The eCommerce industry has undergone an enormous transformation in recent years. One of the most notable changes is the increased emphasis on community.
In the past, customers focused solely on product price and quality. Now, they want more. Consumers want to be part of a community and feel like they belong to something bigger. To adapt and meet these changing behaviors, eCommerce brands must prioritize community building.
Fostering a strong community empowers companies to establish a force of repeat buyers and drive long-term growth. In this article, I’ll share my tried-and-tested community-building strategies and insights for eCommerce brands.
Why eCommerce brands should invest in community-building strategies
2023 is the year of “deinfluencing” — a social media movement against overconsumption. As such, the days of encouraging customers to “buy, buy, buy” are behind us. To attract customers, eCommerce brands need to focus on nurturing a community, not pushing products.
A strong community brings benefits like a loyal customer base, greater visibility, increased sales, rich feedback, and authentic brand coverage. More than half of consumers surveyed by Sprout Social spent more when they felt connected to a brand.
Community building cultivates a sense of belonging for customers. This deeper emotional connection increases loyalty and drives brand advocacy.
Big brands like Sephora, Adidas, and Glossier have all harnessed the power of community. Glossier, for example, created an online magazine and encouraged customers to share their experiences on social media, which developed their beauty-focused community.
What does it mean to be a community?
Simply having an audience or customer base is not enough. A true brand community creates a shared sense of belonging and interest in something, such as a particular product or brand. Members engage in the same activities and feel obligated to further the community’s growth and success.
These groups encourage mutual sharing of ideas, values, and feedback, which produces a deeper connection among members. eCommerce brands can tap into this link to foster greater customer loyalty and retention.
How to build a strong community for your eCommerce brand
Establishing a robust community requires a well-defined strategy that aligns with your brand’s goals, values, and the interests of your target audience.
Adopt community-building strategies that work best for your brand. Test different tactics and embrace the process of trial and error to find the perfect combination that’ll foster a committed and active community.
1) Understand your niche
If you try to assemble a community that covers everything and anything, it’ll weaken its impact. So, get specific and narrow down into your niche.
Niche communities are connected by a specific interest. Rather than having a “beauty” brand community, for instance, a niche group could be “cruelty-free skincare.” This type of community is far more likely to connect with people on a personal level by tapping into their values.
Find your niche by researching your target audience’s interests and ethical alignments. Discover what makes them tick and pair that knowledge with your brand’s unique value proposition (UVP), product offerings, and mission.
Sportswear giant Nike could have built a generic sports community. Instead, they niched down into running with their Nike Run Club.
Image source: Nike Run Club
The Nike Run Club app tracks runners’ progress and lets them set and measure goals as they join guided runs. It also gives Nike a platform to engage with their customers and build a loyal community around running. Social features help runners connect with friends, participate in challenges, and join virtual events to extend the value of their community membership.
Narrowing their focus to runners was a strategic move that resulted in an engaged community. It also strengthened Nike’s position as a leader in the running industry, which helped them better connect with this category of athletes.
2) Talk to your customers and listen to them
Rather than blindly building a brand community based on what you think will draw in people, speak with your customers and listen to their needs, pain points, and interests.
Collect valuable Voice of the Customer (VoC) data to understand what your target audience wants from a brand community. Then, use these insights as the foundation of your eCommerce community.
Customer surveys and interviews: How to get to know your customers better
3) Humanize your brand and show off your personality
The act of buying products is no longer solely a transactional experience; brands these days must now tug on human emotions to sell the experience their products provide. One way to forge stronger connections with your community is to humanize your brand.
This is the process of giving your brand human-like qualities to serve as an emotional bridge to your audience. Add personality by tailoring your communications and adopting a conversational tone, revealing behind-the-scenes operations of your brand, highlighting success stories, and responding to customers.
One brand that does this well is the female-run cereal brand OffLimits. While cereal may seem boring, founder and CEO Emily Miller saw a golden opportunity to add a human touch to the OffLimits image, which developed into an impressive community.
Image source: OffLimits About Us page
OffLimits uses playful cereal “mascots” to represent the benefits each flavor offers in a fun and memorable way. In a Vogue interview, Miller explained, “Cereal is a vehicle for culture, so it was important to use that opportunity to create a crew of counterculture characters that face and destigmatize human cycles of emotions, from anxiety to depression. These emotions make DASH and ZOMBIE extremely real to me, and I hope they’ll be a comfort and voice for many.”
The entire brand experience is designed to be relatable through a colloquial tone of voice, playful elements, and transparency about the founders’ backstories and stances on important causes. This approach has helped OffLimits build a loyal following of cereal lovers.
4) Take your customers behind the scenes
As I touched upon in the previous paragraph, show people the human side of your eCommerce store by taking them behind the scenes.
