A truly unique piece of marketing can be hard to come by and with so many adverts being created daily it can feel hard to stand out. Last week I discovered an amazing example of community marketing that built the brand up rather than just tried to sell you something. So I wanted to share it with you and use it as an example of how to build community marketing into your brand.
What is Community Marketing?
Firstly, I just wanted to explain a little about community marketing. Community marketing is a brand growth strategy centred around bringing customers together over a topic that is aligned with or directly related to the brand. The marketing is generally engaging and non-intrusive and provides value to the customer without them investing anything. Some examples of areas that work well with this marketing approach include:
- Podcasts
- Live chats or social ‘tv’ shows
- Online games or quizzes
- Events
If focused on the related topic rather than the product, your company can provide value to your audience. It will build trust and create a better connection with existing and potential clients.
Barilla Pasta: Content Marketing done right
I came across the video that inspired me, on Facebook. It was a TikTok video from @leahmelle shared by Kidspot Australia. The creator explains how the pasta brand Barilla has a Spotify account that features several playlists with pasta type names. Each playlist is the length of time it takes to cook the pasta. So, you put on the appropriate playlist while cooking your pasta. once the playlist is done, so is your dinner. Each playlist features several songs in a particular style. They each have a playlist album cover designed by an artist. An extra little detail I love. This is the original video I saw.
It’s a very niche piece of marketing. But the uniqueness and playfulness of it sticks in people’s minds for much longer. Compare it to a simple advert for pasta sheets. I doubt anyone who saw a BOGOF offer will be telling someone down the pub about it. A Spotify playlist that is fun and actually helpful in this scenario is way more newsworthy.
How can I create community marketing?
This is going to be completely dependent on your industry, brand style and commitment. You should first think of a topic related to your business that aids or entertains your audience. From there, you can decide what medium is going to work for your audience. Here are a few examples of how different businesses can apply this theory:
- Barilla Pasta – Product: Pasta
- Related Topic: Cooking/cooking times
- Medium: Spotify playlist
- Beauty company that focuses on vegan-friendly products
- Related Topic: Veganism
- Medium: Facebook Group dedicated to sharing information about vegan lifestyle
- Toy company
- Related Topic: Parenting
- Medium: Creating a monthly podcast about parenting, inviting related guest speakers and reviewing products.
- A company that works with call centres
- Related Topic: Frustration with wait times
- Medium: Developing a game that can be played while waiting for an operative to answer the phone. This reduces annoyance with the company for wait times
If you’ve got a cool idea but are not sure how to implement it, get in touch. I love to explore unique, ethical marketing ideas with independents looking to grow their business.