ChicExecs Co-Founder and Co-President Nikki Carlson shares the how and why of building micro-communities on social media on Forbes blog. Enjoy this brief excerpt from the piece.
What are micro-communities?
Social media is crowded. Everybody has something to say, and it’s easy to feel lost in anonymity on these platforms. Your customers want online spaces where they can be raw and connect with others.
That’s precisely what happens in micro-communities. These exclusive online spaces bring your customers together for a shared purpose. For example, Glossier has a private Slack channel just for its top 100 customers.
Micro-communities on Facebook, Instagram, Discord and plenty of other platforms make your customers feel special. But it’s not just your customers who benefit from these online communities.
Micro-communities matter for brands because they:
• Increase sales: With the right approach, micro-communities build empathy and loyalty, which translates into more sales for the long term.
• Build positive brand relationships: Micro-communities make customers feel more connected to your brand. These positive connections increase the likelihood that they’ll be loyal customers for life.
• Help you build better products: Tap into your micro-communities for product feedback. Deliver precisely what customers ask for instead of trying to guess.
Community-building is the next step in the evolution of social media. As a brand, you have to set up engaging communities online to break through the social media clutter.
Here are three ideas for starting a branded micro-community.
Your Facebook posts probably don’t have the same punch today that they did 10 years ago. Fortunately, when you invest in quality community-building, you cut through the online noise.
But what’s the best process for setting up and managing a micro-community? After all, you don’t want to look like a scam or like you’re being opportunistic.
If the time has come for you to create a micro-community, follow these three best practices to move forward in a genuine way.
1. Know your audience.
Community-building starts with understanding the people you want in that community. Who are your customers? What do they want from a community? How do their desires match with your brand’s mission or product?
2. Choose the right platform.
There are so many platforms available for your micro-community. Consider online venues such as:
• Facebook Groups.
• Slack.
• Discord.
• Facebook Messenger.
• Private Instagram accounts.
3. Share experiences and stories.
One of the best ways to create community is to invite your customers to a shared experience. How can you create an engaging experience for community members to share together?
Read Nikki’s entire blog here.
