Saved by Keely Adler and
Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
Within such virtual spaces, “community” is a shorthand for interaction — not necessarily belonging. From a business standpoint, community is a means to harness customer loyalty. From fitness companies like Peloton to beauty and fashion brands like Glossier and Victoria’s Secret PINK, brand communities have become essential marketing mechanisms, esp... See more
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
on how brands leverage the concept of community for profit and brand development
Investment and time are required to establish a foundation for lasting community; members need to feel as if they have a shared emotional connection, not just an affinity toward a product or brand, but with each other. It’s rare to come across this collective third space that blends together the public and private, Gát said.
vox.com • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
“This is not just happening online,” he said. “If you think of the workplace as a community, the employment churn is a form of community fatigue. If you look at the rate of Americans moving to different cities or neighborhoods, that’s also community fatigue.”
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
the potential for “community fatigue” with the proliferation of branded micro-groups, which aren’t always invested in members’ well-being.
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
Communities can naturally form in all sorts of social circumstances, but they often need a formalized structure to expand and sustain.
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
“I think it’s really important for every community, even if it’s led by a brand or platform, to have a telos or raison d’être."
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
community members should “feel a sense of belonging (membership), feel like you make a difference to the group and that the group makes a difference to you (influence), feel like your needs will be met by other group members (integration and fulfillment of needs), and feel that you share history, similar experiences, time, and space together (share... See more
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
Community, according to the clinical and community psychologist David McMillan, can be defined by four conditions: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection.
Vox • Brands want to be more than your friend. They want community.
The promise of community begins to feel disingenuous when what’s described is little more than a euphemism for a targeted demographic of interested consumers. Is there any other reason to facilitate community if not for a business to sell more products and accrue more members? Is it possible to find real community beyond the parameters of one’s con... See more