You can only go so far on your own before you hit a wall when you try to operate in a silo. But if you surround yourself with supportive people and businesses, suddenly, the sky’s the limit. That’s because every customer is part of an ecosystem, and by working with other businesses in that ecosystem, you can improve your product or offering and create a better customer experience.

This blog post will explore how community involvement can help businesses grow and how forming partnerships is a great way to get started. By joining or building a community around your niche, you can reach maximum customer engagement and drive a thriving ecosystem that benefits everyone involved. Let’s get started!

What to expect:

• What is Community?
• 3 Categories of Community
• Benefits of B2B Community Building
• Best Practices to Make a Thriving Community
• Community Trends
• How to Operationalize Community

 

What is a Community?

When we think of community, most of us envision a group of people living in close proximity to one another, like our neighbors or the city we live in. But in the digital age, “community” has taken on a new meaning. Our “community centers” are now online and come in the form of social media platforms and forums.

This can be confusing for those of us who are used to thinking of community in the traditional sense. But it’s important to remember that, at its core, the community is about connection. And in the digital age, that’s something that can happen regardless of geographic location.

A community is a group of people with a shared interest or goal. In other words, it’s a group of like-minded individuals who interact with each other on a regular basis. In the marketing world, communities are often used as a way to build relationships with potential customers and prospects. Companies can forge stronger connections with their target audiences by creating a safe space for people to talk about their shared interests.

Online Community Marketing

There’s no doubt that social media has changed the way we interact with each other. These days, it’s not uncommon to see people spending more time chatting with their friends online than in person. But what many people don’t realize is that social media platforms can also be a powerful tool for marketing. Businesses can create and participate in these community platforms to reach out to potential customers and build relationships with them.

As any marketer knows, B2B marketing can help create a sense of brand loyalty among customers and even turn them into brand advocates for your business. So if you’re not already using social media to market your business, now is the time to start. You might end up with a few new customers (and friends!) along the way.

3 Primary Categories of Community

People often talk about community in broad, sweeping terms. But, when you really break it down, community members can be placed into either of these three primary categories: media, groups, and experts.

Media members are the ones who help to spread the word about community events and activities. Groups are active members who actually participate in community activities. Experts are the ones who have the knowledge and skills to help community members solve problems.

1. Media

The sheer amount of information and viewpoints that are now readily available to us is staggering, and it’s thanks in large part to the rise of community media. It is the “entertainment” or the translation of info to spark an emotional effect. This includes:

• podcasts
• videos
• content creators
• blogs
• newsletters
• events

And the best part? It provides us with a space to come together and learn from each other in a variety of ways. Whether it’s through discussion forums, video content, or articles, community-based learning allows us to engage with the information in a way that works for us.

2. Groups

We have neighborhoods, religious groups, and professional associations in the physical world. In the digital world, we have:

• Slack community channels
• peer/user groups
• associations
• schools

These communities help us to grow our networks, seek opportunities, and learn from others. They provide a sense of togetherness and promote human-to-human connection. In today’s increasingly isolated world, that connection is more important than ever.

3. Experts

Experts are the people who “learn it first” – whether that means being on the cutting edge of new ideas or simply being able to summarise and package information in an easily digestible format. This includes:

• analysts
• consultants
• influencers
• certifications

These experts provide new ideas, validation for existing ideas, or its summary. From potential pitfalls to ease of community summaries, these experts have you covered. Plus, with the community’s help, you can see what the top 1% are doing and how they’re doing it. Then, you can learn from their mistakes and make your sales and marketing efforts even better.

Benefits of B2B Community-Building

If you’re not investing in it — as a business and an individual — you’re missing out on massive benefits that are fundamental to human behavior. Here are 4 reasons why you should consider joining a community or building your own:

1. Togetherness

Community is no longer limited to physical proximity. Thanks to the internet, we can now connect with people from all over the globe who share our interests and experiences. 

• You can help make a difference (and have a difference made in your life) with the constant exchange of value
• You get to learn from and engage with the market directly with less filter or bias
• You meet others that care about similar things

2. Trust

Community helps build trust among your customers. When people feel like they’re part of a group, they’re more likely to be loyal to that group. And when people are loyal to your brand, they’re more likely to recommend your products or services to their friends and family. 

• You become more respected and seen as ‘the’ source of value
• When others need something, there’s a higher likelihood they go to you
• Having multiple perspectives helps to remove bias vs. your own profile/website that is biased towards yourself

3. Social Interaction (Awareness)

Communities offer such a valuable resource. You can grow your social proof and build meaningful relationships by connecting with others who share your interests.

