In this issue, we will explore the topic of community building, and how you can create and nurture a loyal and engaged community of customers, fans, and advocates for your brand, product, or service.
Community building is a type of marketing strategy that involves creating valuable content and experiences for a specific group of people who share common interests, values, or goals. The purpose of community building is to foster trust, loyalty, engagement, and advocacy among your target audience, and to create a sense of belonging and identity around your brand, product, or service.
There are different types of community building practices that can be initiated by either the brand or the users. Some of them are:
- Brand-led: These are the activities that the brand organizes or sponsors to engage its audience and create a sense of belonging.
- User-generated: These are the activities that the users create or participate in to connect with each other and with the brand. For example, users can share their photos, stories, or feedback on social media platforms or online forums. Users can also create their own groups, clubs, or events based on their interests or needs. Users can also contribute to the brand’s content, products, or services by providing suggestions, reviews, or testimonials.
Paid, Owned, Earned 🆚 Brand-owned Community Building? 🤔
Paid, owned, and earned media are different types of channels that brands can use to reach and engage their audiences.
- Paid media: These are the channels that the brand pays for to promote its products, services, or messages. Examples include advertising, sponsorships, influencer marketing, etc. Paid media helps brands increase visibility, awareness, and reach, as well as drive traffic to their owned or earned channels. However, paid media can also be expensive, intrusive, and less trusted by consumers.
- Owned media: Channels that the brand owns and controls, such as a website, blog, app and social media accounts. It can help brands provide valuable information, content, and experiences to their audiences, as well as collect data and feedback. However, owned media can also be difficult to maintain, optimize, and measure.
- Earned media: Channels that the brand earns through the word-of-mouth and advocacy of its customers, fans, or partners. Examples include reviews, ratings, testimonials, referrals, mentions, shares, etc. Earned media can help brands build trust, credibility and loyalty, as well as generate organic growth and viral effects. However, earned media can also be unpredictable, uncontrollable, and negative.
A brand-owned community is a type of owned media giving brands direct access to fans without restrictions or manipulation. It provides ample data collection, feedback and measurement opportunities that can help brands build a first-party-data-driven strategy. It can also foster emotional and long-term connections with members by offering them a sense of belonging, identity, and purpose.
The main steps involved in building your own Brand-led community amongst your fans:
- Identifying the target audience: This is granted by now.
- Defining the community purpose & value: Creating compelling vision and mission and defining the benefits and value proposition for the members.
- Creating engaging content and experience: Producing and curating relevant, useful, and interesting content and activities for the community members. A mix of brand and user-generated content that can educate, entertain, inspire, or inform. Creating a positive and memorable user experience that can enhance the community’s identity and culture.
- Fostering interaction and engagement: Encouraging and facilitating collaboration among the community members and the brand (share their feedback, opinions, or stories, participate in events or challenges, or support each other).
- Listening to feedback and adapting: This involves analysing data obtained from the community. With this information improvements & adjustments can be considered to better enhance the overall performance of the brand.
- Evaluating the community and measuring the success: Comparing the actual results of the community building efforts with the expected outcomes. Assess whether the community has achieved its purpose and value, and if it has contributed to the brand.
Not all Brand communities are online! Online 🆚 Offline Brand Communities 🔌
Both types of brand communities can have benefits and challenges for the brand and the members.
| FEATURE | ONLINE BRAND COMMUNITIES | OFFLINE BRAND COMMUNITIES |
|---|---|---|
| REACH | Global reach, can reach a wider audience | Limited by physical location |
| ACCESSIBILITY | Accessible 24/7 | Requires physical presence |
| COST | Relatively low cost to create and maintain | Can be more expensive to organize and host |
| ENGAGEMENT | Can be difficult to maintain engagement | Can be easier to build personal connections |
| MEASUREMENT | Easier to track and measure engagement | Can be more difficult to measure engagement |
| VENUES | Social media groups, online forums, brand websites | Brand events, meetups, user conferences |
| BENEFITS | Can help to build brand awareness, generate leads, and foster customer loyalty | Can help to build stronger relationships with customers and create a sense of community |
| CHALLENGES | Can be difficult to moderate and keep on topic | Can be difficult to attract and retain members |
| UTILIZATION | Brands with a global audience or products that are not tied to a physical location | Brands that want to build strong personal relationships with customers |
Case Study: Nissan Automotive
Nissan is a leading automotive brand in the MENA region. Offers a range of vehicles, from sedans and SUVs to sports cars and electric vehicles. Nissan has built a loyal and engaged community of customers and fans by providing them with various benefits and experiences.
For customers:
- Nissan Rewards allowing customers to earn points for purchases or service made and redeem them for discounts, gifts, or donations
- A referral program that gives them free vouchers for inviting their friends or family to join Nissan Rewards
- A blog that features useful tips, guides, stories, and news related to driving, lifestyle, and entertainment in the region
- A social media presence that engages them with fun quizzes, polls, contests, giveaways, memes, and user-generated content
For fans:
- A platform to showcase their passion and creativity for Nissan vehicles and share them with other enthusiasts
- A club that connects them with other Nissan owners and organizes events, meetups, and drives across the region
- A magazine that covers the latest trends, innovations, and achievements of Nissan and its community
- A network that gives them access to exclusive offers, deals, and opportunities from Nissan and its partners
We hope you enjoyed this issue of MENA Review, and learned something new about community building. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please feel free to contact us at info@mena-review.com
And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter if you haven’t already. You don’t want to miss our next issue, where we will explore another exciting topic in marketing.