The Paradox of Brand Communities

I always was thrilled to discover interesting pieces of work/analysis that are bold enough to tackle different sides of the matter in study, expressing duality in concepts not as an antithesis, but more like complementary aspects that define a notion (like yin and yang).

I just come across on a wonderful doctoral study done by a Swiss student coordinated by the famous professor Susan Fournier who's approach on brand communities was exactly as the one mentioned above. The Paradoxes of Brand Communities?

Fragmentation vs Unity
Structure vs Chaos
Empathy vs Intimacy
Marketing vs Authenticity

Which aspects will you rather advocate for?

The Metrics

Hello again!

I did some research on the metrics that companies use in their evaluation/ROI of the brand communities and it looks like the field is so developped that there are already specialized agencies who provide services to/for brand community owners only.
Although quantitative, internet monitor metrics ar euseful and can serve as academicians and practitioners seem to emphasize the value of relationship-based metrics.

Coming to think about it, the dea that every click is monitored and tracking is extremely easy, the development of soial media (brand communities included) starts to look actually like The Matrix:

“Unfortunately, no one can be told what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Morpheus to NEO

Social media beomes social media when people are getting involve, when they see it, try it.

Do you think it can have a negative effect too due to the high monitoring of it?
Do we still have private identities or everything is in the web/company's webpage?

Precious Links

Hey ! Here are some websites that could help you, they are quite shrt, and the ideas they develop are really interesting:
Why create a brand community?
Building your brand by creating community
Building a brand community
Hope it gonna help you guys.

Four types of exclusivity of brand communities

There are four types of exclusivity of brand communities, which are as follows:

1.Open - These are communities that do not require registration in order to participate. Examples of these include message boards that allow anonymous posting and blogs that do not require registration in order to comment. Facebook Pages and other similar social network groups can be included in this category.

2.Registration - These are by far the most common form of brand communities and require nothing from the user but registration.

3.Purchase - These are communities that require either the purchase of a product or a membership in order to join in addition to registration.

4.Outside Selection - These are communities where members cannot self-select themselves into the community. They must be selected to join by the organizer of the community or invited by an existing member.

The eBay community falls under the category of registration.
Can you name some other communities for these 4 categories ?

What are the most important goals when building your brand online?

No matter the product, service or industry, those goals likely include:

1. Starting a relationship with your customers that can't be duplicated by the competition, encouraging loyalty and providing value.
2. Maximizing customer interaction time with your brand, as well as building mindshare and influence.
3. Building an e-mail list for targeted follow-up and communication.

To read more about this article, click this link.

And Hey!!

Please share your opinions. What do you think about the most important goals when building a brand community ????

Misconception

Hey Guys !

I wanna mention a common misconception about brand communities.

"An effective brand community exists to serve its members, who participate in order to fulfill many kinds of needs, such as building relationships, cultivating new interests, and contributing to society. Strong communities work to understand people’s needs and to engage participants by offering a variety of roles. It is a misconception that a brand community exists to serve the business. " Harvard Business Review
Previously ebay was dealing with the management of its brand community more effectively. After its policy change which states that the sellers can no longer leave neutral or negative feedback for buyers, just positive or nothing at all, they harmed their image in the eyes of their customers. If the aim of a brand community is to build relationships and contribute to society etc. such policy limitations prevent people to do so...

If you realize that the customers come first, you should focus on their needs and wants + freedom.

Ebay Case Analysis - How to build customer community

Hey, it's me again!

I've found a really interesting analysis of the Ebay community and the strategies they are tackling in order to build a strong, succesfull brand community with its customers.

The approach they are using is creatively presented as the 10 Ebay Community Commendments and depict the behind strategies the company is succesfully using and the ROI of them among customer's involvement, activities as advocacy and evangelism.

eBay's 10 Community Commendments