The Architecture of Authenticity with Special Guest Imani B.

The Architecture of Authenticity

In this episode, your host Keyiera Wright sits down with the remarkable Imani Brisco, also known as Imani B., an experiential marketer and founder of Generations of Hope. Join us as we delve into the roots of community building, the future of community work, and how brands can create authentic connections that last.

We’re laying out the blueprint on:

What makes communities actually feel connected (and what doesn’t)?
How to create events that feel like love letters—and leave a lasting impact
Real-world examples that prove even "unsexy" industries (yes, we’re talking finance and B2B) can show up with heart.
The systems and storytelling, both IRL and on social, that fuel real community momentum

“Community is really an opportunity for continuity in a brand funnel. It’s not about being the loudest—it’s about being felt.”

- Imani B.

Biggest Takeaways From This Episode

Here are a few things that stood out to us:

Community is a mindset, not a marketing channel.
This episode makes it clear: real community building isn’t something you plug in when it’s convenient—it’s how you operate. It’s a commitment to listening, showing up consistently, and putting people at the center of everything you do.

Digital is the doorway, but in-person is the destination.
Imani and Keyiera both emphasized that while online spaces are powerful, people are craving something deeper. Brands that turn digital engagement into real-world, human connection will lead the future of community.

Small, intentional actions create lasting impact.
Whether it’s a handwritten note, a custom DM, or spotlighting someone without expecting anything back—what matters is making people feel seen. You don’t need a huge budget. You just need to mean it.

CONCLUSION

Real community starts with intention. Imani B. shared that the most impactful brands are the ones that listen closely, act with care, and treat every connection like it matters. Whether it's a handwritten note or a thoughtful conversation, these moments create trust and belonging. Building community isn't about being the biggest or the boldest. It's about being consistent, human, and deeply present in the lives of the people you serve.

Want your question to be answered on the generation social media podcast? Tell us what it is here!

Transcript

This text below is a straight up audio transcript of the episode. In our humble opinion, we think the audio podcast sounds much better in its original form. We have not edited the transcription below so there are indeed some grammar errors (some quite funny, in-fact).

Keyiera (00:00):

Okay. Hi friends and welcome back to Generation Social Media Chatterkick's podcast where we dive into the real and unexpected ways that marketing and community and connection collide today. I'm your host, Keyiera Wright. I'm the Social Media Coordinator, I the executive personal branding strategist and the connection and community chair here at Chatterkick. And today's episode, we're sitting down with someone who's rooted in strategy and community. We have Imani Briscoe with us, also known as Imani B. She's an experiential marketer and the founder of Generations of Hope, Imani has built a career around designing these moments that feel like love letters as she told us to the communities that they serve. So from think large scale brands to very smaller intentional gatherings that uplift people and inspire, Imani is that person who really understands what it means to build community that doesn't just look good or brands that say that they're doing things for the community online. It's actually connections that you can kind of see them play out and they actually last, so today we're talking about where her passion for this work began and what brands get wrong about community building and then how they can get it right with more intention and action. So let's get into it. So thanks for being with us today. Iani, so happy you're able to join us.

(01:36):

For those who might be new to you, what can you share a bit about the kind of work you do and what you're passionate about?

Imani (01:44):

For sure, for sure. First, again, thank you for this space. I'm really excited about this conversation. And to answer your question, so what do they need to know about me and who I am? I like to coin that I am a community builder and dot connector that usually shows up in the realms of brand management or event production or experiential marketing and strategy. I, to your point, have had the pleasure of working with local champions and global giants, whether that be NBA teams, spirit brands, nonprofits, or restaurants. And my goal is always to make sure I'm empowering them to really build sustainable community and sustainable connection amongst their stakeholders. I have had a career in higher education, DEI strategy and I've been able to use that and really translate that into high impact activations. So not only curating events, but really curating connection as a whole. And I find joy in being a bridge for those opportunities, making sure that personal storytelling and brand equity are always at the center of what I'm creating.

Keyiera (03:08):

You've had your hands in so many other parts of community from, like you said, the brand partnerships to creative direction of these things or event production. What's the thread that connects all these different parts for you?

Imani (03:25):

I would say I'm thinking of two things, and the first one that comes up is really emotional intelligence mean to execution. So thinking about what is the feeling, especially in marketing, a lot of the work kind of delves into psychology thinking of how are you meeting people, where they are, where they need to be met. So thinking of whatever work that I'm doing, what emotion can I connect with and be authentic about, not just for emotion's sake, but truly and genuinely thinking of what that might mean for whatever's being presented. And then the second one is purpose-driven storytelling. Really building on the emotion. What is our end goal here? How are we activating, how are we showing up authentically and making sure that the message lasts beyond a campaign cycle or past an event? What is that evergreen moment that we can tap into that people talk about forever?

