Community Marketing: An Engaging Style of Marketing

Definition of community marketing

You might think of community marketing as something you do in person in your hometown, but that's not the case. Community marketing is a strategy in which a brand or business interacts with a group (or community) of like-minded people, generally online, through a social media group, focused blog website, or online message board discussion. Most other aspects of marketing rely upon acquiring new consumers, leads, and sales; however, community marketing is a strategy that focuses on listening to existing clients and addressing their needs and desires. This is an excellent way to foster a two-way relationship between your company and its customers because it not only provides your brand with valuable information about your consumers' choices and purchasing habits, but it also offers consumers with an environment in which they feel important and valued by the brand itself. Consumers that are pleased with your item will assist to advertise it for you through reviews, testimonials, and word-of-mouth.

Thus, in simple words, it can be stated that community marketing is a technique that entails creating an engaging brand presence in order to connect with an existing consumer community. This sort of marketing takes happen in locations such as fan clubs, Facebook groups, internet message boards, and Twitter accounts. These communities allow individuals to express their needs and allow businesses to respond and make them feel important, which they are. 

Why is community important in marketing?

One of the most significant business trends is the quick shift in customer expectations about interactions with businesses. "84 percent of consumers feel being treated like a person, not a number, is highly essential to gaining their business," according to various customer survey. Consumers want a true personal connection with both the company and their community of customers, not just a fantastic product. They progressively regard their purchasing selections as expressions of their individuality along with the groups to which they belong. Because customer-brand ties are becoming more intense, community-based marketing is becoming an essential element of current marketing strategy. Customers are losing faith in many traditional marketing tactics that organisations used to rely on, such as paid advertising and influencer promotions (just 4% of consumers trust influencers on social media), leaving brands with fewer alternatives than ever to engage their customers.

Community is important in marketing as communities establish reputations and establish brands for long-term success. The most crucial factor for companies is to first have a strong sense of empathy for their consumers and community members, and then to constantly build communication and rituals that assist reinforce connections. Marketers that do this right will create brands that are precisely aligned to their customers' wants and behaviours in the future decade.

What do you mean by engagement marketing?

The use of planned, accessible content to engage consumers and build meaningful connections over time is known as engagement marketing. With today's connected and overburdened customer base, consumers view around 3,000 communications each day, of which they recall an average of four. This obviously poses a challenge for marketers. People clearly dislike being sold to. In order to start, we must remember that just because consumers dislike marketing does not imply, they do not make purchases. As a result, we must approach potential purchasers in a new way. This is where engagement marketing comes into play. When you use engagement marketing, you build meaningful encounters with individuals rather than throwing advertisements in their faces. Marketers may contact consumers in personal and relevant ways using information based on who they are and their activity, with the additional benefit of pushing customers around the sales funnel more rapidly by designing focused and smart programmes. Engagement marketing is a multi-channel approach that combines email marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, and marketing automation to establish a powerful inbound marketing campaign.

Buyers now have a multitude of information at their fingertips, so they don't need advertisements to find things; they can find them on their own. Indeed, it is believed that up to 90% of purchasers are familiar with a brand before ever interacting with it, thus marketers must stay ahead of the curve. Your most precious asset, in our opinion, is not your product, but rather your consumers. The most successful businesses are those who thrive at every step of the client lifecycle. This includes recruiting new customers, increasing their lifetime value, and turning customers into advocates.

How to grow a business using a community marketing strategy?

The benefits of community marketing in a modern and connected society is obvious. What is still unclear are the particular approaches and tools that may be employed to build and sustain outstanding brand communities.

Advocates and ambassadors serve as community anchors, driving dialogues, organising activities, and making newcomers feel welcome. Advocates are incredibly crucial when it comes to getting into brand communities. Brands must be able to engage with these champions and inspire them to contribute to communities, which may be accomplished through an advocacy or ambassador programme.

Online platforms such as Lego Ideas or even Facebook groups are a simple method to interact with communities who want a digital gathering place. Marketers may establish and administer this place to initiate conversations, convey offers, and obtain feedback. Once again, understanding the balance of authority that clients demand is critical. Consumers may turn against the brand or exit the group if they believe it is becoming a one-to-many advertising channel rather than a space for people to interact and share if marketing activity overshadows community ties.

Examples of Community Marketing

Frugi, a healthy childrenswear business, has a community of devoted parents who exchange ideas and images of their families via a dedicated Facebook page as well as a fresh new advocacy campaign. Frugi's Facebook page is full of enthusiastic consumers who are holding discussions and sharing their favourite memories. The advocacy program is a more structured system that encourages consumers to share their stories, suggest friends, and participate in events in exchange for specified prizes.

Lululemon's distinct community-building strategy has contributed to the company's phenomenal development and success as a fashion store. Rather of depending on internet platforms, their strategy is centred on localised communities that function in the actual world. Product endorsement and other kinds of engagement are used to cultivate relationships with local leaders such as yoga instructors and fitness studio owners.