Growing a Digital Community as a Small Business

For small businesses in the UK, building a digital community can take you to the next level. Whether you’re a brand new venture or an established company, engaging with your audience online can strengthen your brand and foster loyalty—all without a large budget.

Let’s dive into how you can cultivate an active and supportive digital community that benefits your business.

The Benefits of Digital Communities

Digital communities provide potent ways to connect with your audience. Here are some key benefits:

• Regular online interactions can turn occasional customers into loyal advocates.

• Social media and digital platforms amplify your brand’s visibility, often reaching audiences well beyond your local area.

• Engaging with your community keeps your brand at the forefront of customers’ minds, encouraging them to return.

• Enthusiastic customers often share their experiences, creating authentic content that promotes your business.

• Interacting with your audience provides direct feedback on what they value and how you can improve.

How to Start Building

Before jumping onto digital platforms, know who your ideal customers are. Are they young professionals, busy parents or retirees with time on their hands? Understanding your audience helps you choose the right platform and craft content that resonates.

Focus your efforts where your audience spends most of their time online. For instance:

• Instagram: Great for visually appealing businesses like artsy cafes, fashion brands or crafts businesses.

• Facebook: Useful for community-focused businesses and service providers like barbers or window cleaners.

• LinkedIn: Ideal for B2B services or professional consultants like marketing agencies or tax advisors.

• TikTok: Perfect for fun, creative businesses targeting a younger audience.

Stay Authentic

People connect with real stories and personalities—share behind-the-scenes looks at your operations, genuine success stories, and even challenges. For example, a bakery might post a video introducing its bakers and demonstrating how its signature sausage rolls are made.

Respond to comments, answer queries and jump into online conversations. Engagement is a two-way street, and actively participating builds rapport. Give your digital community a reason to follow you. Share practical tips, helpful tutorials or exclusive deals. A tattoo artist, for example, might post after-care advice.

Real-Life Examples of Digital Success

The Lip Bar

Entrepreneur Melissa Butler, founder of The Lip Bar, grew her vegan beauty brand with the power of Instagram. She regularly shared eye-catching content highlighting the company’s values and engaging with followers through live streams.

Collaborations with influencers further boosted Melissa’s reach. Today, her brand has over 100,000 loyal followers and retail space in high-street shops.

Beardbrand

Beardbrand CEO Eric Bandholz started the brand as a YouTube channel offering advice on beard care. By showing his personality in online tutorials and informative content, he built a loyal following, which he was later able to monetise through grooming products.

Eric’s community-driven approach turned his digital community into dedicated customers, growing his business.

Tactics for Engaging Your Community

Encourage customers to share their experiences with your products or services. For example, an independent clothes shop could run a competition where customers post pictures of themselves modelling their new purchases and using a brand hashtag.

Consider hosting webinars, live streams or virtual workshops. A personal trainer might offer free online classes, while an accountant could host a live Q&A session for freelancers.

Partner with influencers who share your values and appeal to your target audience. For instance, a plant-based restaurant might work with a vegan content creator to promote their new menu.

Use digital platforms like Facebook Groups, Reddit or Discord to bring like-minded customers together. For example, an independent bookshop could create a virtual book club, encouraging readers to exchange recommendations.

Planning Your Digital Community

Think about what you want to achieve. Is it increased sales, stronger brand loyalty or higher website traffic? Define your objectives and track your progress.

Post regularly and stick to a schedule. A small business could post on Instagram two to three times a week and hold a Q&A session on the last Friday of each month.

Use built-in analytics to understand what works. If videos perform better than photos, focus on creating more video content. Don’t be afraid to pivot based on the results you see in your platforms or the feedback you get in the comment sections.

Affordable Tools for Small Businesses

• Canva: Design professional-looking graphics for social media profiles and posts.

• Buffer: Save time by scheduling posts across multiple platforms in one place.

• Mailchimp: Run email campaigns to engage your digital community and reward their loyalty with discount codes.

Measuring Success

Evaluate your community-building efforts by tracking the following:

• Comments, likes, shares and messages.

• Increases in followers, web traffic or newsletter subscribers.

• Revenue tied to your digital marketing efforts.

• Good reviews or positive press coverage online.

Building a digital community will not happen overnight, but with consistent effort and creativity, your small business can create a thriving online space. Engage authentically, provide value, and celebrate your community’s support for long-term success in the digital realm.

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