3 Customer Community Management

Tips
Customer communities can be a powerful ally to any brand, offering a multiplier
effect for your message that resounds throughout the web.
These online networks come in all shapes and sizes, including those that activate
their consumer base with fun or authentic content, and those that build loyalty
communities within their existing customer pool, such as Microsoft’s Windows
Insider program, where technology enthusiasts beta-test the company’s latest
offerings to help shape its products.
But how can a brand harness the power of unpaid spokespeople to amplify its
message and reach as much of its target audience as possible? Regardless of what
kind of community it is, the key is to convey a sense of shared purpose, provide
authentic content and speak their language, says Kristina Libby, a professor in the
graduate program on social media at the University of Florida.
Libby, who will speak to the issue at The Social Shake-Up conference May 22-24,
2017, in Atlanta, provided some tips for managing a customer community.

We’re in This Together

One of the most important aspects of creating a customer community is making
people feel as though they’re part of something bigger than themselves—giving
them a cause to align themselves with, a shared purpose. As such, it’s critical to
have a clear vision of what you stand for, what you want to accomplish, and what
motivates your audience.
“That’s the single biggest differentiating aspect of these kinds of communicators,”
says Libby. “Can you stand for something and show that you really understand the
customer, and then get them excited about what you’re doing?”
Libby points to the magazine Vanity Fair, and how it’s using its feud with Donald
Trump to grow its readership, as a great example. Dubbing itself “The magazine
Trump doesn’t want you to read,”Vanity Fair has activated its existing customer
community while also reaching a much wider audience by wearing the schism as a
badge of honor.
“The underlying message should be ‘We can work together as a group to change
the world,’ Libby says. “People should feel they’re stepping up with the brand, not
just buying a product from them but coming together almost as an equal with the
brand.”

Be for Real
Kristina Libby, professor, University of Florida
One of the most common mistakes brands make when attempting to marshal their
customer community is in providing content that’s more self-serving than useful. If
you view the community as just another channel for advertising, your efforts will
likely backfire.
“Brands need to think about something bigger and more interesting than
themselves,” Libby says. “If you go to a party and somebody only talks about
themselves, you wouldn’t want to talk to them, right?”
Instead, it’s best to provide authentic content that’s a service to the community. For
instance, a financial advisory firm would do well to provide tips on how to save for
retirement, rather than hawking its services outright.
You should also offer the community a tangible benefit for signing up and getting
behind the brand. Will they get discounts for your product or service? Will the
company personally recognize them on social media? "There has to be something
in it for them," Libby says.

Looking for a deep dive into all things social? Check out the full program and
speaker roster for The Social Shake-Up, which will be held May 22-24, 2017, in
Atlanta. Brand communicators from Coca-Cola, Dunkin' Donuts, the Atlanta Hawks,
Arby's and many more will speak on a breadth of topics from content marketing to
measurement to Snapchat strategy.

Speak Their Language

A brand has to ensure that the people curating the community have a similar voice
to its inhabitants. If you’re marketing to an older consumer, but somebody just out
of college is running the community, there can be a disconnect between the target
and where you’re aiming.
Libby offered the following example: A high-end wine maker, trying to reach an
older audience, had two fresh college grads running its social media campaign. The
young staffers wrote Millennial-focused copy and put most of their effort into
Instagram—its Facebook page was an afterthought. Of course, further research
showed that its older, target audience was much more likely to be on Facebook
than any other social media platform.
“Simply put, the voice they had talking to their audience was wrong, and the
channels they were using were wrong,” Libby says.