Community marketing is a marketing method that utilizes user communities such as community sites and user groups.
Many marketers would like to have a more accurate understanding of the needs and issues of the potential customers they should be approaching, and use this information in their marketing activities.
Community marketing, which listens to users’ real opinions and utilizes them in marketing, is extremely effective in addressing such concerns.
So, this time, we have summarized what community marketing is, its advantages and disadvantages, main methods, success stories, and tips for success.
By reading this article, you will not only have a basic understanding of community marketing, but you will also be able to determine whether your company should engage in community marketing and understand what you need to do to implement it.
What is Community Marketing
Community marketing is a method of creating a community where users can interact with each other and between companies and users, and using the information and knowledge obtained there in marketing activities.
Specifically, there are online activities such as launching a dedicated community site, utilizing SNS and video distribution to encourage interaction between users, and offline community activities such as events for users. .
It should be noted that the community is only a means, not an end.
It’s not about marketing with the aim of upselling or cross-selling to members of the community, but using it for marketing through the community.
As a result, user loyalty will increase, and they will use it more enthusiastically than ever before.
Differences from traditional marketing methods
As shown in the figure above, traditional marketing methods and community marketing approach prospective customers in completely opposite ways.
Conventional marketing methods involve broadly approaching potential customers, increasing their awareness, fostering their interest, and ultimately making them customers.
On the other hand, in community marketing, we approach existing customers (users) and increase prospective customers who are interested in them.
Traditional marketing: Potential customer ⇒ Prospect customer ⇒ Customer
Community marketing: Customer ⇒ Prospect customer ⇒ Potential customer
Recognize that it is a completely different method and concept from conventional marketing.
Types of fan communities
Fan communities can be broadly divided into the following two types.
- Fan community for own products
- Fan community with related themes of own products
Fan community for own products
The first is a community that gathers users of our products.
The mineo and salesforce user communities introduced in this article fall under this category.
Among the existing users, users who have a strong interest in and attachment to the company’s products gather, so if you can spread their enthusiasm well, you can expect a big effect.
However, since it is limited to services with a certain number of fans, it will be difficult unless the brand of your company or service is established and widely recognized.
Read Also: What Is An Online Community? Introducing Types And Recommended Platforms
Fan community with related themes of own products
The second method is to create a fan community with related themes instead of your own products.
For example, a food manufacturer launches a cooking-themed community, a furniture company launches an interior-themed community, and so on.
For example, outdoor equipment maker Snow Peak runs a fan community about camping. There are many posts related to camping, not limited to Snow Peak products.
If the branding of your product is not yet sufficient and the number of users is not large enough to set up a user community, it is a good idea to first create a community on a related theme and gather people.
Typical method of community marketing
There are four main methods of community marketing.
- Operation of community site
- Utilization of SNS hashtags
- live streaming
- Hold an offline event
Operation of community site
The first is how to run a community site . Create a community site for users and encourage interaction among users.
Make some or all of it open so that people outside the community can see the interaction.
In addition to content-posting community sites such as Snow Peak, there are also problem-solving community sites.
Users post their questions and issues, and other users answer them.
If there is a problem-solving site, users will be able to discuss their questions with each other, so it will be easier for them to interact naturally. In addition, by checking the questions and doubts sent to the problem-solving type page, it is possible to grasp the user’s needs and issues.
For example, Google has set up community sites for Google Search and Google Ads, and users post questions there.
Since everything is open, other users with similar questions can view it and solve their doubts together.
Although Google has a huge number of users, this community site has greatly reduced the man-hours required for support.
Utilization of SNS hashtags
Using SNS hashtags is one way to build a community.
Social networking sites such as Twitter and Instagram allow users to connect with each other by using hashtags.
There are methods such as using company names and product names as hashtags, and calling for posts using dedicated hashtags.
Regularly searching for posts with hashtags and taking actions such as retweeting will make it easier to interact with users.
For example, at “SHElikes”, a skill school for women, students are asked to post their study progress with the hashtag “#Sealikes”, Users with “” follow each other, forming a community of users.
Live video distribution
It’s a way to build a community by delivering live video .
Major live video distribution services include YouTube, Instagram Live, and Twitter Live.
These video distribution services have a function that allows viewers to comment in real time. You can take advantage of this feature to interact with your users.
For example, the apparel select shop “Bay Cruise” conducts weekly live commerce distribution that allows customers to purchase products on the spot.
We have succeeded in not only building a community but also directly linking to sales, with some brands exceeding 25 million yen in sales via video distribution in a week.
Hold an offline event
It is a method of holding an offline event that gathers users .
