These days, the brands that achieve the highest levels of success are those that build a community around their brand. In addition to providing products and services, the business will be an organization that their target market associates with and sees as an important part of their life. Social identity theory can be incredibly powerful as it allows people to feel part of a group. At the same time, it makes it easier to attract and retain customers from a business standpoint. So, how can you go about building a community around your brand? It can take some time and effort, but keep reading for a few areas to focus on that will help.
Define Your Brand & Vision
First, you need to establish what your brand is and what your vision is. People will only connect with your company and build a community when you have a clear identity and vision. To succeed, this will need to align with your target market, so you will want to carry out target market research and shape your company to suit your target customer.
Create & Share High-Quality Content
These days, businesses use content as a way to increase their visibility online. It can achieve much more than this, though, as high-quality content can also bring value to your target customer and allows you to showcase your expertise. If your business becomes known for creating high-quality and valuable content, it will keep people coming back even when they have no plans of buying a product or service. You should always keep your target market in mind when creating content and use a variety of content to keep it fresh and engaging. This content should promote discussion and can be shared on the company blog and on social media.
Be Active On Social Media
Leading on from this, one of the most effective ways to build a community for your brand is through social media. This is because you can encourage your followers to engage with one another on your channels, which will help to improve brand awareness and should help to attract new customers. To build a community on social media, you should be sharing high-quality content, promoting and participating in discussions, humanizing the brand with light humor, and trying to formulate relationships with active users.
Go Above & Beyond With Customer Service
Customer service will have a huge impact on your ability to build a community. No one will want to be part of a community where the business does not make an effort or treat its customers with respect, so you need to be willing to go the extra mile and always resolve issues as swiftly as possible. Additionally, be sure to use people’s names and try to get to know your biggest customers.
Use Branded Merchandise
Branded merchandise is one of the best ways to build a community for your brand. Playing into social identity theory, merchandise like custom made hats will help people to feel a part of a group and community. Not only will branded merchandise help people feel connected to your brand, but it will also be an effective promotional tool and will help you to increase brand awareness and attract new customers that you might have otherwise struggled to attract.
Host Events
Hosting events is also a highly effective way to build a community as it encourages your target market to come together and socialize. The key is to host events that your target market will enjoy, such as screenings of a sports match if you are a health and fitness store, for example. You can host both virtual and real-life events to bring people together, build relationships and create a community.
Stand For A Relevant Cause
You can also build a community by standing for a relevant cause that your target market will feel passionate about. Using the above example of a health and fitness store, you could raise awareness about cancer and other health issues and start initiatives that your target market will want to be a part of.
These are the most effective strategies to use if you want to build a community for your brand. When you are able to do this, your target market will feel attached to your brand, and it can make it much easier to both attract and retain customers. Additionally, it can be a great feeling to become an important organization in your target market’s lives and see customers come together and create bonds thanks to your brand.
