Let's discuss this further in relation to brands, social media, consumers and online community.
Common interests with consumers may include online community and social media pertaining to businesses, brands, products and services.
Companies that embrace online community with passion and heart can expect to reach new groups of consumers. The benefits are immense!
Benefits of Brands Embracing Online Community
• Keep the community up to date with the company message and product benefits!• Take market share from companies that are not prepared to engage in real community!
• Tap into insight on customer sentiment and immediate feedback from customers!
• Gain direction and intelligence from the data available in Social Media!
• Be seen as a company that appreciates its online community and is prepared to listen and engage with its customers!
The first step is for the company to understand the relationship between the company and the consumers or customers.
This will affect the manner in which individuals will interact with the online community and the company.
The relationship that consumers have with an online community is defined by their interaction.
Six Relationship Statuses of Online Community
We note six relationship statuses that consumers exhibit towards a brand or company.• Considered Status, the consumer begins a relationship with the brand and its online community.
• Committed Status, the consumer is involved with the online community and engages at various levels.
• Inactive Status, the consumer is not attracted to the offerings of the brand or its online community.
• Faded Status, the consumer has begun to lose interest and to drift to other brands or online communities.
• Recognized Status, consumer is aware of the online community but not involved actively.
• Unrecognized Status, consumer is unaware of the online community.
The profile statuses of the brand consumers is an important factor to consider, as it will determine the strategy and approach to draw the online community in to engagement.
Companies considering online community and social media face the challenge of establishing common ground with their customers. This is essential as part of the strategy of drawing them in.
Research into online community shows that in certain cases it pays to treat the members of the online community as friends.
This is different to the communication normally found in a formal business environment.
Taking this further it bears mention at this stage that the online community should not be used as a sales channel for the following reasons:
• Consumers separate relational content from commercial content.
• Consumers relate relational content as human in origin.
• Consumers relate commercial messaging as a digital non human action.
We acknowledge that this is a controversial subject, and the discussion will certainly not be finalized here!
There are many great examples of how online community and social media are being used in a sharing capacity, but the facts are clear...
Online community and Social Media is about growing healthy engagement and friendship with consumers, leading to a sense of community and building a captive audience...
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