Keyiera (04:36):

I feel like that through line is so powerful with the emotional connection and making that last and translating it in so many different ways. I feel like that sets the stage for something that I've been really curious about ever since being introduced to you and that is your foundation, and you can take your time with this one. I know it's kind a big question, but was there a defining moment in your life where you realized you wanted to do more than just work in community where you just wanted to create community?

Imani (05:11):

For sure. Love that question. And do you know how there are certain families that will host the big family gathering like a 4th of July or something like Juneteenth, whatever it is? Yes. So thinking of those families, I was that household. I grew up in that space where every Kwanza or every summer holiday there would be a big shindig, a big community gathering, a family, a friends in our backyard or in our living room and kitchen. And so from there, it's always just been something that I was exposed to. It's not actually something I think I thought about. It was just what you did, you gathered, you celebrated, you made space for each other. And so if I really had to pinpoint a time where I actively said, oh, I'm going to create something, it was probably in high school when a dear friend of mine wanted to create a young women's group and we were just trying to talk about coming of age topics and mentorship, and we were partnering with local nonprofits to have pop-up events throughout the city focused on wellness.

(06:34):

We were getting donations before we really knew what we were doing. And I think that type of community building has always been something that was important to me, again without me actually thinking about it, but I've also had a lot of examples of what that looks like. And so I've been surrounded honestly from the beginning with folks that have shown me the way of how to do the things. But then I've had people that really just met me where I was. And I think that more falls in the philanthropic side, but I had found a way to translate that into a business and really thinking about how that relates to a brand as a whole.

Keyiera (07:23):

Nice thinking about things that inspired me. I feel like maybe similar, but not necessarily in my family, but growing up in church, there are so many examples of bringing people together for various things or various reasons, and that was such a foundation in my life. And I think that translated into the work I do too, just naturally it is just a part of who you are and knowing that there's a certain village and everyone plays these different roles, and I think that translates really well into the working world because the village is the team or your pod, and each of these people have different strengths and they all bring something together and you can use all of those things to draw other people in. So it's like there's fellow, you would probably call it fellowship in church, but that's like networking in the real world. So yeah, I can totally relate to that. So drawing more from your story, what inspired you to create Generations of Hope and what does that name mean to you?

Imani (08:38):

For sure. So Generations of Hope was a passion project as most things that I do are most of the work is like I'm passionate about it. Thankfully I find opportunities that align there, but the, I guess nexus of it was being back home. So I had been in LA for a few months and coming up into my late grandmother's birthday, I was just seeing how the community stewardship wasn't what it used to be. There were a lot of transitory folks in the community there for maybe a semester or just there for travel, but there wasn't the same importance around, okay, what does it look like to be a steward? And I remember my grandmother being someone who would, my grandmother Mary, she would be someone who cleaned up early in the morning like 6:00 AM before people really got their day started. And you would never really think about who did the work.

(09:48):

It was just done for you. And in a similar vein, I wanted to bring that energy back of it being our responsibility to really show up to care for nurture, what the community could be. And so from there, I really wanted to just infuse this idea of the legacy that I've mentioned earlier in community care. So as a third generation organizer, my grandmothers, my parents, and then me, I grew up really witnessing what that means to be the heartbeat. My grandmother from the community cleanup, she did Mary Lee, but then my other grandmother, Ruth, she worked within school cafeterias and really wanted to nurture students through food and care. So being able to see those examples of leadership at home and that promise of what community could be not just a place but a feeling that can travel with you no matter where you go, that was really the heartbeat in the beginning of generations of hope and wanting to rebuild that for people who might not even have a long stake in the community, but knowing if you are here, this is what the expectation is, making sure folks knew what intention was and were able to really contribute to this community overall.

(11:24):

So that, and I think for me, creating this space is really opportunity for people to find what their version of volunteerism looks like. So one unique opportunity with Generations of Hope is it's never the same. There can be a community cleanup, there can be a refrige stocking, there can be peanut butter and jelly sandwich making. It can be a range of options. And with that, you get to find what works best for you. And again, reminding folks that no matter where life can take you, you can always come home to hope and you can always contribute to that as well.

Keyiera (12:13):

That's beautiful. I love the intention behind the meaning and the naming that you chose. And I also love what you said about community and meeting people where they're at regardless of their stake in it and just figuring out what their place is and just making it feel like a place they can come home to regardless of where they are at the moment. Because everyone truly can offer something no matter how big or small. So I think that's beautiful. Thank you. Shifting gears a little bit, let's talk about the future of community work. I feel like community is such a hot buzzword right now in marketing and everyone's just trying to figure out where they fit in. Where do you see the future of community work going?

