More and more businesses are building online communities because of the many benefits they provide. Building an online community is something that every company should consider in 2023, as you can grow a loyal following at a relatively low cost.
You’ll find that for every interest, hobby, product type, or industry, there’s a community that caters to it. Go even deeper, and you find smaller communities dedicated to specific brands, unique products, and specialized services. And if you’re a business owner, chances are, there’s a community already waiting to hear from you, and willing to become part of yours.
Let’s look at the top five reasons why you should consider building an online community in 2023.
- Creates a Place Where Your Leads and Customers Gather
Consumer habits have shifted in the last few years as more people seek out others’ experiences and reviews before making a choice. It doesn’t matter if they know the person who makes a recommendation or not, reviews matter.
Communities often have people who are honest about their experiences. It’s a level of personalization that’s only possible within a community space where they feel comfortable enough to express themselves.
Think of online communities as an agora — a central gathering place. You can market, communicate with, and retarget your audience consistently. More people than ever are spending time online. As such, these communities provide a safe harbor for them to learn, experience, and recommend products to others.
However, you must have a solid product and need to make your community feel welcoming to them. Once you have enough active members, every interaction you have within that group can become a form of targeted engagement.
- Improve the Customer Experience
Customer experience is a big factor in driving sales and building brand loyalty. People want to feel that their opinion matters, not only to the company, but to other people as well. You can build a solid customer experience in an online community that answers their questions and provides interactions from you, and other “customers”, directly. A good deed done to them means they’ll spread the word for you.
Moreover, engaging with others and learning about their opinions also enhances their experience, and allows you to better customize your products. You are showing that you are transparent, flexible, trustworthy, and approachable. People want to hear directly from the brands they love, but it’s also vital to them that they hear about other people who also have the same interests as them.
- Eliminates Barriers
Every company can attest to the many challenges when it comes to connecting with customers or prospects. The internet has done a fine job of creating bridges between brands and customers; however, a major issue is that the internet is a vast place, and people can often not find you. Worse, it’s easy to be distracted by other products, brands, and services.
One of the best ways to keep their focus is by creating online communities. Think of it as the next step of brand networking, though it feels more genuine to potential customers when you’re a part of a “community.”
- Creates Opportunities
Over time, your community will gather other people with all kinds of specializations and backgrounds. It may open the door for other businesses, influencers, and celebrities to connect with your company, ones who can help you grow your business.
If built correctly, you don’t need to spend a ton of money to get access to these people. Interested people will naturally gather in high places of activity connected to you, given enough time. You can post job listings, new product launches, links to “top sellers”, questionnaires or even lead gen forms. An active community actually wants your offerings.
- Optimize Your Spending
A custom-built community that gathers other people interested or connected to your brand will help you almost immediately. You’ll find that there are people who are willing to help solve the problems of others, on your behalf. At times, you don’t even have to engage customers directly yourself. You’ll be saving a lot of money on marketing, customer service, and other areas.
There is so much more that building an online community can offer your business. But brass tacks, it helps you stay efficient with the marketing dollars you have, while growing your revenues further: they’re a business builder.
Putting It All Together
Creating a community takes time, but it’s best to start as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, what kinds of products you offer or how long you’ve been operating…. There’s a community out there waiting to hear from you!
Although the top five reasons to build an online community are good… the real reason to build one is to boost your sales. The more folks who know about you, who comment about you and who share your information with others, the better off your bottom line will be.
Virtua Brands is a full-service marketing and advertising agency specializing in the digital realm. Not only can we assist you in the strategic building of your online community, but we can custom design all of your messaging and advertising to help boost your sales. It’s what we do!
Give us a call today and see exactly how we can get you more exposure, more customers and, most important, more revenue.