For any business, big or small, the constant and steady growth of its brand is the no. 1 requirement. To meet this requirement, one needs to come up with strong and effective brand strategies. A crucial part of this strategy is building, what we call in marketing terms, a brand community. And what better than social media, a marketing necessity nowadays, to build such a community?
But first, let’s delve into the concept of a brand community.
A Brand Community – is it like a fandom?
Imagine being at a concert of your favourite band, wearing their official merch, and surrounded by fellow fans who are equally excited as you. What you all share is intense love and devotion for that particular band – and thus belong to a fandom.
That’s what a brand community also signifies – a group of people who develop an emotional connection to a brand. They engage with the brand, absorb its content shared on social media, and consciously choose to buy its products. These people also love to connect, interact, and exchange ideas with others who have similar passionate interest in that brand.
Basically, they become loyal customers of the brand and act as fans or brand advocates.
Decades ago, the traditional one-way communication through television and radio left little opportunity for brands and their customers to interact. The advent of social media was a game-changer for brands in terms of building lasting relationships with their consumers.
So how does nurturing a community who are a fan of your brand through social media help your business?
The Power of building a strong community that loves your brand
Increases brand awareness:
Having a strong online community for your brand helps as it is a space where your target audience can actively interact and exchange ideas. They willingly share your content and talk about your brand with others, thus spreading awareness about your brand far and wide and to new people. By reaching new audiences, you improve your chances of gaining more paying customers.
Builds brand loyalty:
Every brand aims to gain customers who are extremely loyal to them and by extension are enthusiastic about consuming their content and products.
Fostering a community where the members are able to share insights and engage directly with the brand creates a sense of belonging that makes them feel heard and valued. As a result, these members then decide to become loyal to that particular brand and partake in actions such as liking, commenting, and sharing its content religiously. Therefore, the brand is able to build relationships with its audience that are long-lasting and much deeper than a purely transactional one.
Apple has masterfully gathered a loyal fan base over the years not only for its widely-recognized high-quality products but also for the support communities it provides. The customers are able to post feedback, ask questions, and exchange knowledge with other fans of the brand across the globe.
Reduces marketing costs:
Social media communities are a great way for brands to engage with the target audience while cutting marketing costs. With an active community, a brand has the ability to gain insights into its customer base. Thus no added expense is required for research as customers naturally share their wants and needs. Furthermore, loyal community members of a brand are likely to recommend its products and services to more people they know. This powerful ‘word-of-mouth’ strategy is another effective method to increase brand awareness without incurring advertising expenses.
Provides customer insights and feedback:
When consumers purchase a product, it is expected that they would want to share their experience, be it good or bad. Social media communities are the ideal spaces where they share reviews and their thoughts and have meaningful conversations with like-minded people. Through these communities, brands gain valuable knowledge about a customer’s interests and desires, allowing them to make informed decisions and improve their services for a better user experience.
Greatly enhances brand reputation:
These social media brand communities also play a significant role in magnifying the reputation of a brand. When a brand engages with its audience on social media to address issues and queries, the display of responsibility helps build trust and thus enhances brand reputation.
How to build a successful community for your brand?
Identify who your target audience is:
Before you go ahead with building a community for your brand, the first crucial step is finding out who you are trying to reach. Identify your audience and gain a deep understanding of their behaviour and interests. What are their preferences, their desires, and their pain points? Having a clear picture of the ones you are targeting will enable you to perfectly curate content that resonates with them.
Define the purpose of your brand’s community:
Now that you know who to target, it’s time to define your community’s values and purpose. Setting a clear goal and purpose that aligns with your brand’s values will give the community a specific direction.
Ask yourself the following questions-
- What is the objective and ultimate goal of the community you are creating?
- What are your plans for the community and how do you intend to keep the members engaged?
- How will your brand’s community goals help in achieving the goals you have for your company?
Choose the right platforms:
For creating your community’s home base, you need to consider which platform would suit your brand’s niche, goals, and audience. Research thoroughly about which platforms your audience frequents the most. If it’s a young audience, Instagram and even TikTok could be the perfect space for them to engage. If you are targeting a professional audience, it is best to choose LinkedIn as your brand’s discussion hub. Similarly, forums such as Reddit and Discord could be great platforms for initiating conversations as well.
The company LEGO has strategically utilized the power of social media to grow its community. They have crafted their content based on the tastes and interests of their target audience. Since different platforms attract distinct audiences, LEGO built and maintained a strong social media presence on different relevant platforms to create a broad appeal.
Create content that attracts:
The most important and effective method to attract new audiences and retain existing ones is creating compelling content. The power of good content is immense – it has the incredible ability to hook the right audience and keep them coming back for more. Experiment with different forms of content – could be a graphic post, a video, a story, a blog post, or a podcast. The content you craft should reflect your brand’s purpose and personality while capturing your audience’s interests.
Actively engage with your audience:
You can’t expect your community to grow if there is no effort to engage on your part. Your community members will get the motivation to stay involved when you show quick responsiveness. Reply to comments and messages, address any and all queries, encourage new conversations, host contests, run polls, and share user-generated content. Actively engaging with your audience not only boosts engagement among members but also creates an atmosphere of inclusiveness.
Netflix, for example, are expert in engaging its diverse audience by interacting with them, showing glimpses of its movies, and encouraging feedback.
Evaluate your success:
You’ve created a community on social media, but how to know if your community-building efforts are yielding the desired results? Measuring and evaluating your performance is a major part of building a successful community that can be done by using analytics tools. By analyzing the growth of the audience, metrics of engagement, as well as retention metrics, you can determine your progress and impact. Leverage the analytics tools to fine-tune your strategies and make informed decisions for the development of your company.
Final Thoughts
Building and nurturing a brand community is an essential marketing strategy that contributes to the brand’s growth and success. When done right, it can lead to increased brand loyalty, high customer retention, and a significant surge in sales.
Wish to drive sales and grow your business to new heights? Contact Digital Rosogulla today!