We will hold events such as product launches and fan meetings, and set up places where fans can gather and interact.
At the same time, it would be a good idea to devise ways to increase the sense of unity among the participants, such as encouraging them to post on social media with hashtags.
For example, at “Roppongi Hills” operated by Mori Building, an offline event called “Hills Breakfast powered by Pechakucha” is held once a month from 8:00 to 9:00 in the morning.
More than 100 people participate every time, and it is a popular event that not only people who work at Roppongi Hills but also many people from outside participate.
This not only increases Roppongi Hills’ name recognition, but also fosters brand value.
3 Benefits of Community Marketing
Community marketing has three benefits:
- Hear directly from consumers, which leads to product development and improvement
- Develop loyal users
- Reduced support costs
1. Hear directly from consumers, which leads to product development and improvement
The first advantage is that you can directly hear the voices of consumers that lead to product development and improvement through the community.
Specifically, you can take questionnaires in the fan community and ask for opinions on what kind of products should be available.
You can also get candid opinions by regularly checking conversations between users.
A famous example is the case of Workman, which is famous for its work clothes.
Originally, Workman established itself as a store specializing in work clothes, but we have appointed customers (fans) who actually use Workman products as ambassadors, incorporating their voices into product development and marketing. As a result, we have succeeded in attracting people who have never been exposed to Workman products.
2. Develop loyal users
The second advantage is that you can develop highly loyal users.
Collecting user feedback in the community and reflecting it in product development and improvement will increase user favorability.
In addition, when users feel that their opinions are respected and realized, they will be able to grow into “fans” of the product or company.
If so, you can expect to spread word of mouth.
As a result, we can expect the birth of highly loyal users.
Another advantage of high loyalty is that the unit price per customer increases .
Purchasing other related products at the same time (cross-selling) or purchasing a higher-end product (up-selling) will increase the purchase price per purchase.
The purchase frequency (repeat rate) also increases as loyalty increases.
In addition, high loyalty = satisfaction with the service, so the churn rate is low.
As a result of these, the unit price per customer increases. Community marketing is attracting attention as an effective method because if the unit price per customer rises, it will lead to an improvement in profit margins.
3. Reduced support costs
A third advantage is the reduction in support costs.
When exchanges in the community become active, it is not uncommon for users to solve simple Q&As and questions in conversations with each other.
If users can provide support that should normally be provided by companies, costs can be reduced accordingly.
Furthermore, by checking the conversations between users, you can also find out how users use products and what operations users tend to get stuck in.
The example of Google mentioned above is a typical example. Support costs can be greatly reduced because problems are resolved among users, including top users.
3 Disadvantages of Community Marketing
Community marketing has many benefits, but there are three major drawbacks.
- Community building takes time
- Need someone with good communication skills
- Setting KPIs is difficult
1. Community building takes time
Building a community takes time.
Whether creating a dedicated community site or utilizing an existing SNS, it takes time to build a user community and create conditions for active interaction and activities.
When working on community marketing, you will need to make a long-term plan for at least a year or more and work on it slowly.
It is not recommended for companies that want immediate results or want to do marketing with immediate effect.
2. Need someone with good communication skills
Community marketing requires reps with communication skills.
In order to actively interact in the community, you need a community manager to manage and activate the community. Community managers can be full-time or part-time, but it’s better to have a dedicated person if possible.
In addition to regular management, the person in charge must promptly resolve any trouble that may occur. If you have a concurrent position, there is a possibility that other work will be hindered during troubleshooting.
In order to prevent this from happening, it is better to assign a person with good communication skills as a dedicated person in charge as much as possible.
Also, if there is no human resource to manage and operate the community, it is necessary to start with human resource development or recruitment.
3. Setting KPIs is difficult
One of the disadvantages is that it is difficult to set KPIs.
In community marketing, the excitement of the community is the key. However, it is very difficult to quantify the excitement of the community.
Indicators that are relatively easy to set as KPIs include the number of community members, the number of posters, the number of posts, and the number of event participants. You have to think about the state of the community by combining multiple numbers like this.
In addition to setting KPIs, regular NPS surveys and quantifying customer loyalty are also ways to measure the results of community marketing.
Implementation steps to get started with community marketing
To get started with community marketing, you need to go through five major implementation steps.
Step 1: Clarify the purpose
Step 2: Gain understanding within the company
Step 3: Decide tools to create a community
Step 4: Create and share operational rules and manuals
Step 5: Launch a community
Step 1: Clarify your purpose
First, clarify your purpose. Decide what you are building your community for.
