25 Nov 2023
These Communities that Engage Their Members in Their Growth 3 Examples
The Community-led growth strategy consists of brands propelling themselves through the support of their most loyal customers. Generally speaking, communities bring immense value to a company's growth potential. But they are also crucial in terms of acquisition, retention, or even growth.
The explosion of social networks and the appearance of numerous digital tools (often free) have greatly simplified the task of Community Builders. But to unite and grow a community , it is not enough to want to be able. To work, this growth lever involves aligning the interests of the company with those of its community...
This first requires understanding why they are joining your community. But also, what approach is best suited to boost their engagement and make it the engine of your growth! To find yours, the best thing is to take inspiration from brands that have successfully focused on Community-led growth. If this strategy is often associated with the SaaS software sector (like Slack or Calendly to name just a few examples), let's look at more unique, but also more educational, use cases.
engage your community by focusing on co-creation
Launched 3 years ago, Nidé.co quickly made a place for itself in the very competitive cosmetics sector. And this, by focusing precisely on the power of its community ! Following in the footsteps of pioneering brands in this field, its creator, Simon Ménard, was not content with his 100% natural positioning to stand out.
He has in fact decided to break the standardized communication codes of beauty, by rejecting traditional muses. And this, with a view to bringing its brand closer to its users. Simon was able to unite a community around Nidé.co by sharing values in line with those of consumers. A humanizing approach, with a light and caring tone, making its brand a friend and ally of its customers.
But the real strength of Nidé.co, which boosts the commitment of its community members, is the principle of co-creation . On the brand's website, customers can submit ideas for products they would like to find there. Each idea is then put to a vote by the community. If it receives more than 2000 votes, it goes to the next stage of production!
The Nidé.co model, decentralized and virtuous, allows the brand to offer products for which a real demand already exists! The principle of co-creation is also an excellent lever for engagement and retention within this community. It indeed values the experience, needs, and creativity of its members. Better yet: it rewards them , since each initiator of a new product will be paid at each stage of production.
How to draw inspiration from Nidé.co to boost the engagement of members of your community
Start by developing your brand image by sharing content that brings value to your users. And by adopting caring and inclusive communication. Do not focus only on your product, but involve your community on broader and impactful subjects.
Set up a feedback collection system , preferably on a platform that you own. This can for example be a Typeform questionnaire, or a form on your website. Then, it is essential to concretely show your members that their feedback is really taken into account. They will always appreciate knowing that they have a concrete impact on your brand!
Encourage and reward member engagement by offering them benefits. These can be in kind or financial, to encourage them to support you in co-creation.
boosting its growth with content produced by its members
Chilowé, in its beginnings, was simply a newsletter in which its founders offered good tips for micro-adventures in France. But quickly, the brand grew to become a platform that lists several hundred micro-guides. Little special feature of Chilowé: it is the members who write these guides and find the good deals! This is why the brand has, since its creation, focused on the creation and engagement of its community.
Chilowé has above all relied on another particularly powerful lever to engage its members: UGC (for User Generated Content ). An approach simplified by social networks, which allows brands to reuse the content produced by their users to nourish their communication and marketing.
At Chilowé, UGC happens naturally , since 90% of the plans available on its platform come from its community . A virtuous circle, which helps boost the richness of its content and encourage its growth. This model also has the particularity of engaging its members, transforming them not only into co-creators of content, but into de facto ambassadors of the brand.
Because they come from profiles of nature lovers closer to Mr. Everyman than to Mike Horn, these community tips also offer Chilowé the possibility of enriching its storytelling and marketing to move towards more content. inclusive and accessible. An approach which has also allowed it to differentiate itself in an ultra-competitive sector. And thus, to convert a larger target of adventurers.
How to take an example from Chilowe to encourage its members to produce content
To inspire your community members to produce content, create a framework in which they can thrive. Chilowé, for example, attributes a totem to each of its contributors, chosen according to their initials.
Another very important point: moderate the content shared to maintain the consistency of your brand. Chilowé has thus developed a very precise editorial line. Each good plan is proofread and rewritten by him before being published. Work that allows us to retain language or graphic elements, to maintain a strong and recognizable identity.
consolidate its brand image around virtual and physical communities
Most Community-led growth case studies concern niche markets or specific sectors of activity. But the community also remains a relevant approach for consumer products and mass markets . In any case, this is what the example of Starbucks proves. Because if the brand has become known for its “experiential” positioning (having your coffee on a sofa), it has boosted its growth by focusing on its community.
Beyond the walls of its cafes, Starbucks has strengthened this community by launching numerous social initiatives to stimulate engagement and interaction with its members. The brand has developed a tool to connect “partners” (or brand employees) with customers to participate in local charitable actions . It has also created ways to share online, with its Starbucks Rewards program. The latter allows you to win vouchers by participating in competitions, such as the #redcupcontest. Or by attending community events.
