What Makes A Successful Brand Community?
You need to develop new ways to engage with your customers because today's consumers demand brands to connect with them more than ever. Customer loyalty, more excellent customer service, and brand authenticity are all possible outcomes of brand communities, but only if those communities are designed to benefit their members.
What is a Brand Community?
A brand community is at its finest when it comes to brand loyalty. As a member of your brand community, a person is likely to buy products from your firm, read your blog posts, spread the word about your business, and more.
But brand awareness is not the same as brand community.
There is no guarantee that someone who knows about or has purchased from your brand is a member of your brand community.
People who follow and share your social media posts and those who appreciate seeing all your brand has to offer to constitute your brand's "community."
In other words, a brand community is a location where people who have an emotional attachment to your brand may engage with each other and your brand as a whole.
Why do you need a Brand Community?
Your brand community is a vital business tool. Therefore you want to leverage it.
A group of people who use your product or service regularly might be a great source of referrals. Test new product mockups, get updates on new features and blog posts, and get general comments for improvement with this group.
You need to ensure that you are developing a robust community that thrives and rewards your community members so your brand can make customer-driven decisions and spread the news about your business.
7 Successful Brand Communities
Here are the top 10 successful brand communities you can get inspiration from:
#1: Apple
It is not just about quality, innovation, and support that makes their items more expensive than their competitors. iPhones and MacBooks have become inseparable parts of the lives of many Apple users. Peer-to-peer support is only part of what the Apple Support Community offers; it also provides a space for users to socialize and exchange ideas.
Reasons for its success:
As one of the most active brand communities in the world, the Apple Support Communities help customers succeed by providing a place for feedback, self-service support, and knowledge sharing. Gamification is used to reward and encourage positive participation in user-generated content.
#2: Adobe
Behance, an online design community, was purchased by Adobe in 2012. Behance was (and still is) a well-respected online community for creatives in the design world. You can promote your work and discover the works of others worldwide through it.
Creative software like Photoshop and Acrobat, which are increasingly rented through Adobe's Creative Cloud, generates a sizable profit for Adobe. This puts Behance at the center of a creative community that includes everything from vital tools to professional socializing when networks like Behance are enabled.
Using the creative cloud as a platform, Adobe can integrate community elements into its products, generating a wealth of two-way communication.
#3: Playstation
In recent years, the PlayStation fan base has grown due to the growing popularity of online gaming.
There are channels for different games and a more comprehensive range of subjects for gamers to discuss on the site.
The "Trophies" reward system recognizes gamers' achievements, allows them to compete against one another, and is available to users online.
#4: Airbnb
When two ex-college friends started renting out an air mattress in their living room in 2007, they had no idea it would turn into the multi-billion dollar corporation it is today. The brand's online community center, which only accepts verified hosts as members, is one of the main reasons for its great popularity.
Airbnb host community members can share their experiences, interact with other hosts in their area, and organize local social events using the platform.
Why it is a hit?
Almost everyone enjoys talking about their travel experiences, especially now when the world is so easily accessible. Because of this, the host community at Airbnb thrives, providing a platform for individuals to meet, mingle, and gain a deeper understanding of one another's cultures.
#5: Starbucks
My Starbucks Idea is a platform for coffee lovers to express and discuss their thoughts and ideas on the beverage they choose.
Customers thrive in environments where they are treated with respect, which is precisely what they are. By emphasizing the specific client ideas implemented, the brand succeeds in creating this positive attitude.
Starbucks utilizes this online community to understand what customers desire, how their tastes vary, and what inspires them the most." As a result, this hot beverage company has remained relevant for so long.
#6: Red Bull
Red Bull, founded in Austria in 1987 and now dominates the worldwide energy drink industry, stands for much more than just a caffeine-laced pick-me-up. Red Bull is a lifestyle brand. Most people link Red Bull with athletics, endurance, and wings because of the brand's name.
Parkour, surfing, motocross, and eSports are just a few high-octane events where the brand is dominant. Sponsorship, word-of-mouth, social networking, and merchandise have turned it into a multi-platform powerhouse.
Red Bull uses an online community to keep followers up to date on events ranging from music festivals to eSport. For the company to maintain its vibrant and high-energy image while strengthening consumer relationships, it makes regular adjustments to its marketing plan. As a result, it has become an excellent illustration of an online brand community.
#7: Spotify
Spotify's community helps businesses with customer service and raising their brand's perceived worth. A place for music fans to discuss the industry, propose suggestions for Spotify platform improvements, and get user support from the firm.
The Rock Star program allows users to earn points by writing helpful posts and responding to inquiries from other Spotify users. The points can be used for products, premium subscriptions to Spotify, and even concert tickets. This is a great way to stimulate the creation of user-generated content.
What Makes A Successful Brand Community?
Brand communities are not a marketing strategy; they are a business plan. Consequently, its success depends more on its perception and value than its KPIs. Here are some essential qualities of any thriving online community for a brand.
High Engagement
When it comes to brand community strategies, high customer participation is inevitable. Brand communities that are most effective go beyond simply checking a box on your marketing checklist.
You should provide a place where customers can meet, exchange ideas, and find solutions. Customer loyalty and advocacy can be achieved if you build your online community the right way.
Collaboration
Modern clients expect fast answers and solutions to their questions and needs; however, they are frequently met with dead ends due to constant redirection. This gulf in customer service can be bridged through a brand community with collaborative capabilities.
Personalization
Please do not leave it on autopilot. The most effective brand communities constantly evolve to provide a place where all its members may feel comfortable. Adding an AI-driven layer of personalization to any brand community space can increase its effectiveness.
Very Helpful
Helpfulness is at the heart of the concept of a community. In the same way, your brand's community should reflect the same values. What is the point of making an online community if it does not solve the problem of your customers?
Build Your Brand Community Now!
The needs of your customers and the industry in which your company operates will significantly impact how you build and manage your brand community. An engaging, collaborative, personalized, and helpful community for customers to find solutions and establish a closer connection with your business is at the heart of any thriving brand community.
If you want to know how to build an online community, check out this article: How to build a successful online community platform?. Tips and tricks are also available in our blog posts.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
