How To Grow A Community And Your Business
One of the most powerful business strategies is to build a community around your brand. Communities shape and create the lifestyle of your brand.
But what does it actually mean to build a community around your business and why is it important to build initiatives that bring people together.
What Is a Community?
A community is a group of people who feel a sense of belonging and identity around a shared purpose, interest, or set of values. It’s not just about proximity or participation, it’s emotional. Communities offer people:
- A sense of identity
- A space to be seen and connect
- A purpose and feeling of belonging
Psychologically, communities satisfy some of our deepest human needs namely connection, contribution, and meaning. That’s why they grow and that’s why they matter to your business.
Formats of Community:
Community isn’t a singular thing. It’s a container and how you design it should align with your brand DNA, your audience, and your long-term goals.
Consider these formats:
- Activity-Based
- Sport-Based
- Giving Back
- Online Forums & Groups
- Workshops & Learning Forums
- Event-Based
- Group-Based
The smartest businesses blend formats because the more spaces people can interact in (both online and offline), the bigger the community becomes.
Platforms That Power Community
- Facebook Groups
- WhatsApp Groups
- Meetup App
- Reddit Forum
- Live Events
- Mighty Networks
- Social Media
The real question is: Where does your audience already gather? Don’t try to shift behaviour too drastically. Work with it.
What Actually Makes a Community?
A brand can’t manufacture culture, but it can create the conditions for culture to emerge.
Key ingredients:
- Common Interests: What brings people together initially?
- Common Perspectives: How they see the world?
- Shared Values: What they stand for?
But here’s the catch: You can’t define these in a vacuum. You have to understand your audience deeply.
That means understanding:
- What frustrates them?
- What do they aspire to?
- What do they do when they’re not interacting with your brand?
Real-World Community Case Studies
Suzuki Jimny
What works: Cult-like following not only because of the car specs, but because of the off-grid, minimalist and unpretentious lifestyle the brand represents.
Community form: Forums, adventure drives, rugged gear swaps.
Business insight: Suzuki leans into this with social content and gear tailored to adventurers.
Harley-Davidson
What works: The rebirth of the brand came when it pivoted from selling machines to selling identity. They gave people a flag to wave.
Community form: Rallies, HOG chapters, branded tattoos.
Business insight: Community became their greatest retention strategy, even as product lines evolved.
Burnt Activewear
What works: They’re building around a brand around movement, not just purchasing products. Workouts become meetups.
Community form: Weekly runs around South Africa, Workout Programs, Collaborations and Popups.
Business insight: They source product feedback directly from the community’s voice which removes guesswork.
The Business ROI of a Strong Community
A thriving community isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s a strategic asset that compounds:
1. Insight Into What People Love
Patterns of what users rave about, from product features to brand tone, guide you toward double-down zones.
2. Insight Into What People Hate
Communities give raw feedback. The close-to-consumer strategy is more beneficial than any survey or analytics dashboard.
3. Anticipation of Future Wants
Communities reflect shifting tastes, often before they hit the mainstream. Think of it as live trend forecasting.
4. Understanding Changing Behaviour
As needs evolve, so do communities. The businesses closest to their people adapt the fastest.
5. Fosters Deeper Engagement
When people identify with your brand, they engage more through commenting, sharing their experiences and posting online.
6. Customer Acquisition Cost Drops
Word-of-mouth is still one of the most effective marketing channels.
7. Brand Resilience
Communities protect against market volatility. A product can fail, a campaign can flop but if the community remains loyal, you bounce back faster.
The biggest mistake brands make? Trying to build community as a marketing tactic. It needs time, trust, and authenticity.
Ask yourself:
What worldview does my brand stand for?
Who would be proud to wear this on a t-shirt?
Where does our audience already gather and how can we serve them there first?
Looking to build your online community? Contact us at vic@webstitchdesign.com
