- Discover how social media can help build community and foster connection
- Understand ethical considerations in managing online communities
Build Community
Social media can be a powerful tool for organizations to directly engage with customers and other interested parties. Something like a change in ownership or leadership could be expressed in a simple announcement on social media and then forwarded and propagated by your customers. Very brand-loyal customers blur the line between internal and external people. Your customers and supporters could help you via social media by sharing and amplifying your messages.
We may call this type of interaction—the energetic interaction between people about your brand or organization—a type of community. Social media helps to cultivate this and often in very inexpensive ways. While paid sponsorship and advertising costs money, a loyal fan voluntarily sharing your content in a supportive way has no monetary cost but is extremely valuable.
Authenticity
Authenticity in social media use by an organization is crucial for building a strong, engaged community. This approach resonates deeply with audiences in today’s digital age, where consumers are constantly bombarded with content and can easily discern between genuine communication and marketing speak. Here’s why authenticity matters:
- Fosters Trust: When an organization presents itself authentically on social media, it lays the foundation for trust. Audiences are more likely to believe in the brand’s messages, values, and products. Trust, once established, is the cornerstone of loyalty and advocacy among community members.
- Enhances Relatability: Authentic content allows audiences to see the human side of an organization, making it more relatable. Sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses, acknowledging mistakes, and engaging in real conversations on social media platforms humanize the brand. This relatability strengthens the connection between the brand and its audience.
- Encourages Engagement: Authentic interactions on social media naturally prompt higher levels of engagement. When followers feel they are communicating with a brand that listens, understands, and values their input, they are more likely to participate in discussions, share content, and engage with the brand regularly.
- Differentiates the Brand: Authenticity can help an organization stand out from the competition. By being true to its values and consistently expressing them across social media platforms, a brand can differentiate itself in a meaningful way, attracting and retaining followers who share those values.
Customers (especially younger customers) are pretty savvy when it comes to social media and will notice if you aren’t consistent in your messages and actions. Authenticity is also important to organizational culture. A United Way survey found that 61% of Gen Zers volunteer for a cause that’s meaningful to them at least once a year and 53% of them would turn down a job if the company’s values did not align with their own.[1]
Dove Redefines Beauty
Dove has skillfully built its brand around the concept of redefining beauty by launching the “Real Beauty” campaign in 2004. Their messaging challenged traditional beauty norms and instead celebrated diversity in body types, ages, races, and skin conditions.
While Dove has made some mistakes, like producing a racially insensitive ad that depicted a Black woman removing a skin-colored t-shirt to reveal a White woman underneath,[2] its messaging has generally been consistent and inclusive. Dove’s campaigns have included advertising, social media engagement, and educational efforts to promote self-esteem and mental health.
To further build community, Dove partnered with photo distributor Getty Images and Girlgaze, a collective of female-identifying and non-binary photographers, to promote Project #ShowUs. The result is a library of over 14,000 photographs “devoted to shattering beauty stereotypes by showing female-identifying and non-binary individuals as they are, not as others believe they should be.”[3]
You can view the transcript for “Dove | Project #ShowUs | Behind-the-Scenes” here (opens in new window).
Learn More
- United Way NCA. “The Gen Z Activism Survey,” March 5, 2024. https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/gen-z-activism-survey/. ↵
- Dua, Tanya. “Dove’s ‘racist’ Ad Might Have Cost the Brand an Advantage It Spent 13 Years Building.” Business Insider, October 9, 2017. https://www.businessinsider.com/doves-racist-ad-10-9-2017-10. ↵
- Getty Images. “ShowUs a More Inclusive Vision of Beauty.” Accessed April 10, 2024. https://www.gettyimages.com/showus. ↵
Generation Z (Gen Z) refers to the cohort of individuals born approximately between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s. They are known for being digital natives, highly values-driven, and socially and environmentally conscious.
Dove, a subsidiary of Unilever, is a global personal care brand known for its moisturizing products.
Getty Images is a leading global provider of digital media, offering a comprehensive collection of royalty-free and rights-managed photographs, videos, and music for commercial and editorial use.
Girlgaze is a digital platform and community that connects a global network of female-identifying and non-binary creatives with job opportunities, aiming to close the gender gap in the creative industry by showcasing their work and talents.