Belonging to the Brand: Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy

by Mark W. Schaefer

“Belonging to the Brand” is a must-read for business leaders or entrepreneurs seeking to successfully pivot in today’s rapidly evolving digital marketing and customer relations landscape. -- Comstock magazine

"Schaefer’s keen observations of human behavior combined with his sharp analytical mind produced what is sure to be a foundational text for the new world of brand-customer relationship building." -- LinkedIn

Bestselling author and futurist Mark Schaefer explains why community is a massively overlooked marketing opportunity. While "community" isn't new, he explains how three major trends are colliding in a way to make brand communities the future of marketing strategy. Highlights Through extensive research, diverse case studies, and expert interviews, Schaefer provides a compelling and actionable blueprint for the modern brand community. This is an unmissable work from one of marketing's leading thought leaders.

Genres: Business

273 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Daria Zheglo · Rating 3 out of 5]

TBH, I found this book way too generalistic and not very practical. For marketers struggling to explain the importance of communities, it feels more like, “Guys, just invest, and you’ll see the results,” rather than providing concrete strategies.

The topics of tokens, NFTs, and other modern community exchange methods are still so niche that I wouldn’t dedicate that much space to them. The truth is, most of us interact with and sell to people who aren’t fully immersed in these trends yet. That’s why I really missed an in-depth analysis of large communities and companies that invest in oversaturated platforms and still manage to make an impact.

[Seth G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark's latest book is a page turner and should be top of mind for any marketer trying to reach their audience.

Mark's books are excellent and timeless. Start here and read them all!

[Marta Ķepīte · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you work in branding, marketing, and / or community, then I can say that this book can be very valuable to you. Wish my previous boss had read this.

[Frank Prendergast · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the pandemic hit first, everyone scrambled to figure out if they should be marketing in a time of crisis. Lots of businesses tried to lean on a sense of community with endless “we’re all in this together” messages.

But very few actually had a community. 

Now, with the initial shock and panic of the pandemic in the rear view mirror, it already feels like companies have gone back to ‘business-as-usual’.

Problem is, people are tired of business-as-usual. 

They want more. 

This book is a roadmap to offering more. A guide to inviting people to be a part of something with you. A way to offer people the chance to belong. 

Every chapter was inspiring, full of case studies to illustrate the points, and it might be cliché but I didn't want to put it down because it was firing me up with so many ideas.

[Alice Ferris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another practical and thought-provoking book from Mark about the future of marketing. Building on concepts from his earlier book, Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins, Belonging to the Brand touches on something that reached "do not ignore" status during the pandemic--community. This book will scare some marketing professionals who want to control everything in their strategy because true community doesn't belong to the company!

In his usual conversational style, Mark walks us through why community is important, the consequences of ignoring community in your marketing, and the right ways (and wrong ones) to start and build community. I highlighted way too many lines--especially in the case studies that featured real-world examples of how building community works. Disclosure, I was interviewed for this book, and strangely, I also highlighted portions of my own case study where Mark revealed his observations of my lived experience!

My fundamental takeaway was that communities are built on trust, and as a brand community, you end up trusting the brand as a friend. Like other relationships built on trust, you also can't force it. You, as the brand, can't say, "You must trust me!" which is how many brand communities fail. And before you throw up your hands and say, "I can't do anything about this," read this book to learn practical tactics on how you can cultivate trust in communities, whether you built them or they rose up on their own.

This book, along with Marketing Rebellion, is definitely a part of my core professional library.

[Tim Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book “belonging to the brand – why community is the last great marketing strategy”, Mark explains how marketing today is broken. People have had enough of the constant spam through cold calling, email marketing and advertising. He also explains how even modern marketing techniques like SEO does not work for most companies. So, what is a business to do? That’s where Mark explains how forming groups and communities is something humans have done since prehistoric times. Why? Because for humans a community is psychological safety … and as long as a salesperson or a marketer does not try to sell you anything, we will be happy in the community like a pig in dirt. Why? Because a pitch, puts us in flight or fight mode, always has, always will.

Mark backs this all up with examples and explanations about how you can build communities in your business, non-for-profit etc.

[Drew Mclellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Schaefer always writes useful, thought-provoking books. But this is more than that. This is a book that will give you the marketing map to creating a very strong and sustainable future for your business.

We've always known how powerful customer advocacy (word-of-mouth referrals) is to business. Today, we see that more than ever before. Imagine creating an army of advocates who feel personally connected to and indebted to your brand. That's the power of building a true community.

Mark shares the science behind it, case studies that prove it, and steps to do it. This is a must read!

[Autumn Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical, thought-provoking read about why community is a brand’s most durable asset. In a world overloaded with automation and optimization, Schaefer reminds us people do not stay loyal to brands. They stay loyal to each other, and to brands that genuinely support those relationships.

This is not a fluffy “community” book. It is useful. It challenges leaders to stop treating community as a tactic and start acting as stewards, creating spaces where people feel safe, valued, and included, and where values show up in real decisions and trade-offs. If you care about building trust, advocacy, and long-term brand resilience, this one is worth your time.

[Valerie K. Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of helpful, new and interesting things. I really respect the author's honesty and transparency. He does know a lot and has been through the trenches.

I'm part of the target audience for this book. I'm looking to build a community and want to have sponsorships to support my future writings.

Worth reading. Finished in a couple of days. I'll have to review my notes and organize my thoughts on all this.

[Aaron Slack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t Fall Behind

Belonging to the Brand is an essential read for any modern business. It outlines the need for brands to form communities and create fans, something that's more important than ever before. This book is a great resource for those looking to develop strategies for growth and success. It's well written, easy to understand and packed with helpful advice.

[Julie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doesn’t everyone want belonging and connection? Yep! This is a must for any marketing who doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to truly CONNECT with your consumers. As a marketer for nearly 30 years I found this book to be fresh and full of Intersting and thought provoking insights and ideas. Highly recommended. No, really, HIGHLY recommend.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book. Mark shares practical examples and makes a compelling case as to why building community (though harder to measure) is one of the most significant ways to make an impact in the marketing world. Continuing to chew on the implications and how to move more into community building in my marketing strategies.

[Brian Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing and insightful breakdown of the importance of community to brands. I'm a firm believer that community is the future of business and personal brands. Mark has created a guide to growing and engaging a community that every marketer, business owner, and entrepreneur should read.

[Finola Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark is always at the forefront of marketing thinking and this book is no different. Loved the examples of communities and how they became brands that transformed into viable businesses. Very useful and inspirational

[Thomas Hefke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark is always ahead of the marketing curve - loved how he layed down the concept and showed great examples. Not so bullish on the NFT topic a but this has no impact on my rating :)

[Mitch Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t learn much from this book. A B2C retail brand might get more from it.

[M.C. Beeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great great book on building a marketing approach around community. Highly recommend to any creative entrepreneur

[erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let this book fool you! It is an easy read, but it is packed full of research and thought provoking chapters on marketing and community building. I read this, and his other book Marketing Rebellion, along with my team and both books have stirred up challenging and interesting ideas to marinate on. Would highly recommend for any marketer, social media manager or someone looking to learn more about making meaningful, emotional connections. A+++

[Noah Eskew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book from Schaefer.