4.1 Build a Community
Why Online Communities Matter
When people come together online, they can share ideas, support each other, and work toward common goals. This is called building an online community. Whether it’s a group of fans, students, customers, or creators, online communities help people feel connected—even if they live far apart.
What Is an Online Community?
An online community is a group of people who interact through the internet. They might use websites, social media, forums, or apps to talk, share, and learn from each other.
Examples include:
- A group of gamers chatting on Discord
- Students helping each other with homework in a class forum
- Fans of a TV show sharing memes on Instagram
- Customers giving feedback on a brand’s Facebook page
Who is your audience? What is your purpose as a business? How can you help your audience succeed? Create a community on a social media platform by considering:
- Who is your primary audience? Who else might read this SM post?
- What is the best format to use to present this content (video, photos, graphics, etc.)?
- What specific outcomes do you want your social media marketing efforts to achieve? What do you want your readers to do, think, or decide after reading it?
Consistently maintaining a brand’s identity and creating real relationships through SM is a powerful way to gain customer trust and support online. A business also needs to find out who exactly is in their audience (i.e. who is currently buying their products/services and investigate why). And where, on SM, they are showing up. Facebook? Instagram? TikTok? SnapChat? Twitter?, etc. Once you find out where your audience is participating, ask (potential) customers how the business can better serve them.
People who are already customers are usually more than willing to provide feedback on SM. It is best to be clear and consistent when requesting feedback. Not all suggestions can be implemented but should be taken into consideration. It is also important to remember that people who are not avid users of a product/service will be reluctant to rate or provide answers to survey questions. Brands should only request this information from individuals who are already engaged or have purchased the service/product.
A business’ audience is first and foremost their customers. On SM, marketers and strategists often get caught up in the number of followers, likes, and data trackers. These metrics are important but do not completely represent customers. Customers are the people that decide to buy your product/service. A short quick question about how likely a client would be to refer a product/brand to another, is a good start, and then asking for feedback on what should be done better so that they would give an endorsement to others.
Tools for Community Building
Today, there are many tools that make it easier to build and manage online communities:
- Discord – Great for real-time chats and organizing groups
- Slack – Used for professional or school communities
- Facebook Groups – Easy to set up and manage
- Substack and Patreon – Help creators build communities around newsletters or exclusive content
- TikTok and Instagram – Good for short videos and visual storytelling
Personal branding
Unless you’re famous or a professional speaker, a business’ brand is normally separate from your own identity. That’s not to say that the content you create and the messages you deliver internally and externally through all mediums (email, memos, blogs, social media posts, etc.) of your business should not show a consistent personality and be unique. Hugh Culver’s blog post “Show your personality[1]” emphasizes how modern marketers need to stop hiding behind their brands and show that there are real people at the helm of all levels of the business.
Collaborating with like-minded businesses can help create fun and spontaneous messaging that do not, at first glance, seem like campaigns.
Example
Local Victoria social marketing strategist and photographer Jared VanderMeer[2] uses his collaborations to enhance his brand and promote Canadian businesses. Working with Heather Pace, Jared created a reel in Instagram[3] that showcases his impressive photography skills and Heather’s delicious chocolate!
Consistent messaging
All members of a team, that have access to a company’s SM accounts, be given a document that outlines not only what accounts the company manages but also parameters around engaging with each SM community. See
Often these guidelines are published online so that customers and staff have similar expectations around rules of engagement. They are commonly referred to as Social Media Community Guidelines. You will typically find information regarding rules of engagement, such as when the company will delete posts rather than replying, working hours for when you should expect an answer from a business, whether the business responds to messages from individuals, etc.
Consistent messaging shows leadership and authority in your industry and audiences. SM marketers who genuinely understand their company’s brand, mission, vision and most importantly the why behind the business are best able to answer questions effectively and engage with their online audience in authentic and meaningful ways.
Do the RIGHT thing – Be a better human
When we’re jumping through hoops to get Instagram followers or to keep people’s eyes on content, what are we losing in the process? Always think: What is the reason you are posting? What are the intentions behind posting? Am I potentially harming anyone in the process? Is this (post) a reflection of my values/characters? If you struggle to answer any of these questions, then don’t post. Your caption is an extension of the business and your audience will be impacted by what you post. Remember, behind every screen name is a person with feelings, interests, and needs. So, let’s keep building those meaningful connections!
