Belonging To The Brand: Why Community Is The Last Great Marketing Strategy [Interview with Mark Schaefer]

If there’s one thing I love more than talking about trends then it’s talking about trends before they’re mainstream and an actual trend.

And I couldn’t think of a better person to do it with than with the one and only Mark Schaefer who’s a return guest after he was a stand out, delivering the goods in our first interview where w got to know him and his approach this spotting trends and then riding the wave of its development.

Now, he’s spotted the next big thing, in fact he says it’s the last thing left for a great marketing strategy and that’s belonging to the brand by building and fostering a community.

This conversation was fascinating and as always, so insightful as Mark is one of those people who you throw a thought or an adhoc idea and he just runs with it and continues spinning it further.

In this conversation we cover:

• Why he wrote the book now (based on the 3 big trends that he’s been observing that all lead to the point of belonging)

• The difference between an audience or a following an a community

• The benefits (including the business case of a community)

• How to move your audience to become a community

• The role of the community leader as well as the future of this becoming a profession

• … a whole lot more.