Imani (13:01):

I think it's going to be interesting. I see this idea of slow community versus a viral attention where there will be a rise in your, for example, a micro influencer where they might not have the thousands and thousands of followers, but they do have the trust of their community. And I think folks are definitely leaning more towards those pockets. They don't want to be sold to. They want to be thoughtfully brought into a world. So definitely thinking about a slow community build and loyalty over virality overall and how can you add value within these communities genuinely, and how can we get away from this idea of vanity metrics? So I'm really excited to see how micro engagement and micro influencers take a step up and how they're tapped on as we move forward. That's what I see as where we're going.

Keyiera (14:10):

Yeah, I agree with that. I feel like the word influencer has just shifted so much and the sheer amount of work that they're kind of under to just churn out so many things. I think we've quickly even seen influencers start to get burned out and start to have different boundaries now. And I've been starting to see the word tastemaker show up a lot and taste makers are like trendsetters, but they're not necessarily in that same context. So I think when I think about the future, I think about that too. I think about the tastemakers having a unique or practical skill, but it's like they're not spread so thin. They're kind of just very, very niche and they can change mindsets versus they change the way you think about something versus trying to influence you to buy or something or promote something. So I think about that a lot too. What trends or shifts are you personally watching or leaning into right now? I

Imani (15:24):

Would say trends or shifts. I think building off of the idea of the micro influencer as one, but I also am excited about just in real life experiences. I think there are so many brands that are really thinking about experiential in a new way and how can we blend our narrative, blend our ethos into something that people can tangibly take away or step into. So this idea of world building is becoming super popular and I think for the last few months especially, but years just thinking of how you can capitalize on this and thinking of even the five senses is really big for me. So how does that show up in an event or an experience? Is there a way to incorporate smell, touch, sound, all of these elements for it to be a full circle immersive time for folks is what I'm really excited about,

Keyiera (16:34):

Like that multisensory experience. Nice. I feel like I'm happy that you said this about in-person because at Chatter kick we talk a lot about human connection in the digital world. It's something we say all the time, and I think people often miss that part where digital could mean in-person as well. It doesn't have to literally mean that the connection stays online or virtual. Do you think of the future of community? Is more digital, more in person, or just what percentage do you think it weighs? Do you think it'll eventually be more in person or just something else entirely? Because I kind of think that we started to crave connection amongst ourselves, and I think that Facebook groups and things like that started to really thrive in the past couple years. And I think that has led to people doing meetups or popups, and you don't just find people that you have these commonalities online. They're starting to say, Hey, let's do a coffee meet. People are just starting to meet briefly and just hang out with their people that they found online. So yeah. What do you think about that for the future? What mix do you see happening?

Imani (17:54):

It's definitely going to be a blend. You cannot cancel out digital. You have to have that as one of the spaces you're engaging. However, I do think leaning more into in real life, how can we translate digital to in-person is where the conversation is heading. Or to your point, even if we have these digital spaces, how are we driving that to something that really breaks down these walls, breaks down these barriers. If the pandemic showed us anything, we really do grave connection with other folks that have maybe a similar point of view, perspective or interest. So if there was a percentage, I would say the digital is a 40% and the remaining being pushing towards a more in-person, ultimately that's the goal. And again, just breaking down the borders so it feels like something tangible. It feels like something I think digital sometimes can feel effervescent. You can look at something, feel something, then it's like, okay, onto the next thing. But if you can really bring that home within a real life experience, I think 10 x is the possibilities and opportunities for a brand.

Keyiera (19:21):

I agree. So let's zoom out a little bit for this topic and talk about the why behind all of this. So why do you think that building community for brands really matters?

Imani (19:40):

I think simply put, shifting from my generations of hope brain to a brand, true brand brain, I think it's emotions are data. So you are able to understand people's motivations based on your calculation of how they're feeling. So if you want to buy something, if you want to engage with a brand, if you want to just think further, think deeper about your place in this ecosystem and how you want to show up, a lot of that can be pulled from how you're making people feel. So not thinking of folks as just an audience, but as ambassadors for your brand, thinking of how they're carrying your story forward is really important because they get to really amplify your message and get it out there to their networks and do some of the work for you really. So I would say community is, or community care really is brand trust ultimately. Thinking about how you go about that has to be a crucial part of your overall branding.

Keyiera (21:04):

I feel like it is so tricky because like you said, for brands or even online, it does feel so effervescent. How do you talk about RO? I know you work with stakeholders. How do you communicate that when the value, a lot of it is emotional or cultural or relational, it's like some of it you can touch and some of you can't. How do you communicate that with stakeholders?

