It’s a new day. How can we improve community building to meet today’s challenges?
More and more brands are jumping on the community trend in a bid to increase customer retention and build a loyal army of brand advocates. According to recent research, “4 in 5 consumers consider community important to brand engagement, and 84% agree that the community surrounding a brand impacts how they feel about it” — and brands are keen to capitalize on this engagement. But not all brand communities are created equal — there’s a recipe that brands need to follow in order to ensure they’re actually serving their customers through their community. If not, they won’t stick around, and your brand will be missing out on a valuable opportunity. So what does it take to build a successful brand community?
4 features of a successful brand community
A platform that users love
If your brand community is hosted on a platform that’s unpopular with your users, they won’t keep using it. It’s as simple as that. There are endless options for hosting your brand community, but it’s critical to think about your user base and how they tend to use technology. If you’re targeting Gen Z, for example, a text-heavy hosting platform that doesn’t allow rich media won’t hit the mark. Instead, for younger audiences, look for platforms that are video-first, and have the look and feel of social media platforms they’re familiar with. Genuin, for example, allows brands to create embedded communities based around bite-sized video content, in the style of Instagram Reels or TikTok.
Clear community guidelines
Community guidelines are the backbone of any online community, offering a shared set of principles that shape interactions and foster a thriving environment. They cultivate a sense of inclusivity, encouraging diverse perspectives while deterring harassment or hostility. But it goes further than that — community guidelines also help brands communicate their personality, and what they want people to post in the community, as much as what they don’t want people to post. Used correctly, community guidelines set the brand’s community up for success.
An incentive to stay connected
It’s an ongoing battle for brands to retain the attention of consumers in 2024 — by some accounts, our attention span is now as short as 8 seconds (down from 12 seconds in 2000). There’s endless content out there, and as soon as users get bored, they’ll swipe to another app. That’s why brand communities need an ongoing incentive for consumers to stay involved. This could be as simple as high-quality, engaging content that inspires, educates or entertains. It could also include special deals, or the chance to shape future products your brand brings out, through participating in research and surveys, and submitting ideas. This is where your brand can get creative, and a degree of experimentation will be required to find that magic touch.
Genuin, for example, features interest-based communities centered on short-form video. It’s like the best of TikTok combined with the best of Reddit, with in-built modifiable community guidelines, and AI-powered content creation tools. Here’s an example of a community:
Efficient moderation
In order to create a virtual space where your customers want to spend time, brands need to create a safe, welcoming environment. One way to do this is through efficient moderation, which ensures that harmful or offensive content is swiftly removed, and that users are abiding by community guidelines. Moderators of brand communities act as gatekeepers, ensuring the brand’s reputation remains untarnished, and that users have a positive experience. Moderators also help add an element of personalization, which pays dividends with customers: “80% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized experiences”.
Looking to revamp your brand community experience in 2024, to increase customer retention and decrease your marketing costs? Genuin is a community building platform allowing brands to create interest-based communities centered on bite-sized video. We provide brands with embedded video communities that sit within their own app and channels, and repurpose their content into interactive social videos for open web distribution. Sign up for a demo with Genuin here.
