The goal of community marketing is to create a space where people can connect and share their experiences and ideas about the brand or product. But it takes time and effort to build up a community around a brand. Dive deep into how you can build a community and reap its benefits.
Community marketing doesn’t always come to mind when marketing strategies are discussed and considered. However, community marketing can be very beneficial to a business, as well as its customers. Building an online community and interacting with your customers is valuable for many reasons, not just improving your bottom line. It’s time brands took a step back, built a community, and jumped on the growth wagon.
What is Community Marketing?
For the uninitiated, community marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on building relationships and engaging with customers and potential customers in a community setting. This can be done offline through events, groups, and meetups, or online through social media, forums, and blogs.
The goal of community building is to create a space where people can connect and share their experiences and ideas about the brand or product. This helps to build trust and loyalty among customers, as well as generate word-of-mouth marketing. Research shows that community marketing can result in a 5X increase in customer lifetime value.
Community marketing can be an effective way to reach new customers and grow your business. But it takes time and effort to build up a community around your brand. If you're considering using community-based marketing to promote your business, there are a few things to keep in mind.
⦁ First, it's important to identify your target audience and make sure that your activations are relevant to them.
⦁ Second, you need to be prepared to commit time and resources to your community outreach efforts.
⦁ Third, you need to measure your success and adjust your approach as needed.
Done correctly, community-based marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes.
Why is Community Marketing Useful for Your Brand?
Brand communities are a win-win for companies. They don't just benefit the business and the profit, but their customers experience added value as well. The benefits of community building for a brand include -
⦁ Learning more about your customers – their wants, needs, preferences, concerns and buying habits
⦁ Making consumers feel appreciated and involved
⦁ Insight into new solutions, products and services based on the knowledge gained about your customers
⦁ The ability to show your customers that you care about them
⦁ The ability to test new products and services – with a loyal community behind you, you can test out new product and service ideas before bringing them to public
⦁ Brand advocacy and word-of-mouth advertising
⦁ Improved customer retention and loyalty
⦁ Decreased spending on traditional forms of media
⦁ Development of user-generated content
⦁ Diversifying your marketing strategy and reducing dependency on paid ads
⦁ Building a positive reputation
⦁ Increased profits
⦁ Decreased customer support costs
⦁ Attracting new customers
On the other hand, the benefits for potential consumers and customers include -
⦁ Ability to express their concerns, likes and dislikes
⦁ Feeling heard and appreciated by the brands they love
⦁ Getting answers to their questions quickly
While the benefits are many, and greatly outweigh the costs, creating a successful online brand community is not an easy task. Several strategies can be used to ensure you are putting your best foot forward when it comes to community marketing.
Community Marketing Strategies
Not all brands succeed when it comes to building and contributing to a community alongside their customers. When developing a brand community, it’s important to keep certain things in mind to be successful.
Here are some strategies to help you build a brand community of your own, or to participate in an already existing community.
Know your objective
Be clear about what you want to achieve with your community marketing strategy. What are your goals and objectives? What do you hope to accomplish by building a community around your brand?
Identify your Audience
Figure out the target audience you want to tap. Who are the people you want to reach with your community marketing efforts? What are their needs and interests? How can you best communicate with them?
Harness the Power of Influencers
Build relationships with influencers. Identify the key opinion leaders in your target audience and build relationships with them. These influencers can help promote your brand to their followers and encourage them to join your community.
Attract with Content
Create compelling content. Provide value to your target audience by creating content that is interesting, informative, and helpful. This content will help to attract and engage members of your community.
Engage with your Community
Be active and engaged. Participate in discussions, offer support, and interact with members of your community regularly. Show that you are committed to the success of your community and its members.
Key Takeaways On How to Build a Community
Community marketing may not be as simple as publishing a Facebook ad, but its benefits outweigh the costs and the effort required to build and participate in a community. When done right, community marketing can provide loyal customers who will promote your brand for you, without the need to spend any money on traditional forms of media. To create a positive brand community and effectively participate in other online communities, you must make sure to:
⦁ Avoid putting salesy content that pushes consumers away – keep it educational and engaging
⦁ Contribute regularly with interesting and informative content
⦁ Respond quickly to comments and queries posed by consumers
⦁ Maintain a consistent brand voice in all of the content you post
⦁ Interact and build relationships with valuable influencers
With these tactics, you will be on the right track to building a strong and positive community for your brand that will result in satisfied customers who are willing to vouch for you and your business. This will ultimately lead to higher GROWTH for your brand.
Pulp Strategy is one of the leading strategic marketing agencies in India and can help you build a strong brand community. Connect today!
