DIGITAL STARTUP SOCIETY BLOG — Building an Online Community

If you are struggling to build your business and looking for ways to improve, building an online or brand community may be the best solution. In fact, it is likely the tool you’ve needed all along.    The following are five common business problems building a community can solve:  Poor Return on Investment  While email lists, advertisements, and your blog are all fabulous ways to generate interest in your offers, there is nothing more effective than truly getting to know your customers more intimately. If your ROI is not what you want it to be, but your customers are otherwise...

Just one bad customer experience can destroy your reputation as a brand or small business owner. Research suggests that consumers are willing to spend more revenue on businesses that have excellent customer service.  In fact, a report conducted by The Economist states that 59% of the consumers surveyed are willing to reach out or find other businesses in hopes of a better customer experience. Building a brand community provides the customer experience you need to prevent this from happening.    Here are five ways communities can improve your target customer experience:  Communities Humanize the Support Process Most consumers are very...

Building a community around your brand is vital in today's marketing and consumer world. Consumers are looking for trust, credibility, and authenticity. Without these factors, you are unlikely to make any sales or make an impact within your industry, which is why many of the top brands today work hard to build a specific community around their values, products, services, and more.    Dissecting how the top brands take advantage of their communities can provide you with more tools and resources to grow a winning brand community of your own. The following are four brand community examples to emulate and...

A strong brand community increases your reach, business revenue, and loyalty. However, to achieve these benefits, you must nurture, support, and commit to providing value to it. Only when you do the right work for a community can you expect anything positive in return – adopting the common practices that many find success in can get you started in the right direction.    Here are three important brand community practices to follow for increased member satisfaction and success:  Listen to and Engage with Your Target Audience  Everything you do in your business is about ensuring you’re reaching your ideal audience....

The secret to creating more revenue, attracting more customers, and creating high brand recognition starts with trust. Showing your customers by your actions that they can trust you and that you will be there to support them is how you grow loyal advocates for your brand. The brand advocates then do a lot of the marketing work by sharing your content and making purchases.  When consumers believe in your brand, product, or services, they are more likely to share them with others. Without trust, you simply won’t have customers or a community. In fact, a 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Report...