The benefits of an online community

Today's consumer has the ability to engage with you, your brand or your organization in a more intimate way than at any time in history. More specifically, almost 3 1/2 billion people now use social media, with an estimated one million new people joining some social media network every day. It is now an absolute that regardless of what type of business you have, your customers and potential new customers will most likely research, discover, or engage with you through social media. What will they find? Will they relate to you, will they fall in love with you, or move on to someone or something else? There is no doubt that social media has to be part of your brand strategy. Whether you're a startup, an independent, a small company or a mid to large organization. When I learn about a company or a new creative firm, I often go to their social media before their website. And if I see no recent activity, I immediately make an assessment of their relevancy or commitment to engaging. Make no mistake, your activity and content absolutely matter to today's consumer. In my experience, in 2/3 of my new business meetings someone makes a comment or observation about one of our posts on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter. As a creative firm owner, I also know the challenge of being active online ideally daily or at least weekly, but please hear me say you are missing out if you are not active in one or more networks online. The upside is that when you figure out a plan in the platform or platforms the best work for you and your ideal customers, you can map out the details and share your story. We know that our customers define our brand, but we also know that opinion is based partly on what we share and how we engage. With the average consumer spending 2 1/2 hours on social networks every day, the opportunity to share is immense. Anther often overlooked advantage to an online community is listening. An online community is a two-way street, and when handled well and looked at regularly you can learn as much, if not more, than what you share. From looking at analytics and engagement, to asking direct questions and conducting surveys, offering unique opportunities can give you great insight that only costs you time but can make you much more profitable. Building a community is exactly that. Something that needs to be built. The stories and brands that we most care about are the ones directly targeted to our interests, that provide thoughtful information, entertainment, education, or an ability to engage at some level. Now is the time to start or refresh your online community and redirect it in a way that is aligned with your targeted customers, your personas, and built for engagement.