Have you put a lot of energy into building a loyal online community around your brand but feel like it’s just not sticking? In today’s digital world, it’s easier than ever for customers to jump between brands. This is where Community Building through Experiential Marketing comes in. It’s not enough to just exist online anymore – you need to create meaningful experiences that resonate with your audience and make them feel like they’re a part of something special. This approach is about forging emotional connections that transform casual consumers into passionate brand advocates. Throughout this article, we will uncover some insights into Community Building through Experiential Marketing.
While only 4 percent of people trust influencers on social media, 72 percent of customers in a survey said they are willing to share good experiences with others. This disparity presents an opportunity for brands to connect directly with consumers on a deeper, more authentic level.
Understanding Community Building Through Experiential Marketing
Let’s start by defining what we mean by “experiential marketing.” In a nutshell, it’s all about crafting immersive, memorable, and shareable experiences that engage your audience beyond traditional advertising. Instead of telling people how great your brand is, you’re letting them experience it firsthand. You want to get people talking.
Experiential marketing activities encompass various formats like:
- Pop-up shops and immersive installations.
- Interactive workshops and classes.
- Brand activations at events or festivals.
- Launch parties and exclusive preview experiences.
The beauty of these events include the opportunity for face-to-face interaction. Harvard Business Review even states that making a request in person is 34 times more successful than by email. But Community Building through Experiential Marketing is about much more than just putting on a flashy event – it’s about strategically using these experiences to cultivate a loyal and engaged community.
Building A Framework
Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Building a thriving community around your brand takes some strategy. Think about it: Community Building through Experiential Marketing can make people feel a greater sense of belonging and build stronger connections to the brand.
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Defining Your Target Audience and Goals
First, who are you trying to reach? Identifying your target audience is essential in any marketing endeavor. Without knowing your ideal customer, how can you create opportunities that truly resonate? Once you’ve defined your target audience, outline what you hope to accomplish through your experiential marketing efforts. Do you want to boost brand awareness, drive sales, generate user-generated content, or foster a greater sense of loyalty? Having specific marketing goals will help you create more targeted and measurable campaigns.
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Crafting Shareable Experiences
Let’s be real – people love to share their experiences online, especially if it involves a fun event. Events offer the opportunity for brand community members to create user-generated content. Consumers perceive this content as 2.4 times more authentic than branded content. Creating experiences that naturally encourage social sharing can significantly amplify your reach.
This can be as simple as creating visually appealing photo opportunities or incorporating interactive elements that beg to be shared. For example, remember when everyone was talking about how they wanted to live in Roku City? This trend exemplifies how a brand can tap into digital culture and create an online phenomenon.
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Emphasizing Authenticity and Emotional Connection
According to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report, 84% of customers feel that being treated like a person and not a number is very important to winning their business. In today’s marketing landscape, authenticity reigns supreme.
People are craving real connections and meaningful interactions, so make sure your experiential activations are genuine and resonate with your target audience’s values. A study from Motista showed that emotionally connected customers tend to stick around longer and rave about brands more.
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Fostering Ongoing Engagement and Dialogue
Community building doesn’t stop when the event ends. The real magic happens when you foster ongoing engagement. Stay connected with your audience long after the event. Keep the conversation flowing, solicit feedback, and offer exclusive perks or content to your community members.
Think of Community Building through Experiential Marketing as cultivating a long-term relationship with your audience. For example, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, product previews, or even simply asking for feedback on social media can help maintain the momentum long after the event is over. You want to turn attendees into passionate brand advocates.
(Also Read: From Trade Shows to Tech Conferences: Maximizing Impact with Event Marketing)
Measuring Success
Knowing how to measure the impact of your marketing initiatives can mean the difference between success and failure. Tracking things like social media engagement (hashtags, mentions), website traffic, lead generation, and sales can offer valuable insights into how well your campaigns are performing.
It’s equally important to measure the qualitative impact as well, gathering feedback through surveys and social media monitoring. Remember, you’re not just aiming for transactions – you’re trying to cultivate brand advocates and long-term community members.
