Past, Present, and Future of Digital Brand Communities
You have to think of your brand as a kind of myth. A myth is a compelling story that is archetypal …. It has to have emotional content and all of the themes of a great story: mystery, magic, adventure, intrigue, conflicts, contradiction, paradox.
—Deepak Chopra1
We have discussed how brands are using digital marketing tools to build brand community. These online communities are widely accepted and used by consumers, and brands are engaging across these media. While the community format is preexisting on the social media sites, the competent marketer invests resources in engaging consumers, creating a two-way dialogue, and fostering positive brand sentiment. It is not enough to simply post content; the community requires participation. Successful marketers understand the importance of relational characteristics in building and fostering an engaged brand community. Positive outcomes of fostering this brand community are myriad, including gauging consumer sentiment, resolving potential customer issues, and advancing new and existing relationships.
Brands are fortunate that social media sites exist for engaging consumers in brand community; originally that was not the case. Prior to the development of digital communities and message boards (and later social media), brand fans organized and shared their brand experiences in person through events, rallies, social gatherings, and other communal activities. Brands participated by organizing some events, so the firm required more organization. Today, events still occur, but online communities supplement these gatherings. Content from these events is shared to social media, and brands and consumers both create content and excitement for the brand online.
Each of the proceeding chapters discussed the various factors contributing to building, maintaining, and benefiting from brand communities using digital and social media. Chapter 1 introduced the concepts of brand, relational, and community characteristics, each of which is an important qualification for online brand communities. These were laid out in Figure 1.1 and are repeated here in Figure 7.1.
Ongoing relationships with customers can lead to brand loyalty and create value.2 Brand managers build successful online brand communities when they promote specific brand characteristics, relational characteristics, and community characteristics. The necessary first precursor is a strong brand—be competent, have a strong reputation, and be perceived as representing quality. These brand characteristics lead to brand identification and identity salience related to the brand for the consumer. The more consumers identify with the brand, enjoy their brand experiences, and are engaged in social media, the stronger the tie with the brand becomes. Managers can work to influence the importance of both the reference group and the marketing messages to the consumers. The relevance of the reference group and the relevance of the message will influence identification with owners and identity importance, which in turn build brand community. When individuals identify with others in the group and the salience of the brand identity is bolstered, the community and the brand become more important.
In order for consumers to want to interact with the brand via online communities, companies must cultivate a strong brand first. The efforts and concerns that brand managers should consider for communicating brand quality, competence, and reputation online were discussed in Chapter 2. Providing consumers with a strong brand increases the probability of earning brand loyalty and the promise of long-term profitable relationships with these consumers.3 Core relational factors can be used to enhance relationship building as a necessary precursor to developing a deeper brand relationship with consumers. Impact of relational factors such as brand identification, brand experience, social media exposure, message relevance, and reference group was discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 focused on community factors such as identification with others and identity salience for building brand community. Chapter 5 explored differences between and integration of traditional face-to-face brand communities versus online brand communities. The importance of brand fans and brand ambassadors, and the roles consumers play online to support the brand were discussed in Chapter 6. Throughout all of these chapters, anecdotes were given that serve as excellent examples of where brands benefited or paid a price as a consequence of online brand management.
Figure 7.1 Brand, relational, and community characteristics leading to brand community
Social media is a powerful tool in the Integrated Marketing Communications mix that firms can cultivate. By managing the social media platform, companies can engage consumers through online relationships. This online consumer engagement then extends to engagement with other consumers loyal to the brand, leading to identity salience and brand loyalty. Companies can build loyal customers with brand communities. This relationship with loyal customers creates value for the firm. Collaboration with consumers in online brand communities teaches marketers how consumers use the products and what role the brand plays in the life of the consumer. Marketers have the ability to cocreate messages and product customizations with key consumers. Managers are encouraged to foster brand and social network use in online brand communities. In organic communities, managers should encourage customers to build these practices. Marketing managers need to promote engagement in online brand communities by providing opportunities for consumers to interact and create content on their own. Focusing on the practices of consumers with salient identities can foster opinion leadership. Furthermore, firms can rely on the brand community to engage in product development and brand extension.
In the future, technology will allow more collaboration between brand community participants and the brands they support. From collaborative product development through participant-generated ideas to on-demand 3D printing of limited edition consumer-designed product variations, opportunities for deeper community to brand engagement will be amplified by new technology. As consumers cocreate their brand experiences, they will continue to share their product consumption experience through social media to their personal networks. As their friends and fellow brand community participants provide feedback and validation across social media sharing and within the communities, relevant and important identities related to the brand are reinforced. Evolving technology will play a greater role. These shared and consumer cocreated experiences will deepen the relationship with the brand. The brand, in turn, will use the time-tested community and relationship-centric approach in fostering community. Technology may advance, but fostering and cultivating relationships remains key.
Key Takeaways
- Brand community has been around for decades, but it will evolve with technology in how it is facilitated and how the consumer cocreates brand experiences.
- Brands should invest in social media as a way to build relationships with consumers and form a brand community; regardless of the medium, relationships are the key.
- Brand experiences can be relived through social media (and experienced for the first time by a participant’s network through shared content).
- Companies should use online brand communities to launch brand experiences; this can then be leveraged with word-of-mouth and social media interactions.
- A key concern for firms is to ensure the relevance of the message and the reference group is appropriate for their brand community.
- Brands have the opportunity to leverage brand community members to develop salient identities; these consumers will be brand champions.
- Leveraging customer identity salience is a powerful way to cultivate brand equity.
- Technology will advance, and consumers will be able create new products and variations with brands. This cocreation will be shared through social media channels.
- Regardless of technology advancements, the brand must invest in fostering community and engaging supporters of the brand.