Building a tribe is one of the hottest buzz phrases in communications circles. Many of us learned in grade school that Native American tribes were formed as a way for a community or group of indigenous people within the borders of the United States to be recognized under the United States government.  Bu, these days, we must build a tribe of a different sort. 

In todays’ fast paced society of global connectivity through the internet, the idea of forming or building a ‘tribe’ has transcended the traditional meaning to become known as a way of building a coalition of like-minded fans/friends that support your brand. That support can look like a loyal customer base and/or supporters or advocates or a combination of both. Essentially it is all about building, engaging and communicating on a regular basis with your customers and supporters in a uniquely captivating way.

In its simplest form, after you understand what a tribe is, you have to understand how to build a tribe. And then you have to understand how to maintain or keep that tribe happy. It’s not as easy as it may sound here. The Field of Dreams ideology of ‘Build it and they will come’ is a long way from reality when you are considering building a tribe to support a product, person, place, thing or cause.  You can go through all the work to build it only to have your followers ‘disconnect’ from your stream or lose interest. Not a good plan!

Like anything worthwhile, it takes work to build and maintain a tribe/brand. I’m sure you have joined a group online or have ‘liked’ an organization or business. Think about how they interact with you personally. How do they build a presence online? How do they leverage your uniqueness to use you as a brand ambassador? Do they keep you engaged? Have you ‘liked’ something they posted? Have you shared it? Think about what triggers you to take action. As you think through your reactions to these questions you will have an idea of what you are trying to do when building a tribe. You are trying to engage others in a way that prompts them to take action and remain loyal followers.

Whether you are a small business trying to get a little exposure or you are a Fortune 100 company reinforcing decades of brand building, you have a job to do… generate customer loyalist who will spend money or support your organization and cause. There are several practical steps to take to build your tribe, but your approach and mindset are going determine how successfully you build it. Here are Three Rock Solid Approaches to Successfully Build a Tribe.

1) Focus on Vision, Structure, Identity and Execution…

Every communication strategy has to start with a vision or direction. Where does leadership want to take the brand? People who are actively a part of your network will only be passionate about your brand if you are. More than just your mission statement, more than your brand personality, it is about the “HOW” when you explain the “WHY” of what you do. Then it is the “WAY” you communicate that on a regular basis to your brand supporters.

2) Build a Tribe…

It should be self-evident that having an online social media presence, or a tribe, is vital to the success of an organization. As you are probably already aware, community building can be much harder than you may think.

Consider building your tribe like you are networking with a purpose. There are many ways you can build an audience. In some cases you will want to consider a paid advertising campaign. Always invite people to join!  Actively engage them, asking them to promote, share and give testimonials that encourage others should join.

There are many tactics for building your audience. Offer a free downloadable white paper (with signup), webinars, contests, challenges. Provide expert advice, be vocal about issues and be honest and a bit transparent with your engaging content.

Building your audience will come with time, but you have to put work into keeping them active, informed and willing to advocate your brand.

3) Engage your Tribe

Building and maintaining a brand requires dedication. You must consistently push creative content in all forms, and then publish it on a regular basis.

Be cognizant  of who your demographic is and what medium they are using. Then use that medium to create your content and get it out there. For example, you’re probably not going to successfully target 40-60-year-old women using Snapchat!

Focus on telling stories and posting ‘sharable’ content. Everybody wants to feel like they are a part of something. You can’t focus on selling! You have to focus on the story; the “how” and “why” through personal stories, anecdotes, referrals and real-life testimonials.

Understand what works and what doesn’t! Think again about what engages you? It’s not long text, its photos and videos. It’s diagrams and infographics.  After you start diving into the analytics of what your audience likes and what they respond to, focus on creating more of that content using those tools.

I hope these concepts have helped you learn how to use the ‘Tribe’ concept to your advantage in building your brand.  If you need guidance or prefer to bring in a professional to assist you in  developing your tribe, please contact us at Chemistry Multimedia. We are here for you!