Imani (21:31):

Great question. I think the return is really when you think about the engagement, when you think about, not so much likes on a post, but are people having a conversation about it? Are we making people just want to really to talk? I think in such a hyper touch world where we have a digital, we can do it in person, we could do a hybrid of it, are you really carrying it forward through the community that you're creating? So the return is having brand loyalty or brand trust rather that however we are showing up how we are who we are and that at the end of the day that we are focusing our efforts around the community that we're building. So I would say it's not a tangible asset. It really is keeping the conversation open and engaging with folks. And especially when we think about Gen Z millennials, there's a curve and interest in not necessarily sticking with one brand at a time, but really how can we meet them where they are, where they want a bit more fluidity? So being one of the top brands that they're thinking about as they're making their decisions, I think is helpful, but it is going to be that emotional, it is going to be the cultural, being able to say you're in those conversations is going to be important.

Keyiera (23:16):

So let's say there's a brand that has never built community before, but they're curious about it. What's the very first place that you'd tell them to get started?

Imani (23:29):

Great question. To get started, I would say think about one-on-one connections versus it has to be this big bold thing. I would say the experiences, the connections that I've made have taken years. The brand trust and loyalty that I've had an opportunity to tap into was being authentic and showing up in a way where I genuinely wanted to get to know people or brands or see where I fit into that narrative. And being able to study and really strategize over time of like, okay, when we're talking business side of things, this is how they're showing up. How can I amplify that? Or what might they be missing? Really showing up in that way where you have a critical eye for what's going well and what could be improved. I think there are folks that are on either side of this, but I like to test in private and scale in public, so getting input from the folks around me before I do a larger launch. So for years, for example, for years I've been mailing out seasonal cards to family and friends, and I mean this is over a hundred cards to people.

(25:01):

It started to honestly feel like a business. And so after doing it for years and really being intentional about what I was crafting, the messages I was sending, the trinkets I included in those, I was like, this actually there's an opportunity here. And so after years of doing that, I started to see an opportunity to scale that in public and create this mail service stamp society where folks were getting affirmations, they were getting reminders of who they are. And that has been something where a passion, again, I'm always finding a passion project that is scalable, but being able to take that and really share that message with a larger group and community is just an example of testing it and private being able to really think about how this can impact a larger community if you were to expand, if you were to scale. But that's what I'm thinking about. So really building those one-on-one connections, being intentional and authentic with those overthinking of this big picture of what it must be and testing and private scaling in public.

Keyiera (26:17):

Nice. The card story that she told reminds me of, I had a friend of mine, she was a coworker and she moved and we stopped working together, but we wanted to stay in touch and something that we had an idea to do was send each other postcards. And so I sent her a postcard and the mail lady, when she picked it up, she knocked on my door and I thought something was wrong. And she was like, where did you get this from? And I was like, what? And she's like, this postcard. And I was like, I went to an art show and I just picked it up and she was like, I have been delivering mail for a very long time and I have not seen a postcard in years. She was so excited to deliver it.

Imani (27:03):

And I think that goes back to even the earlier piece about slow community, viral attention. I think people are really craving what things used to be in a sense of, it doesn't have to be this text message or this email or this share on a social media platform. Going back to what are the classic ways we would engage and connect with one another, I think is what people are craving truly.

Keyiera (27:34):

Just keep it simple. Yep. Okay. So I think that gives a great sense of what that looks like in action. I'm thinking if someone's shifting into what that could feel like on a day to day, what's a low lift idea that you've seen work? Well for a small team, someone who maybe they don't have a lot of resources that they're a startup or they're kind of starting solo or they're just maybe in a few roles. Maybe they're someone who wears a lot of hats and they don't have a marketing team with something that they could do that feels like very doable and easy in their journey in this getting started.

Imani (28:19):

Okay. I would say something that comes to mind is I think that one-on-one, honestly, connection is something that would translate in this space. So when you, let's say, have an activation or an event, how can you make sure that every person in that space feels seen? So that's just something, you don't have to have anybody else in the loop to do that. And I think that is something for me, when I think of experiential and event production, it is truly making people feel welcome. So in real life opportunity, it's not about necessarily hopping on the mic and saying all the things. It's how can I talk to this person, make sure that they feel like I remember their name, I remember that thing that they told me that they like, and I was able to just carry that with me. And maybe in that follow up experience in person, being able to bring that full circle, I think little things like that can go a long way. And in a similar vein, instead of thinking you have to do this large scale marketing campaign, maybe send out a custom DM invite to someone instead of this generalized promotion, how can you make sure people feel like, oh, this is a personal, because

(29:51):

People are more likely to come to an experience if they feel like it was something geared towards and customize for them. So one-on-one connections in person, but maybe custom dms and invites if you needed to translate that online.

