Ever wonder how companies like Dove, Nike, and Apple have worked their way to becoming mammoth, household-name brands? One marketing strategy they’ve perfected to the last detail is community building.
Community building is a brand growth strategy with a hyperfocus on the “it’s about them, not you” approach. These brands are masters in creating campaigns that capitalize on the hardwired, human need for connection and recognition.
Dove, a brand known for body care products has become a champion for emotionally provoking conversations around body image perception, positivity, and acceptance.
Nike has established itself as a brand that lives and breathes inclusivity.
Apple has a user base that’s excited and covets to be a part of the community they’ve created that stands for a fun, cool, and hip lifestyle.
Community building can be a powerful growth strategy for education companies. By building a strong sense of belongingness, recognition, and inclusivity among students, educators, and parents education companies can create a loyal and engaged customer base that is more likely to recommend their products or services to others.
Here are a few ways that education companies can implement community building as a marketing strategy:
Offer online forums or discussion groups
By creating a space where career and education-relevant conversations can happen, companies can build a sense of community among their users.
Students looking for online study groups and collaborative lesson discussions, and parents getting the insider scoop from alumni will find this especially helpful.
Encourage user-generated content
Set the spotlight on your students. When you give your key stakeholders a voice and platform to speak for your company and services, your brand becomes more authentic, approachable, and human.
Use social media to connect with users
Engaging online conversations start with good online presence. Building a community that students want to be a part of requires you to establish a brand that makes your audience feel seen, understood, and as if they’re among people with a shared experience.
Marketing through community building can lead to more enrollments for several reasons:
Word-of-mouth referrals
There’s nothing that will get you more new enrollments than students who do the selling for you by being your school’s ambassadors.
And when students feel that they belong to a community that values their opinions and sees them, they’ll be more generous with giving out testimonials, reviews, and user generated content.
Improved customer loyalty
Community building makes way for connectedness and gives students the space to belong to a group that is important to them. When this happens, education companies create a loyal customer base that will immediately choose them over competitors.
Enhanced reputation
A strong and engaged community helps education companies enhance their reputation and credibility. This makes them more attractive to prospective students, which creates enrollments.
Building a community around your brand fuels growth that only gets better over time. In fact, companies that are successful at creating a well-connected community for their audience see an increase in ROI by 2,778%. Communities are also a treasure trove of data that brands can use to create better customer experience and help you establish authenticity.
Community marketing is a powerful but lengthy process that produces resilient, timeless companies. Ready to create a brand that students will talk about whenever the subject of education comes up? Let’s talk!
