In today’s world, the success of a brand goes beyond selling products or services; it’s about community building and engaging. Community building is a powerful strategy that not only fosters strong relationships between a brand and its customers but also drives long-term growth and brand loyalty. In this blog post, we will talk about community building, its importance, community building on various platforms, and how a business can generate profit from it. 

What is community building?

Community building is as simple as gathering people in one place where you provide material of interest to them to engage and feel as part of a community. It is all about building small communities around your business, literally! 

Why is community building important?

Community building enhances customer loyalty, boosts their engagement in terms of participating in an event, interacting with the brand, creating user-generated content, and generating word-of-mouth marketing where they become brand advocates and talk about your brand positively to others and attract new customers. 

One of the important aspects communities could provide your business with is valuable feedback as it offers direct communication between your brand and your customer which helps you understand your customer’s needs and problems helping you to cater your offerings to what they really want. 

Each social media platform has its own unique features, communication style, demographics and norms. Let’s explore some of these platforms.

Community Building on Facebook

Statistics show that Facebook has almost 3 Billion monthly active users and approximately 1.4 Billion people that use Facebook Groups since Facebook’s only mission since it started operating is to give people the power to build community and bring the world close together.

Facebook groups have formed a variety of online communities differing in purpose. You could run a specialist/expert group to support users, a members-only group that offers exclusive content and networking opportunities to users who have already bought a product or paid for a service or you could run both!

Groups could be a way of following-up with people after utilizing a specific service for instance to retain them for the longer time possible for future interactions. It has special features that aid the idea of community building. Some of these features are:

• Private DMs that include the whole group which enhances the close, friendly feel of a group community.
• Feed channels which are subgroups within the main Facebook group that can include audio chats 
• The @Everyone tag that sends notification to every member of the group to utilize when it’s valuable, For instance to notify people that a live event is about to start.
• The ability to broadcast live videos, create polls and reels 

Community Building on Instagram

Instagram recently introduced the feature of “Broadcast Channels,” which allows content creators and businesses to create group-like channels and invite their followers to join the closed conversation.

Although this feature has some limitations, as it only allows the channel’s creator to send messages while other members can react to it only, Instagram in general is known for being an interactive and engaging channel for its visual content. Therefore, the utilization of brand storytelling in a video is one of the effective tools that businesses can use to build communities around their brands. People love when they feel close and can relate to a brand, and Instagram is the right tool to do so. 

Also, consider the use of hashtags on Instagram that can help categorize posts under a common theme, making it easier for users to find and engage with content that resonates with them.

Community Building on LinkedIn

Since LinkedIn is the preferred social media platform for professionals, you might be thinking isn’t it just for job hunting? The answer is yes and no 

It is for job hunting, but not only that. LinkedIn offers a unique feature called LinkedIn groups just like Facebook. It is where people come together to share ideas, insight, learn, network and engage on topics relevant to their industry as well as offering meaningful discussions among community professional members. 

LinkedIn groups have powerful communication management features unavailable on other social media platforms. For instance, LinkedIn sends a daily and weekly digest of all activities in the group to your members to keep them updated and engaged, in addition it allows you to send an admin announcement email to your members once a week which stays in their inbox, not an application notification that will fade away and they might not even see it. 

How can you generate profit and benefit from Community Building 

• Premium memberships or subscriptions for community building:

Companies can take communities to the next level by providing them memberships or subscriptions to certain services. These services can entail exclusive access to content, virtual courses, access to special events/webinars or any other services depending on the business nature and target audience. 

• Events and Workshops

Hosting events, workshops, or webinars for community members with minimal fees for access can provide additional revenue opportunities 

• Consulting or education services

Companies can use their knowledge and expertise to offer consulting or educational services to their community members. This can include things like online courses or workshops to help people learn new skills related to the industry while also profiting to achieve a win-win situation 

Conclusion:

Building a strong community is a strategic approach that can transform a brand’s relationship with its customers. By fostering a sense of belonging, encouraging engagement, and providing value, brands can create loyal advocates who contribute to long-term success. In the evolving world of digital marketing, community building is not just an option; it’s a necessity for brands willing to thrive and grow in a competitive field. Start building your community today and notice the difference it will make.