At the beginning of the month, our co-founder & CCO, Maddie Raedts, attended the Harper’s Bazaar Summit in the Netherlands, where she shared a little bit of her expertise about community-driven brands and talked about how social media has fundamentally changed our culture by making it more democratic and inclusive.

Below, we summarized the most important topics and takeaways discussed in the session. Read on!

Social media has fundamentally changed our culture

It’s no secret that we have gone through a distinct shift in our culture and the way people interact with each other and with brands.

Before, audiences didn’t have a broadcast space to share their voices, and because of that, everything people had to say was only heard by the ones they had physical contact with - their circle of close friends and family.

However, social networks have brought together communities that used to be remote and geographically isolated. These platforms have democratized the sharing of ideas and opinions, spreading it from the hands of the powerful to the crowd. Social media detached the cultural influence of these communities from physical location and enabled them to be more densely networked, increasing the speed and intensity of collaboration.

Nowadays, you are only a couple of clicks away from entering any subculture and discovering new and different worlds, which are amplified and turbocharged by social media, and end up having an enormous impact on culture and society, making it more diverse and inclusive.

Inclusivity is THE word in today’s digital environment

In fact, our society has never been more inclusive than today and that, in great part, is thanks to social media. Of course, there’s still a lot to accomplish and improve, but the online space enabled marginalized voices to be broadcasted, and therefore, much more supported than before.

As an example, take the visibility gained by the #BlackLivesMatter movement in 2020. Audiences are moving to educate themselves on social justice and environmental issues more and more, and a lot of this is done through the content they consume daily on social media. Users are becoming savvier and more socially-minded by the day, and these platforms have become a key component of civic engagement.

Influencers are such an important part of this shift. When they are not the leaders of these movements, oftentimes they are the ones who further these important messages to the masses. In fact, it’s common to see activists becoming influencers and vice-versa, which only highlights their ability to impact audiences in deep and significant ways.

The importance of community building & best-in-class examples

We have gone through a distinct shift in the way people interact with brands. In the past, brands used to communicate more neutrally and even reticently about their values and standards, fearing that taking a political or socio-economic position would cause them to lose customers.

Nowadays, it’s the complete opposite. The newest consumers are not satisfied with the reluctance of brands, and demand that they express and live up to their values. In order to avoid falling into oblivion, brands need to tap into this new cultural scene.

The key to staying relevant among your target audience and building a community around your brand is to make them feel connected to you, and, to achieve that, communicating your beliefs and what you stand for is a must. Added to that, adopting a customer-centric approach, in which your consumers and target audience are at the heart of your strategy, and creating innovative content that communicates your message, and offers real value to your community, is definitely a step in the right direction to foster connections.

Brands who tapped into these points have managed to successfully build a community around them.

Take Ganni, for example, a brand that have built a strong community around its vibrant personality, and its strong mission and vision. Unlike its competition, Ganni’s collections are more affordable and more socially responsible. The brand also turns away from the minimalist fashion trends and are not afraid to play with colors and silhouettes, something that is very appealing to its community.

A great part of how they achieved this is thanks to their loyal #GANNIgirls, a hashtag used by the brand’s fans to share stunning outfit posts, which offers Ganni real value. The community not only spreads the brand’s message organically through word-of-mouth, but also increases brand awareness and love, and gives Ganni direct access to so many different audiences. Not to mention the high-end user-generated photos that might as well have been taken out of a fashion magazine. The community is committed to Ganni’s mission and vision, and translates their enthusiasm into personal and authentic storytelling for the brand, pushing it to the next level.

Another brand that is ahead of the game when it comes to community building is Phenomenal, a line of minimalist T-shirts and sweatshirts, with motivational quotes inspired by social justice movements and aimed at celebrating women and defending women's goals.

It started with a desire to use social media to engage a large audience in truly critical issues, especially those affecting under-represented communities. Meanwhile, you can see Phenomenal t-shirts pop up on Instagram feed, worn by celebrities, prominent influencers, and everyday women drawing attention to the causes that matter most to them.

Phenomenal's Instagram feed has nearly 400K followers and is full of reposts from various female social accounts, sharing their views, especially on the causes that Phenomenal stands for, adding to the sense of community and belonging around the brand.

Phenomenal is a great example of how communicating a brand’s vision, mission, and beliefs can foster connections with its target audience and engage them into a loyal consumer base much more when compared to focusing on a product’s USPs.

How influencers can foster community building on behalf of brands

One tip to stimulate community building for brands is to work with influencers.

Influencers can help define your brand into a persona, making it look more relatable. You will have someone to personify your values and what you stand for, a personal translation of your message with different ways of telling it that appeal to a huge range of audiences.

Not to mention that their followers already have developed a close relationship with them. For this reason, they have a stronger more authentic voice compared to brands, and a community who appreciates their opinions and trust their recommendations.

Letting an influencer speak on your behalf will lead audiences to associate your brand to an admirable and respectful voice, and automatically the community will transfer this admiration and respect onto you.

So, leveraging influencers’ authority, storytelling capabilities, the personal connections they have with their audiences, and their creative potential to make the bridge between you and your target audience will foster the sense of community around your brand and take you marketing strategies to the next level.