• You have more exposure where people are directing their attention
• The more you give, the more visible you become
• You are not in a silo, tapping into new potential relationships

4. Support

• You can get direct customer feedback and direction from the community
• You benefit from the network effect that can bring in waves of new interactions and perspectives
• Naturally, reciprocity will happen, especially when you need it

Community is the future (and the future is already here). There’s a fine balance between starting as a community first, building your own, and tapping into existing ones. The community provides a much-needed respite in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with information. It’s a place where we can go to learn more about our interests, connect with like-minded people, and escape from the mundane reality of everyday life. 

Best Practices to Make a Thriving Community

Make your communities better. It’s not rocket science, but it does take deliberate action. Treat it like a business and always focus on the members — you’re always selling something, and for this, it’s the idea of enjoying the community, engaging with it, and remaining a member.

1. Generate immediate human interaction

This is the whole purpose of a community. People join to feel connected. If they don’t have this immediately, they are going to seek it elsewhere. Period.

2. Create one-on-one connections at scale

Having an automated 1-on-1 connection helps those who are less vocal. Let’s face it; everyone is too busy to try and coordinate a time and figure out who to reach out to.

3. Offer a path forward for the niche you have

Job boards, opportunities to collaborate on content, panel discussions, and receiving real-world feedback by combining the above 2 points will provide growth opportunities for members. People join a community because they want opportunities either to promote themselves, get a new job, learn, network, and so on.

Don’t let your community become a place for people to blast their social posts (unless that’s the niche you serve, of course). Make it valuable for members.

Trends in Community

Why are individuals drawn to communities, and why does Jay McBain believe that an ecosystem with the community is the future? We are wired to connect. So what trends do we see with this today? More B2B online communities are popping up. Further, industry leaders are investing in building community, especially those in the partnerships world.

• Twitter Spaces launched in November 2020, giving people a space to congregate remotely.
• Clubhouse (luckily) launched in April 2020.
• Slack has been more popular than ever.
• RevGenius began in May 2020.

There is no coincidence here. All online communities started during the COVID-19 pandemic. The connection within the community helps us feel heard. It gives us validation for our thoughts and feelings.

Social psychology tells us that our social connections are major mechanisms behind the development of self and self-perception. Our decisions and achievements don’t hold as much weight unless there is some sort of social validation. I.e., We apply a portion of importance to events externally and internally based on how those around us perceive them.

When we need new information, we turn to those we trust to know the topic. The same goes for major decisions, including purchasing decisions. What you buy is influenced by those around you — your friends, your family, those you follow on Instagram and LinkedIn, and so on.

The same concept applies to business and career decisions in a more digital world. So think, where are your BUYERS spending time? They’re humans, so the above mechanisms certainly apply.

How to Operationalize Community

Why and how can businesses invest and engage with the community?

Well, it’s definitely not just joining a Slack channel and throwing sponsorship. The answer is more obvious than you think. Sponsorships can be great, and you deserve sponsorships for all communities. But investing in this is not enough if you’re a business.

People engage because they want to feel connected with other humans. So how can a business tap into this?

1. Let your team spend time engaging with communities

• Create times, as a company, to dedicate to the community
• Do it as a team if people are shy or lost
• Make it a core value

2. Enable your team to be good at engaging

• Give them a professional development budget
• Make it part of their onboarding to join
• Give the basic tools to network

3. Give high-quality, relevant content that is not promotional

• People can tell when something is aiming to convert immediately
• Consider this audience top of the funnel
• Tactical information > fluff

If you’ve been thinking about giving back to your community but haven’t quite taken the plunge, here are a few reasons that might motivate you:

First, by volunteering your time and talents, you’ll increase your visibility both as an individual and as a brand. Second, you’ll make your employees happy – and studies have shown that happy employees are more productive employees. Third, you’ll be directly helping the community, which is always a good feeling. And fourth, by getting involved in local causes, you’ll position yourself and your company as experts in your field.

That last one is key. You don’t want to seem like just another business. You want to be the experts. When people have a problem specific to what you do, you want them to go to you. Keep in mind that those who lead or ‘own’ the community will see you as putting your best foot forward. Then they’ll likely include in other things — perhaps for free next time.

BD Paths’ Takeaway

You won’t see immediate ROI, but there’s a reason we think of Nike and Adidas when we think of shoes, not Asics or Saucony — it works.

3 important observations:

1. There is usually an agenda for the community.

Not a bad thing, as there is a lot of upfront value. But keep in mind the purpose of a business/team dedicating resources to this. There’s eventually a need for ROI! This can come in many forms, and some of those are more mutually beneficial than others. Keep this in mind!

2. Your community will fail if people aren’t engaged.

The attention economy is more valuable than ever. If you have people in your community who aren’t engaging, is it really a community? Or a contact list.

3. As a community gets larger, more gets lost in the noise.

People will start trying to pitch their own solutions/offerings. People will naturally try to create their own if they aren’t getting enough value. This just creates more noise from the likely original goal.