Brands Need to Adapt to the New Consumer Behavior by Building Communities

Bryan Karas

October 10, 2018

Back in the day before iPhones and instant communication and data transfer, brands were able to sell a story, come up with a few value props, write some exceptional copy and boom – sales. But today, consumers are different – expectations are higher and we’re a little more needy.

So what does that means for brands? Brands need to keep up with and adapt to the new consumer culture – a culture where the conversation runs both ways…

Social media provides tons of different marketing tactics for brands but none more important the the ability to “turn people into media, willing to spontaneously spread your brand’s gospel far and wide. Provide them with a platform to participate in your products and services and then you have the chance to embed people directly into the narrative or fabric of your brand.”

No more monologues…

We’ve been tooting this horn for a while now but some people still don’t get it. Brands need to talk to their customers, not at them.

Better yet, build a community where you can facilitate conversation between your customers…

Nike started doing this a long time ago with Nike Plus. Instead of just selling stories on individual willpower, Nike started introducing brand experiences that focused on community and interactions with people – Nike Plus, Nike Plus Training Club, Nike Plus Running Club, etc.

This gives customers an opportunity to interact with the brand (tracking results, workout instructions etc) even when they aren’t purchasing a product.

Antonis Kocheilas, the managing director of strategy at Ogilvy Worldwide, says, “As companies and consumers enter into these reciprocal relationships, the line between culture and commerce begins to blur. Brands are no longer only tokens of culture and lifestyle. They are now tools that allow people to practice a certain culture or lifestyle.”

The Holy Grail of Brand Loyalty

The first step to building a community is to figure out what your brand is and what your brand isn’t. Once you figure that out you can move on…

Now you need to analyze your target audience – don’t create your community on Facebook when the platform your audience really loves is Reddit. If your brand is more technical than creating a community run knowledge base might be your best bet.

Your community members need to feel valuable so make membership exclusive to select users – membership can be earned, not just given out for free. Foster an inclusive environment. Don’t let community members start bashing others on comment threads. Control that activity and ban it.

If organic engagement is low than start seeding questions and content to keep members engaging. A flower doesn’t just grow, bloom and flourish on its own – neither does a brand community. In the beginning, even Reddit started creating fake accounts to seed questions and threads.

The Psychology Behind Brand Community Building

Having your favorite brand’s social media intern reply to a message is cool and all but there’s got to be more behind why consumers love being apart of a brand community. So let’s take an in-depth look at how psychology motivates an individual to be apart of a community.