There has been a significant interest for online communities this year in 2024. Reddit, an online community platform, has shown a significant increase. It reported in Q1 of 2024 that its daily active users have been gaining a rise of 37% to 82.7 million with a year-over-year increase in revenue.
Building communities has emerged as a major trend among small businesses this year, with many jumping on the bandwagon as part of their business strategy. As highlighted by Forbes as one of the trend this year, this approach has proven to be incredibly successful. It is an effective way to strengthen customer relationships and create a sense of loyalty and belonging around brands.
Why Should Businesses Build Their Own Community?
1. It build trust and loyalty
Before a consumer want to buy a product or service from you, they should trust the business first. Will your business be able to solve their problems? Communities serve as a platform where many people share their experiences, insights, and feedback about the product or service. This creates a collective knowledge base that helps potential buyers know the effectiveness and reliability of what you offer. Through these shared experience, consumers could be more confident in making a purchase from their business.
2. It creates brand advocates
People will naturally talk about something that they like or loves. The excitement that they get from experiencing a positive customer journey will make them spread word to others in the community. In other words, it is called a word-of-mouth marketing, an effective way to advertise your brand. It is not surprising that your business website will gain more traffic than usual if you started to build a community. Your brand will not only be known and be more visible to more people, but also creates a positive brand image.
3. It can gain insights and feedback
One of the most helpful way to know what your business may be lacking is from insights and feedback. Since a community provides a safe space for individuals to share their experiences, they are more likely to offer honest and valuable feedback. From these feedback, your business could improve and innovate. This will make the products or service be more valuable and be able to solve problems for a lot more people.
4. It drives engagement and interaction
People joined a community for several reasons. This include to gain advice, support and sharing different perspectives that added value to their life. A community encourage this kind of interaction which create engagement. It can be in a form of discussions, question-and-answer sessions, webinars, and events. Through this engagement, it can build a strong connection between the community members.
5. People want to be a part of it
Inclusivity helps people feel like they truly belong, which is important for their emotional well-being. When people feel connected to a community, they’re less afraid of being judged and more comfortable sharing their views. This creates a safe space where everyone can express themselves and benefit from each other’s perspectives. According to 2024 Big List of community powered Marketing Statistics by Tint, 76.6% of consumers desire for a community of their favorite brands. The significant majority of consumers indicates a good opportunity for brands to build an authentic connection with their customers.
Where can businesses or brands build their own community?
Today, brands can easily build their own community online. It can be one of the effective ways to gain potential customers and loyalty from existing customers. For example, they can build it through social media platforms, customer loyalty programs, and email newsletters. Social media like Instagram has recognized this importance and demonstrated the need of community engagement. Through its features such as Broadcast Channels, Lives, Polls and Questions in Stories, it help brands to make connections with their audiences.
Conclusions
Building a community in 2024 highlights a transformative approach for businesses to engage with customers. By building trust and loyalty, creating brand advocates, and fostering valuable insights, companies can leverage community power to thrive in a competitive market. As consumers increasingly seek authentic connections, the opportunity to establish their own communities becomes essential. Utilizing platforms like social media and loyalty programs can enhance these relationships. Embracing community-building now become an important pathway for businesses and consumers to flourish together.