Customers are more likely to trust your brand if they can glimpse what happens off camera. Seeing how products are made or what goes on in team meetings provides transparency and demonstrates your brand values in action.
These “sneak peeks” help buyers feel more connected to your business as they get to know team members and see how your store operates on a personal level. Behind-the-scenes content also shows off your brand’s personality, which contributes to a community based on trust, connection, and authenticity.
Image source: HelloFresh’s TikTok feed
The popular meal kit brand HelloFresh uses TikTok to give customers a backstage glimpse of their business. The company creates fun videos where team members respond to customer queries, participate in trending challenges, offer sneak peeks of new recipe launches, and share videos from team meetings.
5) Offer exclusive content
Attracting community members is half the battle. If you want them to stick around though, you need to offer them something they can’t find elsewhere. To retain your brand base and reward loyal customers in the process, feed them member-only content.
This element of exclusivity will also entice more people to join the community. FOMO (fear of missing out) is real, so lean on it by building member-only content into your eCommerce brand community. Customers will be eager to join the group to access the content, while existing members will feel rewarded and appreciated — it’s a win-win situation.
LEGO has amassed a staunchly loyal fanbase of people of all ages and backgrounds, so they decided to create a space to nurture and reward their followers.
Image source: LEGO Ideas
In the LEGO Ideas community, LEGO enthusiasts can take part in exclusive activities and challenges, as well as share their creations with others. LEGO also gives group members the chance to have their designs turned into real products. This level of exclusivity paired with a dedicated forum to connect with like-minded LEGO fans is the perfect combination to produce a loyal brand community.
6) Build an online space for your customers
A strong community for your eCommerce brand calls for a dedicated online space where people can connect.
Brand communities can operate on a variety of platforms, including forums, social media groups, and dedicated community apps. While social platforms like Discord are rising in popularity, Facebook Groups is still a widely used community portal.
The secret to an effective brand community is choosing a platform that delivers the features your group needs. Weigh the pros and cons of free versus membership-based platforms, bearing in mind that the latter offer more functionalities and features.
Sephora’s Beauty Insider is a great example of a brand community with a dedicated online space for beauty enthusiasts.
Image source: Sephora’s Beauty Insider community platform
In the Beauty Insider community, members can follow topics, connect with others, and use the forum to chat, ask questions, or seek help. They can also share beauty looks by uploading photos with tagged products for a chance to be featured on Sephora’s Instagram.
Active members earn badges that represent their contributions to the community. Members with a higher rank can be considered for the “Community Ambassador” role. All members, however, receive exclusive invites to events and community meet-ups. Sephora excels at incorporating a trove of community benefits in their dedicated, easy-to-use platform.
7) Generate advocacy with UGC and ambassadors
People connect with people, not faceless entities. Consider building a team of ambassadors to give your brand a human link to community members.
As another humanizing strategy, user-generated content (UGC) lets customers share their experiences through reviews, videos, and social media posts. Providing this social proof lets businesses tap into the authenticity of their customers to encourage advocacy and create a strong sense of community.
Brand ambassadors take UGC to the next level through their representation. They’re passionate about a particular company or product and help build communities around them. Ambassadors can be customers, influencers, celebrities, or even employees. Promote UGC and brand ambassadors to produce a powerful network of advocates who contribute to the success of your brand.
Our Place exemplifies how to weave UGC and ambassadors into a community-building strategy successfully.
Image source: Our Place’s Instagram feed
UGC features heavily on Our Place’s Instagram page, putting their customers front and center. The company also works with influencers and content creators to act as ambassadors and generate hype for their Instagram-famous “Always” pan, share recipes, and craft fun, food-focused content for their audience. More recently, they collaborated with Selena Gomez to release an exclusive product line. This community-led content strategy lies at the heart of Our Place’s rapid online success.
8) Tell your brand story
Your story sets your eCommerce brand apart from competitors and makes it memorable. It forges connections with customers by explaining your journey and values.
Telling your story is a core part of brand humanization and so deserves greater attention in your community building strategy. A well-crafted brand story that resonates with your target audience can develop a loyal community around your business with shared values.
One brand that features its story in everything it does is Patagonia. The renowned outdoor clothing brand has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, which is reflected in their brand story. Rather than simply telling people their brand story, Patagonia actively demonstrates it.
Image source: Patagonia’s Instagram feed
The story takes center stage in their marketing, preceding any product promotions. On Patagonia’s Instagram feed, for example, you’ll find environmental accounts, expeditions, and information instead of straight product shots. By sharing their story and displaying their ongoing journey, Patagonia has cultivated a loyal community of customers who possess similar values.
9) Host exclusive events for your community
Hosting member-only events is a great way to give back to your community and connect with individuals in a more meaningful way. Customers can interact with other community members, which strengthens their ties to your brand.
