Future of Social Communities

Influencer Sigh Swoon has created a Patreon account that allows her fans to become more closely connected to her via Close Friends, access to her book club, etc.

“There are so many powerful stories that live in the groups and we want more people to see them to broaden our audience. So for them to have access to those stories and those true community moments is important.” - Brad Olson, SVP of Member Experience Peloton

Community Elements:1. Exclusivity: Early access to product. Members only merch. Access to content.2. Pricing: Percentage off sales. Shipping savings. Preferred partner pricing.3. Community: Access to communities. Members only events. Members only apps.

The move to a true community repositions the topics of conversation from what the brand cares about to what the community talks about

“Our community has been a great source of ideas for new product features, so much so that we’ve rolled out “Feature Friday” in our Facebook group. Every Friday, we invite members to share their ideas, which our product team reviews as key input to our product roadmap.” - Brad Olson, SVP of Member Experience Peloton

After establishing its FANography insight community, sports broadcasting leader ESPN has been able to bring market research in-house, saving approximately $650,000 in one year.

2. Own Your Community

• Brands can have dozens of non-official pages, but there can only be one official

“People are more interested in the social links that come from brand affiliations than in the brands themselves.” - HBR

INFLUENCERS ARE PRIORITIZING MONETIZED CONTENT AND COMMUNITIES AS AD REVENUE CAN BE UNRELIABLE