The Branded Online Community Approach (and why it fails)

Most brand community efforts go something like this..

The brand manager decides an online community could help him sell more washing machines. He hires a web designer to develop a fantastic looking community website. Then he builds up a list of the top influencers on the topic and asks them to join and write about the community.

He also writes press releases and sends them to newspapers and trade press. If he’s lucky, he can get a 2k – 3k people to register. Now he begins publishing useful advice about washing machines. How to avoid clothes shrinking and getting out the really, really, tough stains. Members will also be invited to submit their own top tips.

There is a problem in every line. Washing machines don't bring people together, communities don't directly sell more products, a fantastic looking community website is usually a distraction, top influencers don't help launch a community, press releases rarely work, creating advice isn't the same as cultivating relationships.

If you’re about to start your community efforts and you’re using any, any, of the ideas above, please stop, remove the idea, and start again.

Comments

[Bill T]

A great post but a drop in the ocean against the sea of VP's of marketing and CEO's that see community as a branch of marketing and sales.

[Jason Peck]

Don't forget- you don't necessarily need top influencers to help you launch a successful community. Companies with solid opt-in email lists have built-in communities and can convert subscribers to the community, while also seeing increase in sales and loyalty in community members vs. non members. There are definitely companies that are benefiting from branded online communities. Maybe not washing machine companies, but you never know.