These events can take many forms, from workshops to product launches and social gatherings. Tailor your event type to the needs and interests of your community to achieve the best possible result.
Encourage engagement between members and your brand to keep your community active. Sharing their event experiences helps your group grow by expanding their web of like-minded acquaintances.
Whether it’s product launch pop-ups or exclusive fitness events, Gymshark has made events an integral part of their community-building strategy.
Image source: Gymshark’s Eventbrite page
Gymshark often hosts pop-up events in the U.S. and UK to promote new product launches. They invite brand fans to meet athletes, see the new lines being released, and take part in exclusive event activities. To further entice their consumer base, Gymshark app members can sign up for events at the company’s experiential London store.
Gymshark also often opens up their employee- and ambassador-only gym, Gymshark Lifting Club, for exclusive community fitness events, such as their bi-monthly Gymshark Run Club for local runners. These events generate an exclusivity that strengthens the brand’s community.
10) Put your brand in the social media spotlight
Social media has redefined online shopping. Customers trust influencers as much as they trust their friends, so it’s important for eCommerce brands to establish a strong social media presence to drive sales to their online store.
It’s also a great place to build brand communities, as you can connect with shoppers more personally. Remember that all-important human connection? Social media displays your business as more than just another faceless entity. Research by Sprout Social found 70% of consumers develop a deeper connection to brands with CEOs who are active on social media.
A great way to engage consumers on social media while building a holistic brand community is through “edutainment” content that simultaneously educates and entertains followers.
One brand that does this well is TALA, founded by Grace Beverley. As an ex-social media influencer, Grace knows what it takes to construct an online community — something she’s done for both of her direct-to-consumer fitness brands, TALA and Shreddy.
Image source: TALA’s Instagram feed
Grace and the TALA team share behind-the-scenes views of product launches, photoshoots, and more on Instagram, displaying what it’s like to work in the TALA offices. On her personal Instagram account, Grace frequently shares outfit walkthroughs, tells her story as a business owner, shares reviews from TALA customers, and invites people to post their thoughts and new product requests. TALA has a loyal community of followers who are first in line to buy their latest collection, proving that being active on social media really pays off.
11) Reward loyal customers
Showing gratitude and thanking customers for their loyalty go a long way toward strengthening trust and fostering a community. Reward loyal customers with discounts, free gifts, and other incentives to create a sense of gratitude that makes customers feel valued.
Subscription rewards also excel at incentivizing loyal customers and encouraging repeat orders. For example, mark a loyal customer’s sixth month of repeat subscriptions with a free gift both to encourage them to keep their plan and attract new subscribers. HelloFresh provides a great example of rewarding loyal subscribers with free desserts, recipe upgrades, and even a free meal kit when they reach certain milestones.
These incentives make a great talking point for your brand community, especially if the community is exclusive to long-time subscribers and founding customers. Research shows the perceived benefits of being part of a brand community can drive greater loyalty.
Image source: Adidas’ AdiClub Rewards
Adidas rewards their eCommerce customers by allowing them to accumulate points with each purchase that they can later redeem for products. Their membership level increases as they rack up points, and so do their reward perks. They also gift members of their AdiClub with members-only products and experiences. The more AdiClub members spend, the more they’re rewarded.
12) Support a greater cause
Customers now demand more from brands than just quality products or low prices; they want companies to stand for something. For instance, 77% of consumers expect brands to show support to people in times of crisis, and 66% want more meaningful experiences from them.
Adopting a cause aligns brands with a greater purpose. You could support anything from social and environmental initiatives to fair trade practices or advocacy for minority and underrepresented groups. Actively give back to help your brand attract a community of like-minded advocates who amplify your ethical message.
Ben & Jerry’s places social responsibility at their core. Over their many years in operation, they’ve built a robust community by supporting important causes.
Image source: Ben & Jerry’s Issues We Care About
Besides ice cream, Ben & Jerry’s is also a vocal advocate for social justice, climate action, and other progressive causes. They use their website, products, and platforms to raise awareness of important issues and encourage their supporters to take positive action. This commitment to a greater cause has allowed Ben & Jerry’s to amass a following of advocates who share and support their values.
Wrapping up — Embrace community influence in your business strategy
A strong community centered around your brand is a crucial tactic to stay competitive in the eCommerce industry. Adopt community-building strategies such as rewarding loyal customers, humanizing your brand, and supporting a greater cause to create a deeper connection and sense of belonging among your consumer base.
With the backing of a loyal brand community, you can foster long-term relationships with buyers, drive engagement, and amplify your brand’s values and message. To develop an active and enduring group, engage with customers regularly, listen to their feedback, and incorporate their ideas and feedback into your strategy.
Community building is an ongoing process that requires patience and persistence. By consistently showing up for your followers and putting their needs first, your eCommerce brand will nurture an impactful community that drives long-term growth.