How to Build a Successful Brand Community

Mar 17

Smart marketers know that winning the hearts—and not just the minds—of their customers is the way to build the long-term loyalty that will translate into repeat sales, and turn their customers into brand ambassadors who spread the word about their product or service.

They look for ways to build an emotional relationship between their customers and the brand, going beyond transactional relationships to connect directly with consumers in online and in-person spaces. They work to build a community of brand loyalists—a strategy that can pay off in higher customer engagement and retention, increased brand authenticity, and expanded marketing reach.

But for the strategy to achieve its potential, marketers need to understand what a brand community is—and isn’t—and the commitment involved.

What is a brand community?

A brand community is a group that has formed around a shared appreciation for a brand, or an experience it offers. They are engaged with the brand and each other, sharing their interests, ideas, and experiences. Communities can form around a product, service, or person, a set of values or goals, a problem the brand is solving, or the lifestyle it offers.

People participate in brand communities for a wide variety of reasons. While some members of a brand community are there to gain status or try on a new identity through brand affiliation, most are there to connect and build relationships.

They may be looking for emotional support and encouragement, to cultivate their interests and skills, or to talk to like-minded people. Often, the connection to other members is more important to them than the brand, itself.

Understanding the needs of your community is the first step in building a strong group. LEGO and Lululemon are two very different brands that have created successful, community-based marketing programs by understanding exactly what their customers want:

The LEGO Insiders community is focused on creating, collecting and sharing. Insiders can share their creations, earn loyalty rewards, get early access to sets, and compete in building challenges.

The Lululemon community is centred around a health and fitness lifestyle. The company offers free, in-store yoga lessons, and hosts festivals and events where members can sweat and mediate together. They also use brand ambassadors to engage and build their audience, and spread the brand’s values.

Harley-Davidson knows that building community takes commitment

Harley-Davidson is an early example of the economic power of a brand community. The company went from near extinction in 1983 to a top global brand by identifying, and then devoting itself to, its brand community: motorcycle enthusiasts who share a passion for the lifestyle, activities and ethos of the brand.

Their success inspired other companies to try to build their own communities, but what many misunderstood, was that Harley’s success was due to its complete commitment to building an authentic relationship with its community. The company went all in, strategically repositioning itself as “the one motorcycle manufacturer that understood bikers on their own terms”. They reorganized the company around the community, required executives to spend time in the field with customers, and “acknowledged the community as the rightful owner of the brand”.

Harley knows that building a successful brand community is not a one-off marketing strategy. It’s a long-term commitment to finding ways for people to connect with each other and your brand.

Smart marketers help members connect with each other

The long-term strength of a brand community lies in the relationships its members build with each other—the peer-to-peer interactions. If the conversation is only with the brand, people will move on over time. Marketers who focus only on creating an emotional connection to the brand, are taking a short-lived approach to building a community.

Smart marketers build strategies that help members connect. They understand that their strategies need to be multi-layered; online networks are just one tool—in-person events where people meet face-to-face also play a role. They also know that peoples’ needs aren’t static, and they offer a range of ways to participate in the community with subgroups and multiple experiences that will appeal to different audiences over time.

A brand community is not…

…lots of followers on your social account. For those followers to be a community, they must be engaging with you and others, mentioning you, and sharing your posts.

…a company asset. Brand communities are their own, uncontrollable entity—if you make a mistake, your community will be the first to tell you to course-correct. The brand should be thought of as a community collaborator and facilitator, not an owner.

And you don’t create community by driving sales transactions with promotional posts and contests. You build community with a long-term commitment to helping people meet their needs.

How to find your people

There are two approaches to building a brand community. Looking within, at your existing customer base, and looking outside your business for a community where you can earn the right to participate through shared values, interests, or problem-solving.

01. Grow the community you have:

How would your approach to promoting your brand change, if you started thinking about your customers as a community? And not just any community, but a group that would feel so connected to your business or organization—and to each other—that they voluntarily promote it.

Here at Indalma Creative, we thought about how we could better serve the needs of one of our client communities, police agencies. We added Josh Mimeault to our team—he’s our new police brand ambassador. Josh is a retired RCMP member with plenty of communications experience who can help agencies bridge the worlds of policing and branding—he speaks their language and ours.

02. Find a community that’s a fit:

Could you grow your brand awareness by looking for an established community that could become loyal to your service or product, given the right brand experience? Last year, we wrote a blog about the Taylor Swift Eras Tour and how the singer had created a community that businesses could tap into.

Before you begin to build

Before you begin building your community, you need to know what your brand stands for, what value you bring, and be committed, in terms of time and effort, to fueling conversations and creating opportunities for community engagement. Community-building isn’t a short-term marketing strategy, it’s a long-term approach and effort that can pay off in loyal clients who will create enthusiasm for your brand.