Why Community Is So Important To Marketing
Your company’s mission and identity can easily get lost in the fray of traditional marketing tactics. Whether you’re the owner of the business or the marketing director, it’s easy to start prioritizing things like SEO and PPC when you’re coming up with how you’re going to market your business. (Sure, SEO and PPC are important—but they’re not the most important thing.)
But what you might neglect is an equally important—yet often overlooked—aspect of digital marketing: community building. Building communities for your target audiences not only helps foster customer loyalty but also offers significant long-term business benefits that are key to having sustained success in the ever-changing landscape of the digital world.
With changes in consumer preferences and behaviors, especially during the pandemic, it's clear that community is the driving force for successful businesses today. Community-centric marketing strategies provide your business with an opportunity to engage consumers on a deeper level, increasing brand loyalty and boosting sales in an ever-changing landscape.
Let’s take a look at why building a strong sense of community should be at the forefront of any great company’s marketing strategy today.
First, what is a community and why is it important in marketing?
Community helps establish a connection between a business and its consumers. It also helps create an online or physical presence that can reach new target audiences and increase brand loyalty. Community building allows businesses to grow their relationships with existing consumers while simultaneously drawing in new ones, making it an invaluable tool for any business looking to increase its customer base. In today's competitive market, having a strong community presence can make the difference between success and failure.
How can businesses create a sense of community for their customers or clients?
One of the most effective ways for businesses to create a sense of community for their customers or clients is by fostering authentic relationships and creating an environment that encourages interaction. This can be done online by ensuring customer profiles are easy to find, by engaging in conversations with customers on social media, and by providing personalized content tailored for different demographics.
In-person experiences can also be created, such as offering customer events or organizing volunteer activities where individuals come together and work towards achieving a common purpose. By building customer loyalty through meaningful experiences, businesses can establish a positive reputation among their customers which will help create a strong community relationship over time.
What are the benefits of building community in marketing campaigns?
To maintain success in today's market, brands need to build relationships with their customers and targeted audience rather than simply promoting a product or service. Creating a community allows brands to showcase their core values, increase engagement, and foster loyalty among customers and potential customers.
Brands that have successfully used communities have seen higher customer satisfaction scores and improved customer loyalty due to open dialogue where feedback, recommendations, and interactions are encouraged. This has led to greater brand awareness and ultimately more sales or leads for the company.
How can businesses measure the success of their community-building efforts?
Establishing key performance indicators such as customer satisfaction, or tracking the number of customers returning to the business following their first interaction can provide insight into how effective the community-building efforts have been.
Additionally, advanced techniques like AB testing—in which two versions of a website or app are compared and tested for effectiveness—could also be used to measure success. Plus, you can rely on surveys and analytics that contain customer feedback to understand what aspects of their brand are resonating most with their loyal followers. With clever use of these strategies, businesses can work toward building an active and engaged community around their brand while accurately measuring progress.
Are there any potential downsides to creating a community around a brand or business?
Creating a community around a brand or business can indeed be an excellent means of marketing and connecting with customers. However, there are potential downsides to doing so as well. Once you start to cultivate a community, it requires ongoing maintenance. You need to make sure your message is consistent and in line with others in the group, responding to customer inquiries promptly, moderating disruptive behavior, and possibly even hiring staff to dedicate solely to the management of the group. Managing this responsibility properly helps create an engaged audience, but missteps can lead to a terrible PR nightmare for the brand in question. It is important that businesses tread carefully when beginning their foray into communal branding.