COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT FOR BRANDS
Good community management can mean the difference between gaining short-term followers and one-time purchasers to cultivating long-term fans who will market your brand for you. With an ever-increasing dependency on the internet evolving as we’re all spending more and more of our (work and social) lives online, we’re advocating for both brands and influencers to respond to the increased demand and rise to the challenge.
1. Distinctive Communication Style
Develop a ‘house-style’ that is relatable to your audience, considering your use of language, formatting and emojis. But don’t be cringe. We’ve all seen brands on Instagram referring to followers as huns or calling customers babe. It’s one thing to be familiar with your followers, but make sure it’s both appropriate and consistent across the board in all your interactions. It can’t just be deployed when someone has irately commented about late delivery. Irreverence can be charming, but only when executed correctly.
Cosmetics and skincare brand Beauty Pie* speak frankly and transparently to their users with a knowledgeable voice, answering questions about products and recommending regimes based on preferences and skin types. This could come across as promotional, but fundamentally avoids this pitfall because they’re the experts sharing their expertise with their followers. They’re not trying to sell; they want their customers to love what they buy. The whole model is based on cutting out the middlemen and giving their members access to more luxury product, for less money; this message is flawlessly executed across every channel, including their website.
2. Offer Support and SHOW You’re Listening
Customers are most likely to reach out on social media if they have queries so it’s essential for B2C companies to be responding. Fielding questions, comments and concerns to the relevant departments within the brand ensures the customer knows their voice has been heard. Relaying an answer back to them is just as important, and also serves to reassures potential customers. Actively share ways for your audiences to share their thoughts and be transparent with the feedback. This builds trust and an open line of communication, shows that you are a brand who can value all comments – criticism included.
3. Engage, Engage, Engage
A sure-fire way to build an increase in interactions is to authentically engage with your audience – influencers and customers alike. Always comment when tagged users tag your brand in content and respond to DMs, even when they don’t require a response. One-to-one conversations with audiences really work to engender connections. Be actively aware of what your audience is creating and experiencing – demonstrating this interest is a powerful tool to ensure you keep the attention of existing customers.
Remember that creative strategies aren’t only for B2C brands – B2B communities are already joined by active awareness of a specific sector so capitalise on that by showing the shared expertise. You really can’t be too geeky here, so if you’re a print studio obsessed with fonts, or a software developer working on a new launch, then sharing what’s getting you excited as a team will likely engage your audiences too.
4. Reward Loyalty
Rewarding your audience with not only comments and ‘likes’ but with offers, discounts, early access to sale and new launches shows you care. It doesn’t have to involve product giveaways, but even sharing bespoke content on your channels can get your communities’ attention. An example of this is Glossier’s Free Stuff page, where you can access phone wallpapers and Zoom backgrounds inspired by their products, the playlists used in their pop-ups and stores, and Glossier e-stickers to use as emojis.
5. Target Your Content
Create content that the audience wants to see based on the type of content they themselves like, follow and create. Focus on engaging content that really resonates with your target audience and you’re much more likely to see a return in engagement. Be aware of what’s going on in the wider world and tailor the content to reflect this (this has never been more pertinent than in the age of COVID-19). Asking your audiences what they want to see from you can also open windows of opportunity, not to mention avoid alienating followers if their expectations and the content you’re delivering are dissonant.
We all know about Glossier’s success, but ultimately the genius was listening to the community that Into the Gloss had built, a forum that attracted consumers who wanted to share their likes and dislikes in the world of beauty, taking this knowledge and creating a line of products that responded directly to the needs of the target audience.
6. UGC
Sharing content created by not only the brand but the consumers themselves featuring your products or the services is a great way to engage further with the community. Featuring UGC is a great tool for growth as it shows the audience are actively thought of and ‘seen’ by the brand. The prestige of being featured on branded channels turns followers into active participants in the brand, and encourages others to do the same.
A core part of Les Girls Les Boys’* social media strategy is re-sharing the Instagram Stories customers share, whether they are unboxing or actually wearing the brand’s lounge- and underwear. This incentivises others to do the same, and effectively creates a constant stream of native content that looks cool on the brand channels, as well as rewarding their customers.
TikTok is at the growing epicentre of UGC (which we wrote about here), with users creating videos with hacks, tips and cheats on brands from Starbucks to Sephora. Brands big and small should be looking to encourage and harness thing expression of brand loyalty.
7. Use Influencers
Influencers are a key way for brands to connect with a community. While a brand’s identity is best articulated as ‘we’, influencers can speak to their audiences as ‘I’. They can translate brand messaging into opinion, interrogate and verify claims in a genuine package, introducing your brand to their audiences and (ideally) growing your own channels in the process.
Working with influencers doesn’t always have to mean paid partnerships from the beginning – indeed we would often advise building a relationship with influencers with gifting to introduce them to the brand. This must be strategic though and combined with in-depth consultation with the influencer to see how they work, what they want to see from brand partners, and what they love to promote. Ask their skin type, what’s missing from their wardrobe or a similarly specific question to dig down into what purpose your brand can serve. When using influencers to grow your community, it’s vital to figure out how you can support the influencer in return, particularly if there isn’t a paid campaign confirmed in the near future.
Working in this analytical way means products are more likely to be featured on an influencer’s channels, and can often result in more UGC for your brand to use as a social asset. This can also advise who you should be approaching for paid partnerships – and when you do, the authentic relationship will already be established in the minds of an influencer’s followers.
These are just a few ideas to get you started – ultimately community management and growth are a long-term commitment for a brand, but engaged followers and robust social channels will continue to pay dividends long into your brand’s future.
* For full disclosure, we would like to highlight Beauty Pie and Les Girls Les Boys are existing clients of One Roof Social.