There are so many online community campaigns popping up across the globe right now. It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Facebook pages, Twitter promotions, everyone seems to be doing it.
Take a closer look though, and you’ll be able to spot the ones that will work over time. The secret? Sustainable online community campaigns have a cause.
At World Wide Creative we’re working on a wide variety of campaigns right now – from Virgin Mobile to Honda SA, Exclusive Books to The Just Cause. The first thing we try to do with each client is to figure out what is the ‘emotional driver’ of the target audience. Without knowing this, it’s very hard to create a sustainable community campaign. The fact is, you can create as many tactical maneuvers as you can muster, but they will fizzle out unless you can tap into the real heart of your customer.
The cause is not always obvious. This is what I mean:
If you’re marketing cars, your cause is not mechanical (it’s the feeling that car evokes)- If you’re marketing alcohol, your cause is not the booze (it’s the lifestyle that the booze conjures up)
- If you’re marketing phones, your cause is not technical (it’s the freedom of communication that you’re given)
- If you’re marketing cologne or perfume, your cause is not smell (it’s the confidence or empowerment that the cologne induces.)
As a brand, if you can tap into your cause effectively, you may achieve the ‘Holy Grail’ of Community Management… where your audience doesn’t just interact with you, but with each other.
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Fred,
If I get what you are saying here its like this:
Don’t sell a product/service if you can cultivate an emotional connection to your brand through the campaign instead, because a strong emotional connection will have a longer lasting effect and also at times potentially cover a small sin or two that you commit in the eyes of a consumer.
If you just sell a product and then something goes wrong with no emotional connection, then the consumer/user will jump ship quicker.
Am I near the point?
Yes, the key point is that without the strong emotional connection, the audience won’t stick around. The ’cause’ must be authentic though – or they will certainly jump ship.
Fulfilling emotional drive is powerful but shouldn’t be manipulated just to sell more products. The aim should be to genuinely add value to lives, because when we meet the emotional drive through adding value customers will naturally want to buy more. Customers eventually figure it out when they being manipulated – that is not good for business. I think emotional drive goes beyond features and even benefits.
Example
Quote: ‘If you’re marketing phones, your cause is not technical (it’s the freedom of communication that you’re given)’
Why would someone want the freedom of communication? (Benefit/Cause)
What is there emotional drive?
Oops. What is their emotional drive?
I agree that the audience should not be falsely manipulated. That’s why it needs to be authentic. Take Harley Davidson for example. It’s (arguably) amazing technology – but people aren’t buying it for the parts and the way it fits together. They’re buying it because it gives them a sense of freedom and taking back their lives. This is the emotional driver (cause). It gives people something about which to passionately and authentically interact. It is a far more sustainable community building strategy than advertising nuts and bolts.
I agree Fred. Another question that just popped into my mind…Who determines the emotional driver (cause)…the company or the community? Or is it a chicken and egg scenario?
Our approach is to look at the objectives of the company and at the same time look at the objectives of the community. You will find the emotional driver of your community management campaign where the two overlap.
An effective approach!
Well I have now got lots to think about! Awesome thanks guys.