Why rent when you can own your community?
When clients ask me about best practices in building communities, I remind them that it is more important than ever to look beyond the traditional social media platforms.
Why❓
While creating a group on Meta is a good starting point to reach a target audience, you are effectively renting space in their community. Why rent when you can own your own community and build equity with your customers?
If you own your “branded” e-commerce store and customer experience, then it’s equally important to “own” the virtual real estate that you’re using to engage your customers and deliver value.
Why Pay Rent❓
Algorithms run social media platforms to their advantage. Your messaging and content may get a boost in your targeted market feeds (maybe), but they are also serving up and boosting your competitors’ content. It’s possible that your fans are getting hijacked by the algos for the benefit of the media network’s bottom line as you try to engage with them.
So, what can be done?
Leverage organic social media to build your brand story. Existing social platforms are a great way to share your values through your content and engagement strategy to attract potential new fans. Done well, your fans will share your stories and introduce you to their friends.
Invest in your own community platform for your customers. If done properly, you own your relationships and your data and solely determine how, when, and where your messages are delivered. You can expect only 2% – 15% of your followers to see an organic post on Meta. However, when you run your own community platform (even if you use a plugin), you get to define the terms of service and control external interfaces and interactions and leverage the larger social ecosystem to build from there on your terms.
Build your own branded community engagement: Chances of reaching your audience and gaining true engagement are much stronger when you build your program on your platform. This will enable more tailored and focused interactions with your community, leading to increased engagement – both online and offline.
By connecting relevant content and customers with experts and education, it becomes a game-changer and added access to a brand. Customers are seeking to vote on brands they remain loyal to with their values. Close engagement with your true community is an opportunity to truly understand their needs!
Community-led thinking will continue to influence brands in the future, so it is vital that you maximize your consumer engagement activities with improved, relevant, and tailored consumer experiences.
Need an example or two?
Check out #Lego and #Sephora Both have outstanding branded communities that are generating a significant ROI.
If you need help getting started building your community, finding the right platform for you, or refining engagements and experiences in your existing one, let’s talk! I love helping great brands and leaders disrupt in this exciting space!
