How to Merge Your Brand Community With Social Media | 2023

Attention all marketers, brand builders, and community enthusiasts! Are you ready to take your marketing game to the next level? Today, we're diving into the exciting world of a brand community.

Imagine having a rockstar community management team and a killer social media presence, working together in perfect harmony to deliver a consistent, engaging brand experience.

It's possible!

We'll explore the importance of understanding your social media followers, the power of fostering original thought leadership within your community, and ways to encourage engagement and build relationships.

Let's start!

What Is a Brand Community?

A short brand community definition…

T. C. O'Guinn and A. Muniz define a “brand community” as like-minded people who identify with a particular brand.

Simply put, it's a group of people who are passionate about your brand and want to connect and engage with others who share their love.

It's a powerful way to turn your customers into loyal brand ambassadors and create a buzz around your brand.

Examples include Legiit Official Facebook Group, Salesforce's Trailblazer, Springer Nature, etc.

Integrating Your Community Marketing and Social Media

1. Working Together

To create a brand community that stands out on social media, it's important to ensure that your community management team and social media marketers are working together like two peas in a pod.

They need to be on the same page and deliver a consistent message and experience across all platforms.

After all, nobody likes a disjointed brand experience!

So, make sure your teams are communicating effectively and keeping each other in the loop.

2. Know Your Followers

If you want to convince your social media followers to join your brand community, you first need to understand who they are.

This means getting to know your audience on a deeper level – their interests, habits, and what they're looking for in a community.

The more you understand your followers, the better equipped you'll be to create content that resonates with them and encourages them to join your community.

So… get to know your audience and make them feel like they're part of a larger community of like-minded individuals.

3. Fostering Original Thought Leadership

Fostering original thought leadership is a great way to create a dynamic, engaging environment.

It also provides you with some top-notch content to reuse on social media!

How can you do that?

By sharing a LinkedIn post or Twitter thread created by a member of your community, you can show your followers that your community is filled with engaged, thoughtful individuals.

This is a great way to attract new members and build a strong sense of community.

So, encourage your members to share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences. That's how you can be proud of the original content that your brand community produces.

4. Start The Conversation Yourself

In the early days of your community, you may need to give it a little nudge to get the conversation started.

You can do this by highlighting a member of your community with a “member spotlight,” hosting events that encourage networking and holding expert panels that spark discussions.

The goal is to encourage people to engage with posts, create their own content, and meet other members.

With these tools in your back pocket, your community will be thriving on social media in no time!

Final Remarks

In this blog post, you learned the brand community definition as well as some tips for integrating it with social media marketing.

By working together, your community management and social media teams can create a consistent and cohesive message. A message that resonates with your social media followers and convinces them to become part of your brand community.

Remember — it's all about understanding your followers, fostering original thought leadership, and using other tactics to encourage engagement and build a strong sense of community among your users.