I created this series to help brand community managers to identify and focus their efforts based on the types of participants in their communities. In this last part of the series, I would like to offer some suggestions on what to do with each of the four segments (insiders, minglers, devotees, and tourists) once you have identified them.
Most likely, you will find all four types of participants in your community. However, depending on the developmental stage and the health of your community, the percentage of participants that fall into each segment may vary. The table below lists the suggested goals and engagement strategies for each of the segments. If your resource is limited, I suggest you go with the insiders first, as these participants are great partners and can turn your army of one into thousands at a low cost.
| | Think of them as... | Goals | Engagement Strategies |
| The Insiders | Partners and owners of the community | - Increase sense of ownership
- Develop them into compass for community and brand growth
| - Face-to-face or virtual invitation-only events for these community influencers at regular intervals;
- Consult them on important changes with the brand and the community (e.g., before a new community policy is put in place.)
- Involve them in community management, possibly through assigning official roles;
- A reward system that recognizes the leadership position of these participants;
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| The Minglers | Messengers | - Develop into inspirations for social activities
- Enhance loyalty toward the brand via social belonging in the community
| - Offer sneak previews to satisfy these minglers' desire to be on the cutting edge;
- Prime seed targets for viral messages and can also serve as early testers for marketing messages;
- Offer social functions and activities, possibly with these minglers as organizers.
- A reward system that allows these minglers to display their social prowess (e.g., a badge granted on surpassing a certain number of friends or followers).
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| The Devotees | Brand sounding boards | - Increase participation
- Develop into compass for brand development
| - Invite to participate in brand development activities (surveys, collaborative design, etc.).
- Start brand knowledge themed discussion threads;
- Offer brand-related incentives to encourage participation;
- Consult them on important changes with the brand (e.g., before a new product feature is introduced.)
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| The Tourists | Real estate shopper | Unlike tourists in the real world who can function as the main income source for certain locales, these tourists cannot be the foundation of a community. However, they represent growth potential. The goal therefore is to draw out these tourists and attempt to convert them into more long-term residents. | - Unless your community is relatively new, these tourists should be given lower priority than the other three segments. If resource is limited, focus on the other ones first.
- Make sure barrier is low for new visitors to participate in the community (e.g., no registration hurdle to read messages).
- A reward system that motivates sustained participation (e.g., point accumulation based on frequency of contribution, which can be redeemed for special badge or free products.
- Consider involving them in usability testing to ensure user-friendly interface.
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I hope you enjoyed this series of discussion about brand community participants. Brand community is an important part of today’s marketing strategies. Managing it well, effectively, and efficiently will give your brand a marked edge over your competitors. Questions? Comments? Please feel free to leave a comment.
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