Comments on: Build a community that you can actually market

By: Tom Pettus

Tom Pettus — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:58:32 +0000

One of the better examples I can think of: American Express Open Forum. It was built to leverage the implicit trust that exists among AMEX small business card holders. It’s a place where 5 million people can get educated, promote their biz, get to know other owners — and do business with each other.

Great article, thanks.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:23:36 +0000

I bought a Garmin 705 for my road bike. Thought I was buying a GPS to get me home when I was lost. Didn’t realize that I was buying an entire community of cyclists who uploaded and shared rides all across the country and world. People and content with whom to connect. Surprised that that’s not what they were marketing. Missed opportunity.

By: Will Burns

Will Burns — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:44:37 +0000

Edward, you’ve uncovered a whole new category for massive quantities of ideation. What is a brand but a relationship? Now, with the way you’re speaking of it, it’s not just a relationship between company and customer, but a triangle of relationships (company, customer, other customers). Nicely done!

By: edward boches

edward boches — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:14:27 +0000

Jeff:
Thanks.I think that everyone is trying to attract followers, but that’s different from a community. Nike + has a community of users. Garmin Connect is a community of users. They are people who use the brand and connect with each other around a mutual interest. But that can be appealing. Not unlike choosing a college as much for the student population as for the teachers, curriculum and facilities. Worth marketing.

By: edward boches

edward boches — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:12:07 +0000

It’s actually an old word. Not used much anymore. Was popular in the days of all the writer/director European filmmakers: think Truffaut, Bergman, Fellini, et. al. But if you are going to be a writer/blogger/creator/content generator then you can be one, too.

By: Kevin Kirkpatrick

Kevin Kirkpatrick — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:01:48 +0000

Sorry about that Edward. Thanks for the new word.

By: Jeff Shattuck

Jeff Shattuck — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:26:45 +0000

“A community can be the reason to “join” a brand”

That is a powerful insight. As with most other great insights it was sitting out there for all to see, but it took a a unique mind to spot it!

I think this insight dovetails very neatly with your “brands are what they do” idea. And the mistake brands make around community building is that they can be guilty of all talk, no action. Community doesn’t just mean people like to sit around and talk about you. They also want to help you and each other.

Cool post.

Jeff

By: edward boches

edward boches — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:06:21 +0000

Kevin:
The word is “auteur.” I know how to spell “amateur.” You need a dictionary. Here, study up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theory

By: Kevin Kirkpatrick

Kevin Kirkpatrick — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:32:38 +0000

FYI Mispelled amateur Edward.

Admire your company and congrats on jet blue. Your feedback on my first attempts at blogging would be appreciated.

Best,

Kevin K.

By: Howie G

Howie G — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 21:48:40 +0000

The knock on You Tube since it’s start (and this goes back to before I was in advertising in Jan 2009) Was that Brands were nervous about advertising around content that was always a wild card. So while I think they mean well, I think your proposition might be better though it is very hard to achieve. Very few products or services are so strong that people will be dedicated and want to belong. There are some great successes like Mercedes or Corvette owners and of course Mac’s.

The question I would pose to You Tube is what makes them different from the other video hosting sites. Grind.TV has done a great job building a community around X-Game/Surf type sports photos and videos including a social network. You Tube doesn’t have that type of identity (they want to include everything for everyone). Maybe picking a specific group or niche while possibly lowering site visits might increase revenues. Because that is the goal right?