A recent study by iHeartMedia and Pushkin Industries found that nearly 50% of consumers feel “ignored” by brands. These consumers feel disconnected from modern marketing, resulting in the perception that companies today don’t understand or reflect their beliefs and priorities.
A brand community is a highly effective way to make sure your customers feel seen and heard. Brand communities boost customer loyalty, deepen customer relationships, and help your brand uncover key insights that improve your marketing, product offering, and customer experience.
What is a brand community?
The term “brand community” was coined in 1995 by Albert Muniz Jr. and Thomas C. O'Guinn, who defined it as “a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand.” Essentially, a brand community is a place where people who feel emotionally connected to your brand can connect with each other.
[Read more: 6 Ways to Create a Sense of Community at Your Small Business]
While this sounds relatively straightforward, creating a brand community is anything but easy. In fact, Susan Fournier, a Researcher and Professor at Boston University, found that most companies get brand communities wrong, wasting time, resources, and customer goodwill.
“Unfortunately, although many firms aspire to the customer loyalty, marketing efficiency, and brand authenticity that strong communities deliver, few understand what it takes to achieve such benefits,” wrote Fournier. “Worse, most subscribe to serious misconceptions about what brand communities are and how they work.”
How do you create a brand community?
Building a strong, engaged brand community takes time—but the benefits are worth the effort.
Start by creating a clear brand identity. “If you want to build a community around your brand, you need to know what your brand is. This goes beyond what your business sells or offers,” wrote Sprout Social.
Opinion leaders and evangelists play important and well-documented roles in social networks. They spread information, influence decisions, and help new ideas gain traction.
Susan Fournier, Researcher and Professor at Boston University
A brand identity encompasses your mission, values, voice, and visual identity (such as your colors and logo). Defining this identity is more than just a marketing exercise; it should inform the way your business is structured. Your customer service, product development, marketing, and sales must all align to support the brand identity and bring it to life for your customers. “For a brand community to yield maximum benefit, it must be framed as a high-level strategy supporting business-wide goals,” wrote Fournier.
Next, create space for your business's fans to connect with your brand and each other. You can host online conversations on several platforms; ideally, you’ll find the one where your audience is most active. Options include social media groups (Facebook, LinkedIn), dedicated forums (Reddit, Slack), or even proprietary platforms (such as Spotify’s community page on its website). Local businesses might also include offline spaces for hosting events or visiting with the community.
[Read more: Faire Report Reveals How Embracing 'Love for Local' Can Build Community Around Your Retail Business]
The final piece of the puzzle is to bring your community to life by identifying your loyal, active customers and empowering them to play specific roles. Encourage your brand evangelists—members of your loyalty program, micro-influencers, or frequent, repeat customers—to create content or host conversations that connect others.
“Opinion leaders and evangelists play important and well-documented roles in social networks. They spread information, influence decisions, and help new ideas gain traction,” wrote Fournier.
It’s important to build a cadre of fans that can bring this community to life. Don’t rely on one person to do the heavy lifting. Ask your team to organize discussions or create content.
How to manage a brand community
As you set up your brand community, establish guidelines to help everyone stay on the same page regarding what content and behavior is acceptable. “Community guidelines are the ‘ground rules’ that dictate how people should interact and behave on your forum,” wrote Later. “With that in mind, it's important to make your guidelines detailed, concise, and easy to understand.”
Monitor your online space to answer questions, address issues, and moderate posts that seem off-topic or violate your community guidelines. Moderate with care: The community should be empowered to discuss your brand without feeling censored. Of course, responding to questions and participating in conversations helps you build connections. But your customers should feel ownership of this community, as this ownership creates stronger brand loyalty.
CO— aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.
CO—is committed to helping you start, run and grow your small business. Learn more about the benefits of small business membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here.
