Sometimes the line between a brand audience and brand community can get blurred. They are not the same thing. Although, your brand community can also be part of your audience, there are some key differences between the two. A brand audience can be defined as a specific group of consumers who will use your product of service that is decided by the brand based on age, gender, income, location, interests, etc. A brand community is group of individuals who are invested in the brand beyond what is being sold. They become advocates and part of the brand itself. Think of it this way. Your audience is who the brand talks to and the community talks to the brand. Let’s look at what makes these two different from one another.
Relationships: communication with a brand audience is usually from the brand strictly to the audience. One focal point outward to each member of the audience. In a brand community, however, interactions happen from brand to individuals, individuals to brand and also between individuals to one another about the brand. There is much more engagement between all three. Also, relationship building happens differently between communities and audiences. Community members build relationships through a sense of shared passion. Audiences may not share as many characteristics with other members of the audience and might not identify as a part of a “community group” for this reason.
Community:
· Actively participate
· Bond with one another
· Various streams of communications
· Responsibility and ownership
· Shared purpose
Audience:
· Passively consume
· Disconnected from each other (no commonalities)
· One-way communication from brand to audience
· No influence over brand
· No collectiveness
Growth vs Assistance: when building a community, the main idea is helping those in that brand community. When building an audience, the main goal is increasing the brand reach. Therefore, audiences tend to be larger than communities but communities are far more engaged. So, which is better? The answer is… there is no right or wrong answer.
Having both a brand audience and a brand community are valuable for their own reasons. Having a large audience can increase brand awareness. It’s also easier to increase through paid advertising as well. The benefits of a brand community, we think, really speak for themselves, but we’ll list some here anyway. Building a good community will increase the amount of feedback your brand will receive. If your brand listens, then it will also increase loyalty and further community growth. Those that are part of the brand community will feel a strong sense of connection and therefore, are the best word of mouth marketing a brand could ask for. A great way to think about this is that your audience can be purchased but your brand community has to be earned. The question is, “which do you think is more valuable?”