If you do not clearly state the purpose of creating a community, it will be difficult to decide on the management policy, method of gathering users, management policy, etc.
Specific examples of purposes include researching user opinions on products and services, interacting with users, and improving customer satisfaction.
Step 2: Gain Internal Understanding
Next, we need to get the understanding of the company before we can actually move.
Community marketing is a marketing measure that should be tackled in the medium to long term.
In some cases, there may be criticism from within the company, such as “Is there any point in not getting good results?”
In order to avoid this kind of thing, explain to the company and ask for understanding.
Step 3: Decide on tools to create a community
When it comes to actually starting community marketing, the first thing to do is decide on tools to create a community.
There are two patterns for the tool: a unique community site for users, or a method using existing SNS.
Step 4: Create operational rules and manuals and share them
Next, we will stipulate and share operational rules and manuals.
Be sure to decide rules and policies such as how to operate the community for what purpose and what criteria to delete posts.
Be sure to write down the rules and policies you create, and publish them online for users. This is a necessary step to prevent or take countermeasures against problems in the unlikely event.
Step 5: Launch a Community
When you’re ready, launch your community.
If you create a community site, promote it online and offline to encourage registration. In some cases, you may want to reach out to particularly enthusiastic or influential users and get them to participate.
When using SNS, try to increase the number of followers of the official account and spread the hashtag. Try running a hashtag campaign on a regular basis, and actively RT posts with hashtags on your official account.
3 Tricks to Improve Your Community Marketing Results
There are three tricks to improving your community marketing results.
- Don’t look for short-term success
- Don’t aim to increase sales
- Think about your participants first
Don’t look for short-term success
First, don’t look for short-term success.
In community marketing, we build good relationships with users through interaction through communities. And building good relationships doesn’t happen overnight.
Medium- and long-term efforts are essential for community marketing. Avoid looking for short-term, tangible success.
Do not try to sell goods or services within the community
One trick is not to try to sell your product or service within the community.
Of course, you may introduce your company’s products in the flow of conversation. If the community gets excited to some extent, you may also consider offering members-only services and product sales.
But first, we must always be aware that the community is a place of communication. You need to think first about interacting with users, not selling products.
Think about your participants first
One of the tricks is to think about the participants first.
Efforts to revitalize the community are necessary, but it is necessary to be careful not to swell only on the company / management side. Always consider whether users are participating in interactions. It is a good idea to actively plan surveys that are easy for users to participate in.
In particular, you should avoid making users feel uncomfortable. In order to avoid troubles and flames, it is necessary to operate with the user in mind.
Points to note when conducting community marketing
Here are three things to keep in mind when conducting community marketing.
- Always create operational policies and operational guidelines
- Try to get participants to actively commit
- Create a manual for troubleshooting
Always create operational policies and operational guidelines
Be sure to create operational policies and operational guidelines.
Things that should be included in the operation policy/guideline include prohibited items in the community, standards for deleting posts, and disclaimers for operation.
As long as you operate a community as a company, you should avoid making management rules etc. personal. If the operation rules are written down, the same operation as before can be done even if the person in charge or the operator changes.
Try to get participants to actively commit
It is also necessary to devise ways to get participants to actively commit themselves.
Although there are many participants in the community, there is not enough interaction in situations where the number of contributors and contributors is small. It would be a good idea to create a corner for beginners that is easy for new users to enter, or create a chat corner where people can easily participate. One way to do this is to create a Q&A corner where participants can easily talk to each other.
It is necessary to be conscious of not only participating in the community but also fostering participants who are actively involved.
Create a manual for troubleshooting
It is also necessary to create a manual for troubleshooting.
Trouble between users and companies, or between users, is one of the things that cannot be avoided as long as you operate a community. Create a manual so that you can respond quickly. If possible, it would be more reassuring to create a system in advance that allows cooperation with the legal department and lawyers.
summary
Community marketing is a marketing method that utilizes user communities such as community sites and user groups.
In terms of approaching customers from the point of view of customers (users), it is a completely opposite approach to conventional marketing methods.
The benefits of community marketing are:
- Hear directly from consumers, which leads to product development and improvement
- Develop loyal users
- Reduced support costs
Community marketing has many advantages, but it also has some disadvantages that must be taken into consideration before working on it.
- Community building takes time
- Need someone with good communication skills
- Setting KPIs is difficult
It takes time to build a community and revitalize interaction, so it’s a good idea to make a medium- to long-term plan and take your time.
We also need a person in charge and operational rules that can effectively promote interaction in the community.
It takes time and effort, but if you want to develop a passionate fan base, this is a marketing method that you should definitely try.
