If asked to pick the most transformative gift the internet has given humanity, I would say it is the power to create and grow communities. Not that communities did not exist before. Just that it was largely possible with people who lived in physical proximity to each other. The internet made it massively more convenient to not just start a community of like minded individuals spanning larger geographies but also to scale it up worldwide and communicate every second of every hour simultaneously with everyone. This facility in the hands of the general public continues to make governments, policy makers and benefactors of an unjust status quo and many giant brands shiver in their thrones. Any attempt to curb or manipulate information on the internet is circumvented. Such is the power of this glorious piece of technology that we hate and love at the same time.
The power of community has helped the public and brands looking to connect better with consumers alike. In the past 2 decades alone we have seen the acceleration of positive change be it simply an improved sensitivity towards topics revolving around gender, climate change, mental health, inclusion and fairness at work places, exploitation of certain groups in any discipline and democratization of skill and opportunity. No matter what your situation is, there is a community online waiting for you to join and share with.
It took one simple hashtag for the #metoo movement that started in 2014 to bring together nearly every woman of the world and continues to catalyze much needed social change. The most recent one being in the Kerala Film Industry. What is giving these women the courage to speak up? The same thing that is giving all their supporters the platform to support them in alarmingly large numbers. It is a community facilitated phenomenally by the internet. Community messaging app, Whatsapp has been accused of being a platform for misinformation inciting on-ground riots. But, online platforms actively provide a platform for people who want to come together from various nooks and crannies of the world to stand against injustice. The #notinmyname protest is a case in point. From Delhi to Trivandrum, people united by a pressing urge to protest those unnecessary killings in the name of safeguarding religious sentiments came out on the roads at the same time to mark their opposing stand. In a similar vein, while the roots of the gay rights movement date back to the 1900s, the LGBTQ Pride initiative has taken new wings since the advent of community building on the internet.
When it comes to brands, the power of community is truly recognized and leveraged by only a handful. Lego being one of them. The Danish construction toy company founded in 1932 capitalized on their worldwide fan base, by engaging fans communities in the entire brand building process online. Most brand custodians were held back by the idea that community building around a brand needs a cult following like that of Royal Enfield Bullet riders. But this reality has undergone a shift with the facility to interact with our favorite brands and fellow fans, directly online. In the realm of social media marketing, community management is a legit job description today but is seldom given due importance.
We are fast moving towards a world where celebrity advocacy doesn’t quite cut it like that of online peers. Brands need to focus on ways to reward the people who mention them in a positive way as much as on identifying influencers to plant desired brand messages. The future is community. You can’t fool a community. Communities are glued together usually through their common interests and passions. The key task would be to identify the good our brand can do for the causes that draws our target audience to the communities they choose to be part of. As communities gain momentum, the room for manipulation and loopholes diminish. Brands that learn to truthfully stand for the causes the target audience cares about as a community, in addition to providing delightful products and services are more likely to stay ahead in the race.
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