We both shared stories of times we walked away from opportunities that didn’t align with our values. It’s not always easy, but your gut is rarely wrong.

“If I’m not in the right room, I leave. I want to keep learning and keep doing good stuff.”

If there’s one thing you take away from this conversation, it’s this: being real is your greatest advantage. Online, offline, in your brand, in your content. People can tell when it’s genuine—and they’ll gravitate toward it.

So show up. Say the thing no one else is saying. Be human.

That’s how you build a community that lasts.

10 Smart Prompts about building authentic communities to Ask ChatGPT

• How can I build an authentic community around my brand?

• What are empathy-driven social media strategies?

• How do I humanize my brand voice on LinkedIn?

• What should be included in a social media policy for employee advocacy?

• How can I use video content to show vulnerability and build trust?

• What does active listening look like in online communities?

• How do I empower my social media manager to engage on behalf of my brand?

• What are examples of companies that successfully humanize their brand?

• How can I identify if a networking group or online community is the right fit?

• What’s a good framework for creating value-driven content that builds loyalty?