Why Start-Up Brands Need to Focus on Community
In a world where consumers are seeing anywhere from 100 to thousands of ads per day, brands need to get creative to cut through the noise. This is especially the case for start-ups, who may not have the resources to engage in large-scale marketing efforts. This is where a strong marketing tactic that doesn’t require a ton of resources can be hugely beneficial. What is this tactic you may ask? We believe that Community-based marketing could be an ideal solution.
Community-based marketing is a strategy that aims to build and nurture a community of fans or customers around a brand rather than focusing on immediate incremental sales. Instead of the usual one-sided promotional content, community-based marketing prioritizes relationships and engagement, which in turn creates loyal fans and customers. Although this marketing strategy is beneficial for all types of companies, for start-ups, it can be a game changer. In fact, 80% of start-ups are already utilizing community as their leading marketing strategy.
It’s funny to think about how much marketing and social media have evolved over the years. Social media initially was all about community and was a space for companies (especially start-ups) to build connections with their customers. Over the years, social media has shifted more to a broadcast role. After reading this blog, you’ll see why it’s time to bring social media (and marketing in general) back to being more community-centric.
Why Consider a Community-Based Marketing Strategy?
The first reason one might consider a community-based marketing strategy is simple: traditional marketing doesn’t work like it used to. Today, we are bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information every day. It’s coming at us through our cell phones, our laptops, and pretty much everywhere we look. With this increased information density, also comes increased competition. With social ads becoming more and more accessible, it’s easier than ever to advertise. Meaning, more brands are doing it! If you want your brand to stand apart from the crowd, you need to go above and beyond traditional marketing tactics. This is especially the case if you’re just starting out and don’t have the luxury of brand recognition.
Community-based marketing makes customers feel like they belong. This is more important than ever. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people are longing to belong and need community. This is especially the case for Gen Z, which is considered “the loneliest generation”. This is mostly due to this generation having fewer physical community connections (such as connections with neighbours, co-workers, etc.) than other generations. So, if your brand is looking to target this age group, providing them with a sense of community will be an excellent way to reach them.
Community creates strong emotional connections that lead to a loyal audience. Typically, social media today is a weak relational link between you and your customers. They may follow you and occasionally like your content, but do they associate themselves with your brand? Community-based marketing helps to build these deeper connections and makes members feel like they are not just customers, but a part of the brand. These community members are much more likely to be loyal and even become brand advocates as compared to social media followers.
Starting to Think About a Community-Based Marketing Strategy
Of course, at its core, community-based marketing is about building connections with the brand. The Volkswagen Owner’s Club is a great example of this. This forum allows Volkswagen enthusiasts to come together and chat about all things Volkswagen. The community, which has been active since 2006, helps reaffirm these enthusiast's relationship with the brand.
However, it’s not just about the customer’s relationship with the brand, it’s also about customers’ relationships with each other. When customers start to interact with one another in an authentic way and bond over shared interests, they build connections with each other, which then creates switching costs (the cost a customer incurs when switching brands) if they were to leave the brand and community.
It’s important to consider why people would want to be part of a brand's community. Consider the following:
If you think about why you started the business and how that’s relevant to a community, do you have a story? A social justice agenda? Something else? Customers love hearing about these kinds of things and it will make them more likely to want to be a larger part of it.
Do your employees love working for you? If yes, why do they love it? Do you offer any specific benefits? Do you have a great company culture? Reflect on these questions and ensure the answers are a key part of your community as you build.
Why would customers want to be part of your brand? What does being part of your brand mean? Do customers get benefits? Consider these questions, and ensure that any key pieces of your company culture are clear for community members.
When building a community, it’s also important to keep in mind what the key pillars will be. Of course, some of these pillars will depend on the brand and type of community, but no matter what, there are a couple that should be considered:
First, the community should have a safe culture. There shouldn’t be any tolerance for disrespect to the brand or other members. This doesn’t mean there can’t be constructive criticism of the brand and/or certain products or services, but any criticisms should be done respectfully.
Another essential pillar is rewarding community members. It’s important that community members feel like they are valued. Therefore, recognizing and rewarding membership and contributions should be a key part of a community marketing strategy.
What drives people to participate in a community? It’s fun! If people can participate in a way that’s fun and cool, they not only want to participate in the community, but they also want to talk about their experiences outside of the community. This is how a community will grow. An example of a brand that does a great job of this is Canva. Canva has the ultimate start-up success story. Created by a group of young Australians in 2013, this design platform went from a start-up to a multi-billion dollar company in less than 10 years. Although there are many reasons why this happened, a focus on community helped immensely. Canva has a strong company culture that focuses on creativity, inclusivity, and collaboration. All of these values are reflected in their community, which was established in 2016 and now has over 850K members. Members of the community get to share their designs, help others, and provide feedback. To make it more fun, Canva also has design challenges that members can participate in. The creativity and positivity not only makes members want to participate but also makes members want to share their designs and ideas with friends outside the community, thereby expanding its reach.
Okay, so now you know why people participate in a brand community, but what if the community doesn’t want to be open to just anyone? What about being a little more exclusive? That’s okay too! Brands can decide what type of community works based on business goals. A huge community may make sense for some, but not for everyone. Sephora, for example, has a massive community with over 6 million members. Members discuss all things beauty and have the opportunity to join challenges to earn badges. The community has gotten so big that Sephora doesn’t bother tracking sales anymore, their main goal is community engagement. On the other hand, Safary is a start-up that focuses on community first. The community consists of the top web3 leaders and discusses insights and ideas for web3 growth tactics. Unlike Sephora’s community, not just anyone can join. Safary is very selective about their community membership to maintain an exclusive community where membership is coveted.
Finally, brands need to be okay with the community evolving as it grows. Chances are the community will look quite different with 50 members than it will with 5,000 members. The conversations may change, the way the group interacts may change, and the goals tracked and measured may change. A brand should be okay with this, as long as it stays within the boundaries of its culture.
A Word of Caution
When thinking about starting a community, it’s important to understand the main reason why these types of communities fail. The reason is: the brand’s reason for the community is different from the customer’s reason for the community. Remember, the reason community-based marketing can be so successful is because it helps to make customers feel like they belong and builds a deeper connection with the brand.
When building a brand’s community, consider the difference between brand building tactics and sales tactics. Brand building tactics aren’t directly trying to make a sale, but are focused on building long-term relationships with the target audience. Brand building is absolutely essential for long-term business growth. Sales tactics on the other hand are focused on directly trying to make a sale and of course, are essential to keep the business afloat. To learn more about brand building and sales tactics and why both are necessary, check out our blog on brand and demand.
Communities are 100% a brand building tactic. We understand that, especially for start-ups, sales are critical. It can be hard to focus on anything else. However, trying to sell products or services to a community will be seen as just another traditional marketing tactic that is typically to build a deeper and long-lasting connection with customers.
Let’s Get Community-Building!
Now you know why you should invest in community, how communities are built, and a dangerous pitfall to avoid. Although we’ve provided some useful sources and information, building and maintaining a strong community can be a difficult task. If your brand is looking for assistance with creating a strong community that’s sure to build connections with your target audience, book a call with a member of our team.
Sources:
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/05/03/how-many-ads-do-we-really-see-day-spoiler-it-s-not-10000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocCEtt1eM_s
https://www.volkswagenownersclub.com/
https://canvatemplates.com/canva-history/
https://www.canva.com/community/
https://community.sephora.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/safaryclub/
https://www.redcatmarketing.ca/blog/investing-in-brand-and-demand