In this People Magic podcast episode, Gina Bianchini argues that creators and community builders should prioritize relationships over content creation. She reframes the concept of "content" by replacing it with "relationships" and outlines a framework called People Magic Profit that emphasizes minimal, strategic content to facilitate connections. Key tactics include dedicating 30 minutes each week to review contacts and meet two new people, using direct messages to build one‑on‑one bonds, and hosting group interactions such as a weekly "Give‑Ask Day" where community members first give something of value before making a request. Bianchini highlights how software like Mighty Networks can automate event logistics, making it easier to host parties and gatherings. She contrasts this relationship‑first approach with the traditional "content industrial complex" that focuses on personal branding and audience size for funnel generation. Throughout, she stresses that success comes from building a network of supportive creators, fostering group dynamics, and living a well‑rounded life beyond the content grind.
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Are you building for today or are you building for the future? And what I would say is if you start work today, you want to be building towards the future. And the future is relationships. The past is relationships. And even today, the people that are getting the most done, the people that are having the most success, even on social media, it's not because they have the best content. It's because they are in a network of other creators via DMs that they're all actually supporting each other. Woo! Hey, I'm Gina Bianchini and this is People Magic: How to Build a $1 Million Community That You Can Be Proud Of.
Hey Gina, I love your take on not creating more content, but it feels absolutely impossible. I'm meeting so many people and then they look me up and they see that I have no following or that my photo isn't as professional as my peers. How do I not focus on content when it's all I see as value?
I am so glad you asked this question because I know how controversial my take is in terms of do what you can to not focus on content. It's about content. It's about content. You cannot spend 5 minutes on any social media platform without being told that it is about content. And here I am saying, hey, what you really wanna do is create people magic. And people magic's amazing. And you are asking, well, what do I do to be able to get those first 10 people? And because 10 people will evolve into 20 people and 20 people will evolve into 50 people, it is the way that Relationships work. And so here's where I've come out on content. Number one, I have sought to remove the word content from my lexicon. So I've replaced it with something, and it kind of actually hangs together, which is the word relationships.
Mm-hmm.
So if you think about you as a business owner and as a community designer, as a person in the world, we as human beings are made for relationships. What do you want? What do you need? How do you put another human being first? That is relationship. Content is, I'm gonna tell you what to do. So investing more heavily in relationships, investing more heavily even in having a party, even though today it is far too much work to have a party because you have to actually send like 20 reminders to everybody. That's going to be taken care of with software. Software is going to be able to help us build parties and events like nobody's business. And I cannot wait for the day. We at Mighty Networks are building more and more of these kinds of software dynamics into our platform. And I think it's just gonna become the future of what's possible with relationship building, with creating people magic. So looking at and thinking about relationships, looking at thinking about even just who's in your contacts, instead of spending time on social media where it's about consuming other people's content, and in a lot of cases consuming strangers' content, thinking about how do you carve out 30 minutes every week to think about who's in, who's in your contacts and how could you meet 2 more people this week? How do you use DMs on social media to meet and build relationships with new people? Now, in terms of they go check me out, here would be a frame on that that I would offer. which is what content could I build? And specifically, what is the minimal amount of content I could build every week so that I can facilitate relationships with people? I know this is nuanced. What's the difference between build relationships with people, you know, than what's out there right now from gurus that are like, you wanna build your personal brand and you wanna have a big audience, so that you can generate leads for your funnel and be able to get people to buy stuff from you. So much of the content industrial complex is about that. I would encourage you to think about it differently, which is what's the minimum amount of content that's going to create the most interesting relationships? And how could I invest more and more of my time in bringing people together? Organizing a dinner, going to a conference and actually planning something around the conference, the ability to reach out to somebody with something that is valuable to them, which is not whatever it is you're selling. So one of the things, for example, I love to offer as a weekly calendar item, that's our 5th step in People Magic Profit, is the Give Ask Day. And and so this is once a week. It's an open call to your community of one thing they can give and one ask they have in that order. Why is give first? And by the way, give is not I've got this great program that I'm gonna give you. That's that's your thing. Kind of like swag. Like it's like thanks for the mug with your brand on it. Like I I like. Don't get it. So what you wanna do is what is something that you can authentically give to somebody else? And maybe that's just your gratitude. Maybe that's a, a kind word about what they're doing and how they're doing it. Maybe that is something that is, I see you and I see what you're doing and I like it. That's a give. And being able to do that before you ever make an ask, Is really, really powerful, especially as you're building relationships. And then the other thing is think about building relationships as not just the relationship one-on-one that you're having with someone, but also the relationships that you can facilitate with a group of people. So if you're leading with relationships and you're leading with value that you are creating by bringing people together, By definition, you will find that the content that you want to create or need to create is different than if you are playing that content industrial complex game. And one of the things I think is really important is to be in environments where I'm different and I'm controversial and I'm challenging the status quo. And for a lot of people, the status quo works. And, and what somebody has definitely said to me is, but it works. And I get that, but it works today. And are you building for today or are you building for the future? And what I would say is, if you start work today, you want to be building towards the future. And the future is relationships. The past is relationships.
Yeah.
And even today, the people that are getting the most done, the people that are having the most success, even on social media, it's not because they have the best content. It's because they are, they are in a network of other creators via DMs that they're all actually supporting each other. They're all commenting on each other's posts. So even when you think about, and I think this is, you know, one of the biggest fakeouts of social media is that the largest accounts are not the largest accounts because of their content. They're the largest accounts because they are a part of a network working behind the scenes, a part of relationships that are working behind the scenes to pump each other up. And so if I could offer one thing, as you think about relationships versus content, content versus relationships, I'm not saying no content ever. I'm saying start with relationships, your people, your people's people, and ultimately your community's people. Get really curious and good at building relationships and not just one-on-one relationships, but relationships among people. And be a host, not just a participant, and certainly not just the hero of your own content. Invest in relationships, invest in people, and whatever content needs to be an ingredient into those investments, make it. Because increasingly where the world is going especially as people magic becomes easier and easier to do, such that software is playing the role of helping the most relevant people to each other find each other and create value for each other. If you are the host of those kinds of communities powered by people magic, you will win over blowing yourself out on content creation. Any day of the week. So build for the future. Start with relationships. Invest in relationships. Use content only to the extent that they help facilitate relationships. And then go live your life. Go live your life with amazing people. Dance, sing, debate, explore. Be curious, laugh, make things, live a rich and fulfilling life outside the content creation grind. It is why we are here on Earth, is why we as human beings are fundamentally different than any other primate. And it's the reason any of us should be striving for success and what success looks like. It looks like a well-lived life and helping more and more people live a well-lived life. It's not about content, it's about relationships. I'm Gina Bianchini. Thanks for tuning in. This is People Magic. Woo! Thank you for being a part of People Magic. If you want more of a deep dive in any of these topics, but certainly having the framework of People Magic Profit, head on over to the website. The link is in the show notes. Have your own burning question about creating people magic? Well, I wanna answer it. So here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna just drop your question in the review section wherever you're listening to this podcast and keep tuning in.
