In the ever-evolving landscape of creator marketing, building a community is no longer just about attracting a following; it’s about fostering deep, authentic connections that transcend the digital experience. The ability to connect with your audience in meaningful ways—both online and off—is key to fostering a community that’s crazy about your brand, not just your products. Because in a world where consumers are inundated with new product launches and options every day, liking your brand’s SKU assortment does not guarantee long-term support. If you want people to continue to choose and invest in your brand over the long run, they need to believe in and connect with something deeper.
In fact, our annual State of Creator Marketing survey found that aligning with a brand’s values has become even more important to creators when evaluating partnership opportunities. A respective 87% and 84% of creators reported that sustainability and inclusivity are key issues that factor into their decisions about whether to work with a brand.
Katryna Ton, Content Creator via @callherclassy
Having a clearly defined brand identity is a prerequisite to building a passionate and impactful community of brand fans. But what comes next? Let’s take it to the experts.
In a recent panel discussion at CreatorIQ Connect, marketing leaders Toral Patel (Vice President of Marketing & E-commerce at Kopari), Ava Donaldson (Senior Marketing Manager, Global Talent + Creators at Google), Ali Miller (Global Director, Influencer Marketing at Roblox), and Lia Haberman (Creator Economy Expert and Editor of the ICYMI newsletter) highlighted some key strategies for building and bridging online and IRL communities. Here are three things you need to know:
1. VIP Status: Recognize and Reward Loyal Brand Fans
Loyalty is the backbone of any thriving community. Acknowledging and celebrating your most engaged brand enthusiasts not only shows your appreciation but also fosters deeper brand connection and longer-lasting advocacy—advocacy that can drive exponential returns for your business. (Our State of Creator Marketing report found that creator content yielded 12x the impressions, 17x the engagements, and 20x the Earned Media Value (EMV) as owned content for the world’s leading brands.)
This can be anything from interacting with engaged brand fans in your comments/DMs, sending them personalized gifts, reposting their content on your own channels, inviting them to brand events and getaways, or including them in your creator campaigns—anything that shows that you see them, and that you’re grateful for their support. If your community feels recognized and valued by your brand, they will be more likely to continue supporting it.
And while recognizing loyal creators can obviously drive significant impact for your brand, don’t forget about who it is that you’re ultimately trying to reach: your customers. Ava Donaldson noted how Google is actively “leaning into our customers as influencers” through programs like Pixel Superfans, which rewards loyal Pixel users with Superfan-only events and experiences, gifts and discounts, and insider Q&As with the Google team.
By identifying and cultivating relationships with these valuable advocates, regardless of follower size, you can turn everyday users into powerful brand ambassadors.
2. Take it Offline: Strengthen Digital Connections With In-Person Events & Experiences
While digital platforms help you scale your community-building efforts around the world, in-person experiences remain unparalleled when it comes to cultivating deeper emotional connections. By transitioning online engagement into IRL activations, brands can build more intimate, meaningful relationships with their community.
Toral Patel revealed that “being in person has been a big emphasis and focus” for Kopari, and shared how the brand recently hosted an “influencer-style experience” for its most loyal customers (which also touches on takeaway #1—would you look at that!). Plus, Kopari amped up the excitement by inviting a few creators to the event, which Toral noted “enhanced the overall experience for everyone there.”
@koparibeauty on Instagram
Roblox, on the other hand, has begun inviting creators to its traditionally developer-focused Roblox Developers Conference. “Inviting [creators] to be there in person and demonstrate the impact that they have on the platform was super crucial,” Ali Miller noted, revealing how facilitating cross-community networking and face-to-face relationship building “sounds very basic, but was actually one of the more profound insights for us.”
Ava echoed this sentiment, sharing how Google’s in-person launch events like Made By Google allow the brand to build and strengthen 1-1 relationships beyond the digital experience: “It starts online and then you bring that to IRL and it's so meaningful.”
It’s important to remember that your brand is so much more than a logo or product lineup. By enabling community members to meet and interact with the people behind your brand, you can significantly strengthen the bonds they’ve formed online.
3. Educate & Empower: Bring Your Community Behind the Scenes
Brand love and loyalty grow when community members feel like valued insiders. By pulling back the curtain on your brand’s inner workings—from your product roadmap to product development process—you invite your most passionate advocates to feel like co-creators in your success.
At the Roblox Developers Conference, for instance, Ali revealed that the team walks creators through Roblox’s product roadmap, giving them an exclusive, first-look into the brand’s future plans—and how these plans will better serve them. Meanwhile, Ava acknowledged how switching to a Google Pixel from a different brand and operating systems can be scary, since “our cell phones are our most emotionally connected products.” And so to help with this transition, Google works to create a high-touch, educational experience for new community members: “We have a concierge team that will help our creators with the switch to show them that it's actually not that scary, and also be able to walk through our key products, like our new AI feature, Gemini.”
As for Kopari, Toral explained how her team is going one step further than traditional product seeding by bringing its community along on the product development journey—from conception to creation—through educational webinars as well as in-person lab visits: “Whether it’s co-creating product or co-creating events, really thinking of [creators] as an extension of our brand and our brand team [is something] that I'm very excited about.”
And according to our annual State of Creator Marketing report, that’s something creators are clamoring for as well: Our research found that career growth opportunities—which could be anything from educational workshops to product collaborations—are now the No. 1 contributor to creator satisfaction in brand partnerships, outweighing last year’s top contributor: compensation.
Career growth opportunities are No. 1 contributor to creator satisfaction.
Ultimately, bringing your community closer to your brand results in a remarkable ripple effect: When creators understand the thought, effort, and innovation behind your product—or better yet, when they have a say in it—they tend to be more invested in its success and excited to share with their own audience. This deeper insight and involvement then leads to better advocacy, ensuring your message reaches their audience in the right way and drives greater, longer-term impact.
So class, what did we learn about effective community building? Step one is to build a brand with a clear mission and value set that people want to rally around. Once you have that, celebrate your most passionate supporters online. Then, bring those advocates closer to your brand with in-person activations that foster genuine relationship-building. Finally, deepen relationships with your most loyal community members by giving them a seat at the table and empowering them to help shape your brand’s future.
For even more insights and best practices on building impactful creator communities, watch the full session replay here, and download the complete State of Creator Marketing report.
