“The industry needs to stop appropriating the word ‘community’ when they are really just talking about consumers on social media,” said Gabe Gordon, CEO of Reach Agency.

When marketers attempt to build community, they’re chasing loyalty and long-term relevance. But when “building community” becomes a forced outcome, consumers can view it as desperation and look for connection elsewhere.

Communities can grow in private chats, livestreams, forums, and in-person events, but their success depends more on marketers building the right foundation than adopting a format.

Community building now has heightened appeal, as AI engines have shown a preference for peer-to-peer content. Reddit is the top website that popular genA engines cite (40.1%), according to a June 2025 Semrush report.

Like any buzzword, the overuse of “community” clouds its meaning. Here’s how marketers define, recognize, and pursue it.

What community looks like

Building community starts with dropping the sales pitch, which requires humility and a long-term growth mindset that not every marketing team has.

“At its core, community is an empathy practice,” said Pat Timmons, senior manager of social and brand communications at PandaDoc. “It requires understanding what people are feeling, what they need, and why they are showing up in the first place.”

Community is often conflated with influencer marketing, but it entails individual brand advocacy. Ultimately, “community building is when your customers become your best advocates,”said Julia Piccone, senior director of marketing at clothing rental service Nuuly.

This can manifest in user-generated content that might not directly encourage conversion, but highlight a shared consumer experience with a brand. For Nuuly, picking up and returning their recognizable packages every month is a common theme.

“Nuuly has seen a few viral moments that start with a shared experience like boyfriends standing in line to return their girlfriends’ Nuulies or a mailroom at a university with piles of Nuulies,” she said. “These kinds of moments are relatable and a shared experience that feels like real community building on social.”

A test for brand community is whether a shared interest or connection would exist if that brand went away, which comes through in Sephora’s Beauty Insider program.

“The community thrives on peer-to-peer interaction,” said influencer marketing expert Lindsey Gamble. “Members answer questions, discuss topics, and share knowledge, and it continues to grow organically without the brand driving every conversation.”

What community isn’t, and where brands have gone wrong

“Community” isn’t just another word for “audience,” and brands can confuse the two when they deem any large group of people a community.

“Oftentimes, I think people misuse the word 'community' when referring to a stunt that attracts a lot of attention, or provides an incentive to foster engagement, like a contest,” said Emily Farrugia, creative strategist at FUSE Create.

That peer-to-peer interaction drops the expectation that a consumer will get a product or service in return, and building community means encouraging interactions that don’t depend on a sale.

“The biggest mistake is leading with transactions instead of relationships,” said Christos Garkinos, founder and CEO of Covet by Christos. “When community is treated as a revenue lever rather than a long-term investment in trust and connection, it never becomes genuine.”

The strength of community is tested during in-person gatherings, said Alessandro Bogliari, cofounder and CEO of The Influencer Marketing Factory. To test community, brands should both take themselves and creators out of the narrative.

You really see a difference with meet and greets,” said Bogliari. “In a real community, people go IRL not just to meet the creator, but to meet each other because there’s a real sense of belonging.”

Lululemon run clubs

Lululemon’s run clubs serve a similar purpose to Sephora by encouraging peer connection over a common interest, which indirectly supports brand growth.

“People don’t come to run clubs because it’s Lululemon sponsored, but I’d hedge my bets that they’re more likely to shop the brand if they consistently attend,” said Farrugia.

After building a strong community, it is easy for brands to compromise it in the chase for growth.

“The term ‘community’ is often misused when brands chase new members but ignore the people who already show them love,” said Alessandro Bogliari, cofounder and CEO of The Influencer Marketing Factory.

Dr Pepper baby

Dr Pepper gave a nod to its community with its recent “Dr Pepper Baby (Good & Nice Jingle)” spot. It features original music by TikTok creator @RomeosShow, who posted an original song about the soda brand less than a month before the campaign was released.

“It worked because the idea came from the community, not the brand, and Dr Pepper knew when to listen instead of trying to control it,” said Bogliari.

Romeo created an off-the-cuff jingle, and Dr Pepper picked it up without any sort of explanation or editing. Treating audiences like “co-creators, and not just consumers” can help that sense of community stick, said Gordon.

“Real communities focus on how people interact with each other because of your brand, not just how they engage with the brand on its social channels,” he said.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.