“Love your home. Love your neighbour. Love your street. Love your neighbourhood. Love your town.” – Marcus Harris Noble
That line has stayed with me for years. It’s simple, but layered. You can’t skip to the end — to “love your town” — without building connection at each stage before it. And that’s what true brand community looks like.
Most brands treat community as a tactic — a campaign pillar, a line in a marketing deck, or something that happens in a Facebook Group they rarely visit. But real community isn’t a tactic. It’s a backbone — the connective tissue that links people through shared purpose, care, and belonging. When it’s authentic, it becomes one of the strongest brand strategies you can build.
Community is not a brand channel
It’s tempting to think of “community” as something you build around your brand. A group of fans, followers, or ambassadors who amplify your message. But the strongest communities don’t revolve around a product; they orbit a shared belief or identity.
- Apple’s early fanbase wasn’t just about computers — it was about creative rebellion.
- LEGO’s community wasn’t just kids playing with bricks — it was adults reimagining what play meant.
- Harley-Davidson’s riders don’t just buy bikes — they buy belonging.
The product is the meeting point, not the reason the community exists.
Types of Brand Communities
Understanding what kind of community you want to build helps define how you show up in it:
- Support Communities – Where customers help each other. (Think Salesforce’s Trailblazer Community, or users solving problems faster than any customer service team could.)
- Co-creation Communities – Where customers shape the product or service itself. (LEGO Ideas lets fans submit and vote on new sets — a brilliant loop of engagement and ownership.)
- Advocacy Communities – Where people amplify and champion a cause, movement, or shared value. (Patagonia has spent decades building a community around environmental activism, not outdoor gear.)
- Social or Mission-led Communities – Where belonging drives change. (AllSaints’s Discord community, for instance, gives fans direct access to artists and style culture — not just clothes.)
Each type works differently, but all rely on trust, participation, and mutual benefit.
How to Seed and Nurture a brand Community
Communities grow organically, not on command. You can’t force connection, but you can create the right conditions for it.
- Start small. You don’t need thousands of members; you need ten who genuinely care
- Allow and nuture space. Don’t over-moderate or dominate every conversation. The best communities self-govern.
- Empower voices. Encourage members to create content, share stories, and help each other.
- Create simple rituals. Regular touchpoints (events, meetups, challenges) help community feel like habit, not hype.
- Provide value beyond product. Education, support, or opportunities for genuine connection will always outperform discounts or giveaways.
The Risks (and Why Most “Communities” Fail)
Communities built for optics don’t last. If your brand is trying too hard to “nail community”, it shows.
A few common traps:
- Over-polishing: If everything feels brand-approved, it’s sterile. Real communities need imperfection.
- Moderation burnout: A few passionate people can carry a community at first, but without support, they’ll fade.
- Toxicity or drift: A strong community needs guardrails — clear values, not rigid rules.
- Misaligned motives: If it’s really just a marketing exercise, people can tell.
- Community isn’t about control: it’s about creating a space where shared purpose takes on a life of its own.
Real-World Examples
Salesforce Trailblazer Community — where users support each other, share expertise, and evolve the ecosystem. It’s customer success powered by collective intelligence.
LEGO Ideas — fans co-create new product lines, blending nostalgia with innovation.
AllSaints Discord Community — a modern example of a brand inviting two-way conversation, blending music, art, and fashion culture.
Patagonia — the ultimate mission-led brand, putting activism and environment at the centre of its community.
Sephora Beauty Insider Community — a place where customers share routines, looks, and advice, driving engagement that feels organic, not orchestrated.
Each of these works because they’re built on something bigger than product. They’re anchored in shared values, not sales.
Why This Matters for Your Brand
In a world saturated with advertising, people no longer want to be sold to — they want to belong. The role of a brand, then, isn’t to broadcast, but to host.
Whether you’re a startup, a creative studio, or a social enterprise, the same principles apply:
- Start locally.
- Show up consistently.
- Listen more than you speak.
- Make it about them, not you.
Do it right, and community stops being a department. It becomes your brand’s heartbeat.