Put Humanity at the Core of Your Brand Community Strategy

Community engagement has become a key pillar of any brand strategy. Frequent interaction between a brand and its community is a sign that you offer something so valuable, people are willing to invest one of their most important currencies: time. These days, having a large user base or low cost per acquisition dominates conversations around brand communities. It feels transactional, like a “build or buy” decision. However, the root of the word “community” is less about numbers and more about humans. The Latin root of the word is communitas, meaning “together.” This word, in turn, is derived from communis, made up of com (“with”) and munis (“service”). Breaking it down like this helps me think of community beyond just a group of people with shared interests—with a more active sense, it means “Together, we serve.” Why Brands Need to Put Consumers’ Wants and Needs at the Heart of Marketing Strategies Community, at its most literal, has no meaning without the kind of mutual commitment to service that joins us as humans. Start with a human need What is the essential consumer insight that will give you the opportunity to serve? Of all the digital communities I’ve created, Nike Training Club has got to be my all-time favorite. Launched 12 years ago, NTC was Nike’s first iPhone app and remains one of their most popular digital services. When I left Nike a few years ago, the app had been downloaded over 30 million times and was the No. 1 health and fitness app in 23 countries. What makes the NTC community special, and why does it continue to thrive? It all started with a singular human need and a powerful consumer insight. We designed Nike Training Club to solve two pain points: training guidance and motivation. Have you ever felt like you need to get a workout in, but you don’t know what to do, so you just go for a run? When people have the desire to train but lack guidance, they do only what they know. Not only does this limit how you train, you are also more likely to fall into a rut and lose motivation. My trainer once told me the best workout is the one you show up for. People are more likely to stick with their training routine if they train with friends, feel accountable and celebrate each other when a goal is reached. When designing the NTC experience, the business need was my brief: an experience that gives Nike training products purpose. The consumer need is what made the difference. We provided workouts from world-class trainers and athletes and gave consumers the trusted guidance and inspiration they needed for all different kinds of training. By connecting them to friends via their phones, we made NTC sticky, delivering the one-two-three punch of motivation, accountability and celebration. Be mission-driven What is the promise you're making to the community? At VSCO, we connected with millions of creators around the world to provide a safe space for self-expression. We heard from consumers who wanted to share their creativity, free of judgment and bullying. They used VSCO because they felt safe to be themselves and develop their creative confidence. We leaned into our company mission "to help everybody fall in love with their own creativity." And after two years, our brand strength had increased 200% and our subscriptions had doubled. What was it about this mission statement that helped the business grow? Every word had a purpose. As a brand, VSCO "helps everybody" in the community, both digitally and IRL, because we are all born to express ourselves; "fall in love" is a universally aspirational emotion; "with their own" values individuality, self-confidence and our personal brands of creative expression; and finally, "creativity" is the language at the heart and soul of a platform like VSCO. I'm proud that our mission, which was essentially how we showed up to support the community, put consumers at the heart of our business and resonated so strongly with VSCO members that they began to support each other in the same way, making the community even stronger. It informed everything we did, from what products we built to what messages we shared to the kinds of inspiration we put out to fuel their creative journeys. Obsess over the community experience What types of interactions help the community thrive? Think back to those life experiences you’ll never forget—maybe when you achieved a goal? A time when you were treated poorly at work? Or maybe it was being able to help someone that needed your support? Good or bad, the emotion that surrounds that moment in time defines that experience for you. When you design community experiences, design with a desired emotion in mind. And make it unforgettable—in a good way! Work to create a positive emotional connection with your members at each touch point. Think about how you want people to describe the emotions they feel around your community and design your experiences to deliver on that. Then, take it a step further by celebrating members when they display desired behaviors or exemplify the principles of your community. When you recognize and appreciate the members of your brand community, you drive more than just retention—you drive reciprocity. And we all know how much better relationships are with a bit of give and take. One more thing When it comes to building strong brand communities, always remember what makes being part of a community so special: humanity. A community strategy should bring people together to fulfill a human need. This will unlock more creativity and possibilities than you can imagine. Shift your thinking from solely growing your community to how you will serve your community, authentically and with purpose. Deliver community experiences that evoke powerful emotions and leave a lasting impression. Instead of "build community," think "serve community." Instead of "growth-driven," think "purpose-driven." Instead of "rewarding retention," think "rewarding reciprocity." Putting humanity at the core of your community strategy will give you the foundation you need to grow your business and, importantly, give your members a reason to advocate for you. Online Communities Are Key to Understanding Your Audience

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Tesa Aragones

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