Give Them a Name
Create a shared identity for your community that transforms followers into a tribe
Give Them a Name is a community identity strategy that accelerates the transformation from loose audience to tight-knit tribe by bestowing a meaningful group name on your community. When people identify as part of a named group, they shift from being individual followers to members of something bigger than themselves. The name creates a shared identity that people rally around, defend, and proudly display.
The power of naming is well-established across culture: Trekkies saved Star Trek from cancellation through collective action, Swifties mobilize to support Taylor Swift in public disputes, and the 12th Man concept makes football fans feel like they are literally on the field with their team. These are not just labels; they are identities that people adopt and weave into their sense of self.
The framework applies equally to businesses of any size. YouTubers name their communities (PewDiePie's Bros, Grace Helbig's Gracists), podcasters create tribal identities (John Lee Dumas's Fire Nation), and even solo entrepreneurs can give their small but dedicated following a sense of belonging through a shared name. The name should be catchy, meaningful, and ideally connected to the brand's mission or values.
- A named community creates shared identity that transcends individual fandom
- People who identify as part of a group will defend, advocate, and mobilize for it
- The name should be catchy, memorable, and connected to the brand's values or mission
- Naming transforms passive followers into active tribe members
- Community names enable insider language, rituals, and culture to develop
- Brainstorm Community Name OptionsGenerate a list of potential names that are catchy, memorable, and connected to your brand's mission, values, or personality. Consider wordplay on your brand name, your audience's shared identity, or the transformation you help them achieve.
- Test and Select the NameShare your top candidates with your most engaged community members and gather feedback. Look for a name that resonates emotionally and that people can see themselves proudly adopting as part of their identity.
- Launch and Integrate the Name EverywhereAnnounce the community name with energy and ceremony. Begin using it consistently in emails, social media, podcast episodes, events, and all community communications. Create visual identity elements like logos, hashtags, and badges that reinforce the name.
- Develop Community Culture Around the NameBuild rituals, catch phrases, insider jokes, and traditions that are unique to your named community. These cultural elements deepen the sense of belonging and make the community identity feel alive and organic rather than just a label.
After Star Trek's first season on NBC, the show faced cancellation despite attracting 29,000 fan letters. Creator Gene Roddenberry used a 4,000-person mailing list to launch a letter-writing campaign where each person was asked to find ten friends to also write in. Between December 1967 and March 1968, over 116,000 letters arrived, and students from Caltech, MIT, and Berkeley protested the cancellation.
Flynn studied the history of fan communities from Star Trek's Trekkies (a term first used in TV Guide in 1967) to modern fanbases like Beyonce's Beyhive and Justin Bieber's Beliebers. He noticed that communities with names exhibited significantly stronger loyalty and collective action. He applied this insight to his own business in 2018, naming his community Team Flynn, which immediately generated increased engagement and solidarity.