Keyiera (30:09):

I feel like there's a certain amount of research and really getting to know your audience too that goes into that. Because there are a lot of brands who build personas and target audiences, but there's a certain amount of social listening that you have to do and moderation, maybe diving deeper and seeing what are people saying in the comments? What are people sharing the most? How do they talk to each other about your brand or your product? So I think there's a certain amount of intentionality that goes into getting to know them versus like you said, that broad, are you just broadcasting this to everyone or is this like you see me?

Imani (30:51):

Yeah. And I think at the end of the day, we all want to be heard, seen, celebrated. So to your point that social listening is definitely an opportunity to make sure maybe that target is really matching with who they actually are. You might have an idea, but the data might say otherwise. So getting to know them is super important and that intentionality goes a long way.

Keyiera (31:18):

That might be the answer to this question, but just curious, because at Chatter Creek we work with a lot of B2B brands that don't necessarily have B2C or something flashy or fun to talk about all of the time. And I know that you work across industries. Is there one universal truth across the board that they could carry that you've seen in community building that no matter the brand, no matter the audience, something that a B2B brand could do to remember, I guess to establish a strong foundation of building community for them?

Imani (31:56):

For sure. I would say thinking about, it's not necessarily about being the flashiest, the loudest. I think it's really about being felt, going back to that idea of emotion. At the end of the day, the work that we're doing does usually come from this place of emotion. How are we using that as a driving force? So when we think B2B, maybe think be human to human, how are we connecting authentically? How are we seeing what the pain points are or shared values? How can that be a part of the conversation? And always at the core of why we do what we do. Because I would say for me, community is really an opportunity for continuity in a brand funnel overall. So that has to really be at the core of the work.

Keyiera (32:59):

Yeah, I think something that I think is important when I'm talking to people that I work with is that emotion doesn't necessarily mean happiness or sadness. It doesn't have to be a dramatic emotion. Your pain points are a point of frustration for that person or confusion for that person though, that's an emotion. What feels overwhelming to them, that's also an emotion. So it doesn't have to be emotional in a way that you think it's going invoke a virality. I guess it's just meeting them and okay, if this is their pain point or in your funnel or in their buying process, what are they feeling at these certain points? Yeah, I think that's really important to reframe in a B2B space. Okay, so we've talked about this on all different scales to end, we'd like to give everyone something that they could do to today, like an action mission. So if someone's listening to this right now and they want to take action to a day right now, what are one or two, maybe three simple things that they could do, give themselves a goal or a challenge by the end of the week, this is what I'm going to do to start nurturing my community.

Imani (34:31):

I love that question. If there were, I'll give you two. So I would say one, do an audit. So who are you talking at versus who are you talking with? How are you truly engaging with people? How are you getting to know them? How are they getting to know you to the points of, is it a general promotion? Are you customizing what the conversations or starting points are of how you begin to engage with them? Really do an audit. Think thoroughly about how you're showing up because at the end of the day, people are more responsive and engaged with brands or people that are investing in them as well. So I would say that's one. Audit. Two, I think of a 30 day maybe community spotlight series. You don't need to do any graphics or anything, but give people their flowers without asking anything of them. The surprise one will go a long way, but two, you're also being able to show people that they are seen, that they're celebrated, and as a result, there is almost this community building built into that and no one even ask for it. So I think that would go a long way. And I mean, it's your branding for them, but then you're also being related to whatever the brand you're spotlighting is. So that can also help on your positioning.

Keyiera (36:14):

Alright. All right. Well, Imani, thank you so much for being here with us and sharing everything so openly. I really do think that the work that you do is so, so special, especially in 2025 with everything going on. And I think it's important that our audience is walking away with some key takeaways and things they could do. And I think those are a really easy starting point that they could just take something and run with it. So thank you so much for that clarity and the inspiration that you gave us. If anyone's listening and you want to keep learning from Imani or follow the incredible work that she's doing, you can connect with her on LinkedIn. Her information's going to be in the description so you can connect with her and follow her. And if this episode got your wheels turning and you want to share it, please do with a teammate or a client or anyone else in your network who's ready to show up for their community in a more intentional way. Imani, thanks again for being here with us and we'll see you next time on Generation Social Media.

Imani (37:16):

Thank you.

inspiration, Business, Social MediaChatterkickJuly 14, 2025internal team, Podcast, Executive Social, CEO