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COMMUNITY TRENDS 2021 Community Trends 2021 Table of Contents Introduction 01 Social as a moat 03 Rise of micro-communities 10 Community in non-traditional industries 18 Diversification and rise of community roles 32 Growth of virtual events 41 Introduction The year 2020 transformed and offered a platform for the entire world! Looking people to get help. back, it’s just astounding to imagine the type of It is quite possible that in paradigm shift a few 2021, we will still spend the months can make. better part of the year without large in-person As humans, we generally connections. Hence, as the seek control over our facilitators of connections, progress — we strive for the entire ecosystem of stable and predictable community people have outcomes. However, the great roles to play and COVID-19 pandemic keep the human spirit eradicated any sense of alive. stability and subjected everyone to Although it is hard to unpredictability and predict the future, people confusion. with technical expertise in their domain can connect Apart from the pandemic, the dots and help others to we all had to go through a stay prepared. With that in series of disasters across mind, at Tribe, we the globe. Some were connected with experts in man-made, some were the community and natural, but they had a business space to learn in deep impact on the social, greater detail what to economic, and political expect in the coming years. landscape. You will notice that there In the middle of these are some common unimaginable challenges, elements in how the communities have helped experts have identified us with social inclusiveness 0 1 various trends. We have communities in non- grouped these trends and traditional businesses, expanded on those ideas diversification of to explain why such community professionals’ trends are emerging and roles, and growth in propose an ideal course of virtual events space. action. This book is dedicated to As a gist, this book looks the resilient communities into communities and who have kept the world social elements as a going and infused the strategic advantage, the hope of better times emergence of niche ahead! communities, adoption of 0 2 Social as a Moat D ' A R C Y C O O L I C A N INVESTMENT PARTNER AT A16Z “Any product that has a social component baked in has fundamental and asymmetric advantages over competing non-social products in that category: better growth loops, better engagement, better retention, better defensibility. And because social+ companies are network and community-driven, that advantage accumulates over time. Social+ occurs when a delight-sparking utility is thoughtfully integrated with that essential human connection. That’s powerful because, ultimately, the more ways we find to connect in authentic and positive ways, the better.” 0 3 It is quite evident that mission when working on communities have anything. numerous benefits for brands. Businesses are Companies that already driving marketing, understand this basic customer success, human need and weave retention, feedback the social components into collection, research, and their product, would advocacy with develop fundamental communities. advantages over other competitors. The members get help from peers and improve It transforms the company their knowledge -- into a human brand. however, it is the intrinsic element of belongingness Let’s now understand the and purpose that make key factors behind these communities truly social+ companies. valuable. Communities give voice to Drivers of this trend the members, empower them with a sense of In the last decade, various autonomy, and motivate collaboration and them to deliver value to communication platforms others. This stems from the have become more primal human nature that accessible to businesses. has been wired to seek These software solutions connection with others, a address the human needs to sense of purpose, stay connected and grow belonging, and shared with a shared passion. 0 4 Also, the evolution of social connection through the media has radically product, the company changed the way people transforms into a communicate, network, humanized brand. This in and consume content. It is turn activates powerful safe to say that popular moats that give significant social networks have advantages over other become a part and parcel products. of the majority of the people using the internet. Here are some of the key advantages: And the penetration of mobile phones has further When product users accelerated the adoption experience delightful of social media. social connections they tend to share the same With this profound change with others. This leads in human behavior and the to robust viral loops and way people connect in a reduces the cost of digital world, it is customer acquisition. becoming normal to seek The stickiness of the the same kind of social product gets a boost connection in products we which results in a better use. retention rate and lifetime value. This has set the foundation The product users add for products to integrate a value by sharing social experience across knowledge and helping the user journey. When a each other. This enables company integrates social the company to aspects to foster human promote self-service, 0 5 improve product adoption across the target market and customer experience. increases. Consider this as a flywheel Apart from the powerful for growth powered by the appeal of a stronger community. As more and business model with a more people join the social social approach, the product, the network effect availability of community strengthens. platforms that can seamlessly integrate into a The community of users product is fostering this becomes more engaging, trend. These platforms add the value generated by the an immersive social layer to community improves, and the product in a highly the product footprint modular manner. User Growth Referrals Engagement Value Retention generation The Growth Flywheel Powered by Integrated Social Components 0 6 For instance, a product can add a stream of social proof by allowing the product users to post pictures of how they use the product or the benefits they are getting by integrating an activity feed. The social components that can be further integrated are discussion, reactions, networking (follow/connect), gamification, messaging, etc. A simple and effective example in this space is DeineTierwelt, a leading German marketplace company operating in the pet and animal space. They have integrated social features in the mobile and web applications to [The activity feed in powered by empower members to Tribe lives seamlessly within the mobile app] connect, discuss, and help each other. 0 7 Navigating this trend However, only the community platform or Given the power of a SDK won’t be a deciding community flywheel and factor in the success of a the moats it generates, social product. businesses are looking for ways to integrate social The social components features into the product. must be baked in by Considering the considering the type of abundance of community user behavior the product platforms, it is becoming is aiming for. increasingly easy to create customer communities Also, consider how the and add social values of the product will components. be showcased and how the users will be rewarded for Businesses can leverage contributing to the social SDKs to add in-app community. social networking features to the products. After that, Given below are the key it is easier to facilitate user factors to consider when discovery, networking, and value exchange based on integrating social features: shared interests. 1. Consider the user of the Finally, the product would product as community have features to share members -- think of the content in popular social social glue and the shared networks and share via passion that binds them emails so the users can together. Inculcate this spread the word. sense of belonging via your community. 0 8 2. Encourage peer-to-peer value delivery that is engagement and make it designed to help the users straightforward for the improve their knowledge users to showcase the and get better over time. value they are getting from There must be a sense of your product. ownership when it comes to helping peers and co- 3. Enable members to creating with the discover members with community. deeper shared interests or common elements and In the upcoming years, facilitate connections. businesses will continue to Common examples are deeply integrate social location proximity, features since it will add industry, age group, authentic human subcultures. connection and interaction into the activities that users 4. Provide rewards to the already perform. members when they make quality contributions to the Communities will be at the community and take the center of how people actions connected with engage with brands and your product growth. It peers. could be anything from redeemable virtual points and gift vouchers to unique badges, special privileges, and public acknowledgment. 5. Focus on peer-to-peer 0 9 Rise of micro-communities E D U G I A N S A N T E CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, E-DUBLIN AUTHOR AND PODCASTER “We're more online than ever and people are finding their niches and escape online more than ever. There's a potential to re-think communities, perhaps a Netflix of communities, where you deliver personalized high- value, micro-communities to members of your 'master' community. Maybe running experimental communities, think differently.” 1 0 Rise of micro-communities K A T V E L L O S AUTHOR OF WE SHOULD GET TOGETHER: THE SECRET TO CULTIVATING BETTER FRIENDSHIPS AND CONNECTED FROM AFAR: A GUIDE FOR STAYING CLOSE WHEN YOU’RE FAR AWAY “In 2021, we’ll see even more appreciation for micro- communities. People crave intimacy, and the ability to be fully seen and known by the people they are creating community with.