A brand community is a space where passionate, loyal customers can meet and engage with one another; collectively drawn together by a shared love of the brand itself, or its products and services.
Today’s modern consumer extends beyond simple transactions. Brands today need to do more than just sell products, they need to create and build communities. In the simplest terms, a brand community showcases brand loyalty at its best. People in your brand community are emotionally invested; they will buy from your company, digest your content, tell their friends and family about your company, and more.
Why should you consider building a community?
Growing your brand awareness
Driving online and offline sales
Online engagement (which in turn drives discoverability)
Gaining insights about customers needs
Providing brand authority to both new and existing customers
Shaping your brand’s values (particularly great for start-ups)
Authentic sharing of your brand's story and products
To get an idea of what this community building looks like in action (and to get you inspired to build your own), let’s take a look at how Gymshark do it.
The Power of Community: Gymshark
Gymshark has become one of the fastest growing fitness apparel brands in the world, and its incredible growth is largely fuelled by the strong community they have built around its brand.
Gymshark's success can be attributed to its strong community, which has been a key focus since the brand's inception. From the very beginning, founder Ben Francis (a gym enthusiast) has a deep understanding of his target audience and their needs by spending countless hours talking to people at fitness events, learning from the community and building connections.
Francis has always resisted selling Gymshark products through mainstream retailers, even though he has passed up a lot of revenue in doing so. Instead, he has insisted on selling directly to consumers via the Gymshark site. To build the brand in the early stages, Francis sent his clothing to his favourite YoutTube creators in the fitness community and asked them to give feedback and promote the product. They liked it and wanted to be part of the Gymshark community, but why?
Because Gymshark "created this cool, quirky brand that was speaking to the community when no one else was.”
Building Customer Relationships
Gymshark places a high emphasis on connecting with their customers and creating a sense of community. They do this through various means, such as:
Expos and meet-ups: Gymshark participates in fitness events and meet-ups, where they feature fitness influencers and their brand ambassadors. This allows them to connect with customers in person and build a genuine connection face to face.
Gymshark World Tour: In 2016, Gymshark went global with its Gymshark World Tour, documenting the whole event on their YouTube channel. The build up of this event created a sense of excitement and community among its fans.
Data-driven approach: Gymshark launched its Gymshark Insiders community, where customers provide honest and open feedback on marketing campaigns, product innovation, and more. Through this community Gymshark can understand its customers better and create products that exceed their needs.
Social Media and Influencer Marketing
Gymshark has built a significant following and athlete community on their many social channels.
Using a combination of digital marketing campaigns, famous yearly blackout sales, and an extensive network of influencers and community, Gymshark has an incredible reach that is far beyond that of its competitors.
In addition to its position as a premium workout apparel brand, Gymshark has also become iconic in terms of “athleisure”. Recent years have seen the brand harness influencers offline to attract fans and community members to their pop-up stores in the UK.
They have also taken it a step further by turning every influencer they work with into a brand ambassador. When they appoint an influencer they sign a long-term deal with Gymshark, pledging to promote their clothing exclusively. This gives fans of influencers confidence that the person they follow truly cares about the company and improves their trust in the influencer and the brand.
Gymshark has also made a move into TikTok, which has proven to be an incredibly successful platform for the brand. They have over 5 million followers and 65.7 million likes on the platform, with an incredibly well-executed TikTok marketing strategy.
UGC has been key for scaling Gymshark, and Tiktok represents it perfectly.
Innovation
Gymshark's success can also be attributed to its relentless pursuit of product innovation. The company is dedicated to creating high-quality, fashionable, and functional gym wear that appeals to a broad range of consumers. By incorporating cutting-edge fabric technology and design elements, Gymshark has managed to differentiate itself from competitors and establish a unique brand identity.
The brand has continuously evolved its product offerings, which now include not only gym wear but also swimwear, outerwear, and accessories. This diversification has allowed Gymshark to cater to a wider audience and expand its market share.
Through building a community, Gymshark has been able to understand their customers better and create products that exceed their needs.
Building a community around your brand is not just a trend; it's a strategic imperative in the modern business landscape. It's a powerful way to establish brand loyalty, gather insights, and foster meaningful relationships with your audience. By investing time and effort into nurturing a community, you're not only securing your brand's presence but also building a strong foundation for its future success.
If you'd like to learn more about building a community, then book a call with us today.
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