Communal Marketing

Gardener Working In Community Allotment

How Simply Saying “Hi” Goes A Long Way For A Local Business

One of the most underutilized forms of marketing is community; it’s very easy these days to foster relationships with other local businesses over social media and create a family of businesses that are engaged, positive and supportive.  It all starts by reaching out and creating a dialogue with other local businesses; comment, like, make jokes back and forth, or reshare their content. Local businesses all share in the same uphill battle, and supporting each other can be mutually beneficial.

Trusting Your Brand

Building a community on social media gives people a reason to trust your brand. People want more than just your product; they want to feel like they belong and social media is the best way to foster that. Your social media is the impression customers will get about you, so a company that is willing to play nice with others and be involved in the community is one that people can easily get behind and even actively root for. Be encouraging on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with community pages or with another local business’ page. Be genuine in your comments and contents: trying to turn a community into a sales pitch can easily go south. Customers can smell that cheese from miles away.

The Perpetual Motion Machine

Community naturally encourages further engagement. Many people expend the extra effort to view comments on posts, so it is a bonus form of free marketing to express enthusiasm or laugh with other accounts. Over time, once your brand has created a community of users, you can ease off so your brand isn’t so aggressive, but the community keeps on growing.

Reap What You Sow

Social media success is measured in the number of engagements your brand receives. Naturally, if you engage, people are going to engage back, so next time that someone comments on your facebook page that they are a fan of your product, or even if they’re not, make sure to respond and let them know that they are heard and appreciated. It’s the quickest way to cement a returning customer.

The same goes if you see a new business opening up in the area: be the first on their page and let them know how excited you are about them joining the community. Plant the seed early and you’ll be amazed what grows from there.


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