Newsletter #51 - 3 Proven Strategies to Build a Thriving Brand Community 💓

Hello!

 

Wishing you all the best for this new year. May it be full of success for you and your brand ✨

 

To start 2025 on a high note, let’s explore an essential question: How can you build and transform your community into a sustainable growth driver? 🤜🏻🤛🏻

 

In the next three newsletters, three experts will share their advice on turning your customers into your best ambassadors—and even your investors 💸

 

For this first edition, Noémie Kempf from The Storyline reveals 3 secrets to building a highly engaged community around your brand 💗

 

🧐 Why invite Noémie for this first edition?

 

As the creator of The Storyline (the brilliant newsletter that deciphers the strategies of the most iconic brands to help you become a cult brand) and author of The Power of Communities (only available in French, for now), Noémie is a true expert in the field. I highly recommend subscribing to her media platforms and following her on social media 👀

 

 

 

🔐 Blue House: Europe’s most exclusive brand community

 

Created by and for brands, Blue House is a next-generation community for e-commerce and retail.

 

Everything is designed to accelerate your growth by fostering lasting connections with Europe’s most inspiring brands 💙

 

No sales pitches, no endless presentations ❌

 

Just the opportunity to forge meaningful relationships with your peers and learn from the best through exclusive experiences:

 

• Insights from cult brands
• Wellness and fitness sessions
• Cultural events
• Intimate dinners with decision-makers

 

🔐 To maintain exclusivity, Blue House membership is by application only. Applications will open very soon.

 

⏭️ Follow Blue House on Instagram now and discover why Grégory Pairin (Ocarat) and Michael Weisz (Shapeheart) became ambassadors!

 

A community founded by Bigblue.

 

 

🚨 Exclusive perk for D2C Academy members 🚨

 

Simply reply "💙" to this email to:

 

• Join the Blue House newsletter
• Be the first to register for upcoming events
• Discover the first iconic members of the community 🤫

 

 

1️⃣ Listen (really listen) and co-create with your community

 

Marketing strategies used to be designed in isolation, far removed from the reality of consumers.

 

Spoiler: those days are over.

 

Today, it’s essential to:

 

• Understand your audience’s context and motivations
• Decode their expectations and the factors influencing their consumption choices
• Speak their language and give them a voice

 

How does this work in practice?

 

Some brands use simple strategies by involving their community directly:

 

• Voting on the next feature to develop (Helios)
• Choosing the colour or shape of a product (Asphalte)

 

LEGO Ideas goes even further, allowing fans to suggest new prototypes 💡

 

At Nidéco, every product is co-created with their community to address their daily challenges 💛

 

On their website, anyone can propose an idea, which is then voted on by the community. If it gets over 2,000 votes, it moves into production.

 

 

Some examples of their products include:

 

• An intimate serum proposed by a woman with endometriosis 🤲
• A heavy-leg cream created by a nurse always on the move
• A regenerating mask designed by an artist exhausted from touring 🎤

 

After just three years, Nidéco has received over 5,000 ideas and co-developed around 40 products.

 

Last year, they launched Care Expert, a community that enables members to "co-sell" their products.

 

💙 Nidéco trusts Bigblue to delight their community with lightning-fast deliveries.

 

If you’d like to offer your customers an exceptional post-purchase experience like Nidéco in 2025, feel free to schedule a quick chat with my colleague Victoria from Bigblue.

 

 

2️⃣ Prioritise CGC (Community Generated Content) over UGC (User Generated Content)

 

If you haven’t seen the term UGC in the past five years, you might have been living under a rock.

 

UGC, or User Generated Content, refers to content created and published by your customers, showcasing your brand, products, or services. It’s highly effective: 40% of consumers say it’s “extremely” or “very” important in their purchasing decisions!

 

On paper, it sounds great. But in reality, UGC is challenging to manage:

 

• Risk of diluting your brand identity and messaging
• Limited visibility (and even less control) over the content created

 

A poorly managed UGC campaign can even backfire, as seen with Amazon Prime Video’s infamous campaign in 2022 😱

 

The solution? Rely on CGC—Community Generated Content.

 

With CGC, you create authentic, on-brand content aligned with your goals by working directly with your community members.

 

Here are some actionable examples:

 

• 🌎 Team for the Planet: The gold standard in community-led growth

 

This French NGO, which allows anyone to invest in projects combating climate change, has brought together over 120,000 investors in four years, thanks to the strength of its community. Their secret? Encouraging shareholders to share their involvement on LinkedIn by adding it as an experience on their profile—a simple yet effective hack that boosts belonging and expands reach.

 

 

• 🦊 Green-Got: The green neobank leverages ambassadors to amplify its visibility.
  

 

Every month, ambassadors are invited to actively promote the brand within their networks using communication kits designed by Green-Got. A straightforward strategy to generate a positive impact and strengthen brand recognition.

 

• 🏥 Hormona: This health-tech app attracted 80% of its users organically across more than 185 countries.
  

 

Their secret? Authentic, relatable content reflecting the real lives of their users. The result: over 100M views on Instagram and 4.7M likes on TikTok!

 

 

3️⃣ Give before asking

 

For a community to thrive, trust is key—trust among members and trust in your brand.

 

To build trust, you must first provide value: useful resources, growth opportunities, connections, or even gifts.

 

The foundation of any community strategy lies in creating a valuable experience with a “wow” factor that strengthens members’ emotional attachment to your brand while optimising your KPIs!

 

🧮 For example, CFO Connect (the community for financial directors created by unicorn Spendesk) offers numerous benefits to its members—clients or not—such as networking opportunities, events, or exclusive resources. This strategy boosts engagement and brand visibility.

 

 

 

 

The results?

 

• Community members sign contracts 33% faster than other leads.
• Contract volumes are 35% higher with these prospects.
• Community-member clients make three times more payments via card.
• Retention rates are 18% higher for community members.

 

 

 

 That’s all for today!

 

A big thank you to Noémie for this first edition full of valuable insights!

 

If you need advice, please contact her on LinkedIn (mention my name) 🙋🏼♀️

 

See you on Thursday, 23 January, when Florian from Loyoly reveals 3 tips for engaging your community and boosting revenue 💸

 

Speak soon,

 

À très vite,

 

Julie
E-commerce Expert @ Bigblue