1. Lesson #4
Let’s Get It On
Why Fostering a Community
for a Brand is Important

2. Is brand building really
about community?
• Communities:
- Increase word of mouth (35%)
- Increase brand awareness (28%)
- Bring new ideas to the organization faster (24%)
- Increase customer loyalty (24%)
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3. What are the obstacles
to building community?
• Getting people involved in the community (51%)
• Finding enough time to manage the community (45%)
• Attracting people to the community (34%)
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4. If you are marketing
for a brand, what
does a consumer want?
• To connect with people.
• To help and be helped.
• To discuss a hot topic or issue.
4

5. If you are marketing
for a brand, what
do you want?
• Idea generation
• Customer service
• Co-innovation
• Amplification of word-of-mouth
• New product development
• Product testing
• Reputation management
• Market research
• Public relations
• Employee communications
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6. If it is about community,
what does marketing
have to do with it?
• Give customers a place to discuss your organization.
• Help your staff understand customer needs and
desires.
• Gain consumer insights.
• Develop a culture centered on customer feedback.
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7. How do you build a
community?
• Focus on what the customer needs.
• Develop relationships with multiple connections and
touch-points.
• Make it feel local.
• Don’t create more just to have more. Make
everything relevant and useful.
• Recognize those that contribute most.
• Communicate back and forth. Don’t just listen.
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8. Why is building
community so hard?
• The more content you have, the more members you
will get.
• The more members you have, the more content you
will get.
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9. Consumers are inviting brands
to become part of their
discussions. Brands need to
show up and socialize.

10. Questions?
Emily Blake
ereeves@stoneward.com brutherford@stoneward.com
501.772.6142 (text) 501.772.6108 (text)
@reeves501 @blakerutherford