Looking at the Numbers
Community Building through Experiential Marketing isn’t just a trendy marketing tactic—it’s essential. Brands need to evolve with the times to compete in our modern world.
| Impact of Brand Communities | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Impact of brand communities on customer retention. | 66% |
| Percentage of emotionally connected shoppers who spend 2x more on brands they love. | 70%m |
| Consumers who want brands to have a positive impact on their communities. | 76% |
| Percentage of marketers citing brand awareness as their top content goal. | 84% |
With the average American being bombarded with upwards of 10,000 ads per day, Community Building through Experiential Marketing allows brands to break through the digital noise and forge a more genuine, meaningful relationship with customers. In turn, a strong online community, such as the ones created with tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or platforms like Opensea.IO, often helps individuals feel supported.
A recent Spotify Global Trends Report found that psychologists believe that engaging with online fan communities benefits mental health, especially among teenagers. It allows them to explore their interests and connect with like-minded peers in a way that feels authentic and relevant.
Brands need to evolve, going beyond traditional advertising to prioritize genuine connection. Remember, building a community takes time and dedication – but the rewards, in terms of customer loyalty, brand advocacy, and lasting impressions, are worth the effort.
Frequently Asked Questions about Community Building through Experiential Marketing
Q. What are some examples of experiential marketing used to build online communities?
A. Some common tactics used as part of an experiential marketing campaign are immersive pop-up shops, interactive installations, online challenges or contests, giveaways, user-generated content campaigns, and even virtual or augmented reality experiences. It all comes down to figuring out what resonates with your audience and what fits into your marketing budget.
Take, for instance, the work of A\N/A A Non-Agency®, a company led by marketing design expert Michelle Collins. Her NYC-based consumer experience marketing company designs installations that cultivate long-term community for large brands. This approach creates excitement and gives potential customers a tangible reason to engage with the brand, building loyalty.
Q. How do I get people involved?
A. To effectively engage people in online community building, make it easy to participate. The easier you make it, the more likely they are to stick around. Utilize social media, offer incentives, create engaging content that sparks a dialogue (like Q&A sessions or polls), and consider partnering with influencers who already align with your brand.
Q. What role does user-generated content play in experiential marketing?
A. People trust recommendations from their peers far more than traditional advertising. Encourage your community to create content by providing incentives such as hosting contests with prizes. Studies show that members of these communities often connect because of a shared experience. Make your audience feel heard and appreciated – because a happy community is an engaged community. Don’t forget that you can further inspire by showcasing positive user-generated content across your brand’s social media platforms and website, giving them recognition for their work.
Q. Where do loyalty programs fit into building a community?
A. The idea of what creates customer loyalty is changing. In the past, customers relied on them, but this trend is shifting. In fact, one consulting firm states 71% of customers don’t think incentives actually make them loyal. Customers are seeking more than just discounts or rewards – they’re seeking authentic human connection.
Brands can pivot from traditional loyalty programs by fostering a sense of belonging and creating emotional connections within their community. Exclusive access to events, early product launches, or behind-the-scenes content are good examples.
Q. How can AI communities, like those on Reddit, contribute to building online brand communities through experiential marketing?
A. Take a look at how Reddit’s AI community thrives; it’s all about providing users with a place to explore a shared passion. People actively discuss generative AI art tools (Dall-E 2) as well as language models like ChatGPT. Individuals are connecting through the shared excitement over the rapid evolution of these tools.
For marketers, consider this approach. Rather than speculating on how to utilize these new platforms, actively participate. Learn from community members at AI Summits like AI for Good Summit, join online groups like FB AI Art Universe, and share your brand in an organic and authentic way that feels relevant to the conversation already happening on these platforms. Engaging in this way feels genuine, building stronger brand loyalty.
Think about incorporating these communities into brand activations. Perhaps consider partnering with AI artists on a project or using generative AI tools to create a unique interactive experience at an event. Engaging with these pre-existing communities fosters brand loyalty that feels natural and long-lasting.
Q. Is Community Building through Experiential Marketing only successful for online brands?
A. Community Building through Experiential Marketing works for brands of all kinds. Even better, you can design experiences that blend the virtual and physical world. You need to decide if a virtual-first, IRL-first, or a blend of both will resonate best with your brand goals and target market. Think about it: CMX’s 7P’s of Community framework was built through a hybrid structure of virtual events and in-person meetups.
Final Thought
Think about Community Building through Experiential Marketing as creating a memorable adventure for your target audience. Make it fun. Make it unique. But most importantly, keep it real. With so many consumers being overwhelmed with ads, traditional marketing is becoming less effective, but this opens up opportunities for a different approach. By moving from simple awareness campaigns to cultivating meaningful connections, brands are setting themselves apart. If you focus on providing a space for community, people will remember the positive experience and spread the word.
