How to generate brand community: are your customers your friends

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That eCommerce and social networks go hand in hand is nothing new, and this is how the main international online stores understand it. In any social media marketing manual or course , a lot of emphasis is placed on the concept of creating a brand community , as a means for eCommerce and social networks to feed each other.


There are many articles that insist in a daringly optimistic way on this concept as one of the basic keys to the success of an eCommerce store, and how easy it is to achieve it. And they are right, creating a brand community, a group of users on social networks who comment and defend your products is good and desirable...  but extremely difficult.

Creating a brand community on social networks is very complex
The reference is always the same: the brand Email Data community (users/fans) of Apple. Indeed, those from Cupertino have managed to reach marketing nirvana, which is nothing other than converting an important part of your customers into apostles of their brand.

As an aspiration it is very good, not in vain Apple and its eternal rival Google are the most valued brands in the world . This directly affects their income statements, since their percentage investment in marketing is much lower than other brands of less value. Apple invests 4 times less in marketing than Samsung

No other brand, technological or not, new or old, has achieved what these two technological giants have achieved. But sometimes we forget that it has taken these brands decades to get where they are, and yet they continue to invest a lot in marketing.

Having and maintaining a brand community costs money
The problem comes when we expect more from social networks than they can give us. Let's start by being aware of who we are, our size and our position in the market. Throughout my career as a consultant I have systematically encountered the same problem with dozens of clients, which is none other than expecting their presence on social networks to work miracles and to work them quickly. If social networks were miraculous, they would be called Fátima or Lourdes, not Facebook or Twitter.

The presence of an eCommerce brand on social networks is essential, that is not in question, but we cannot put the entire weight of our marketing strategy on social media, or we will be betting on a more than likely failure.

A very common mistake is confusing friends with clients.
One of the main reasons why a user follows a brand on social networks is “because they like the brand and want to stay informed.” That is, from the start, companies have an open field to create a brand community. Why do so few achieve it? The answer lies, without a doubt, in the content they publish.



Although the main brands have greatly professionalized the management of their presence on social networks and their brand community, the content they provide is still excessively promotional in too many cases . Being informed about a brand does not mean that the user likes excessive promotion.

The information that the user seeks goes further, and focuses on knowing more and better about the brand, its products and its projects. And that is precisely what companies are most afraid of. Whether it's because they don't want to give clues to the competition, because they're afraid of criticism, or both, it's very difficult for companies to get naked and show their inner selves .

A clear example is their notable lack of sense of humor and their inability to laugh at themselves, something that they believe would make them lose seriousness when humor is precisely what triumphs on social networks.