The relationship between consumers and brands is becoming more human and genuine today. According to a Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report, “84 percent of customers say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business.”
Their purchase behaviour is seen as a reflection of their identity rather than simple buyers' choices. Building an online community and keeping it engaged is important for a brand for an enhanced user experience.
If you’re searching for information on how to build a community online and struggling to grasp the concept, we understand.
Kool Kanya’s ‘How to build and monetise your online community’ course can aid you in creating an online community and eventually growing it with various strategies and ideas. From choosing the ideal platform and intertwining influencer marketing with community-building to learning how you can monetise your community, the course covers the basics as well as the details you need to know before you begin.
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What is community building?
In simple words, community marketing is the strategy of curating an interactive brand presence through an online community that helps you interact with existing customers and introduce potential customers as well.
Online community marketing is done through social media, community-building websites, Facebook groups, and Twitter accounts.
Keeping your community engaged is crucial to retain it for a longer period and build brand loyalty. However, it requires time, commitment, and unique strategies. If you’re not sure how you can begin engaging your community, we’re here to help! Keep reading to find a few strategies you can implement for your community:
- Create a welcoming environment
When you create an online community, you have to ensure your members feel welcomed. The atmosphere of the community has to be friendly, making them feel like they belong there.
Whenever someone new joins the community, make it a point to welcome them openly. If they have a sense of belonging, they will be more loyal to your brand. For example, sending welcome emails to new members through targeted email marketing can make them feel valued. As direct marketing platforms are expanding, you can also deliver these messages via WhatsApp today!
2. Post regular content
One of the most important steps in building an online community is to post content and regular updates. Doing this ensures your community stays active and engaged.
Regular posting boosts your brand’s visibility and will help keep your brand presence at the forefront of the audience’s mind. You can decide the timeline for posting depending on the nature of your community. It can be once a week, twice a week, or more frequent, too.
3. Conduct contests and events
Contests and events encourage customers to participate and interact with your brand. This increases your brand presence and helps people recall your brand faster.
A good example would be Zomato’s Premier League. Under this, they have a huge list of deals and discounts in affiliated restaurants for their customers to use during IPL. People could also predict who will win the match on a particular day and then avail of additional discounts if they guess correctly.
Conducting regular contests or events and rewarding your customers through them helps keep them motivated. Having rank badges or points on community-building websites gives them the motivation to continue being present in the community.
4. Encourage self-service
When you create an online community, you have a way to provide easy access to solutions. If your question is ‘how to create communities where customers can solve problems efficiently?’ The answer is simple.
Enable the self-service medium within the community. Not only does it help reduce customer support costs but it also encourages users to research independently and find their own solutions.
This is possible by publishing content like user manuals and FAQs in the community.
5. Understand your audience
From harping on the latest social media trends and collaborating with other brands to interacting with their customers in an interactive and cheerful tone on Twitter, Dunzo goes to great lengths to cater to its audience. Dunzo also pitches its customers through hyperlocal communication. As the brand also deals in delivering local or hyperlocal supplies, it communicates the same way with the customer.
Through these strategies, we can understand that Dunzo knows how to cater to its audience and stand out as unique in an environment where every brand and influencer does mainstream promotion.
Benefits of having an engaged community
- Enhanced customer experience
An active community can give you all the information you need to provide an enhanced user experience.
If the customer likes the service they experienced with your brand, they’re more likely to purchase from your brand again. Building an online community enables you to understand your customers and cater to their needs, improving your service.
2. Increased brand loyalty
The chances of a customer deviating to your competitors decrease if they enjoy interacting with your brand community. Having a consistent relationship with your customers improves your chances of gaining a loyal customer base.
3. Growth of word-of-mouth marketing
If a friend asked you for a brand suggestion under a particular category, you would undoubtedly recommend a brand that gives you good customer service and a personalised experience over one that does not.
Community marketing helps you achieve that. If the users enjoy the experience of purchasing and interacting with your brand, they will recommend it to more and more prospective customers, increasing your brand’s word-of-mouth marketing.
If you were hopelessly searching ‘how to create an online community’ online, we hope our guide to building an engaged community helped you find your answers.
If you’re looking for a deeper insight into how to build an online community, Kool Kanya’s ’How to build and monetise your online community’ course can provide you with an understanding of the world of community marketing. Enrol today with Kool Kanya!
