Why brands build online communities?
Hi hackers,
I've been seeing some successful brand communities online, from Lego Ideas to Sephora BeautyTalk. They successfully made people stay engaged on the website, share ideas, and help each other.
What's their secret sauce?
I'm thinking that developing a sense of belonging and acceptance is key to building a strong brand community and is something many businesses are now starting to implement in their social-first strategies.
The result is forming the "we" experience, making it not about the brand anymore but about the consumer.
Keen to hear your thoughts!
"developing a sense of belonging and acceptance is key" you said it. I think sharing is another key point. People are sharing what they know about the product (how to use it, maximize benefits, etc) and seeing others' responses to their shares validates their own investment in the product. It is a good feedback mechanism.
Building an online community means creating a space for your customers where they can connect with you and other loyal customers.
Here is the way how the importance of online communities was described by Forbes:
"Today, more and more organizations are looking to build an online community to help their customers learn, share and collaborate with each other, which in turn can foster growth and relevance in their respective industries.
Communities are built to listen to what people want and let them drive the evolution of what it is. The idea is to listen to what they are looking for and provide them the tools they need and facilitate the change. Listening is the best thing you can do."
So, tap into social listening to improve your brand and customer experience. We advise you to check our article for more insights on how to create a successful online community for your SaaS business here: https://bit.ly/2WQjmPL
three things: https://twitter.com/yenFTW/status/1345036669838266369
.. the TL;DR: is this: the BEST communities have these 3 things BUILT INTO THEIR DNA:
1️⃣ — built for experimentation / learning
2️⃣ — built for production (get shit done)
3️⃣ — built for member success (💰 and 📈)
... this is what i've observed. :)
I've been reading that 95% of online brand communities close during their first year of life according to Feverbee’s estimations. Failure occurs when brands launch a community without defining the underlying motivator for users to participate and want to be part of the community.
Giving people a reason to engage with the community and having a clear value prop gives a brand a huge advantage from the beginning.
What are your thoughts?