The Right Way to Build an Online Community Around Your Brand

The internet can be a wonderful tool, but it can also be a scary place. That’s at least as true for business owners as it is for individual users. If you’ve ever worried about the potential reaction to something you’ve liked or posted online, imagine having the same concerns about each of the thousands of individual dealers in your company’s network.

I’ve personally addressed this challenge at Roof Maxx, the virtual home improvement company I founded that now has dealers in all 50 states. We don’t try to control everything our dealers say or do online in their personal time, but we also understand the importance of taking responsibility for any online activities that directly involve our brand.

Our solution has been to create our own internal platform for lead and territory management, while using a private social media group to facilitate communication between dealers.

Here’s why our approach has allowed us to reap the benefits of online communication while avoiding some of its biggest pitfalls.

Why businesses need control over their online spaces

Roof Maxx doesn’t create unmoderated online communities for our dealers because of the inherent risks. You might assume most businesses would share the same concerns, but there are actually plenty of brands out there with completely public message boards or social media pages.

Many businesses that set these spaces up do so out of noble intentions, like fostering transparency and innovation. But they also do so at their own peril.

In many parts of the world, legal definitions of the “workplace” now extend to online environments. That means any misconduct or harassment taking place in an online environment controlled by an employer is a potential liability — and at the very least, an HR issue.

But it doesn’t stop there. Online spaces that don’t have robust access controls also can’t protect their members from bad actors engaging in corporate espionage, fraud or spreading industry misinformation.

Furthermore, there are some undesirable qualities that public online communities naturally seem to encourage in groups of any kind. Research shows that users of public social media platforms are likely to engage in unhealthy social comparisons, which can lead to depression, isolation and loss of self-esteem. None of those are things you want to happen to the people your business relies on.

Why culture is the key to healthy digital communities

Here’s the best piece of advice I can give you for avoiding the risks I just mentioned: If the law still applies to your company’s online spaces, your company culture needs to apply to them as well. And the more distributed your talent is, the more important that becomes.

Roof Maxx is built on a culture of cooperation and community support, so those are also the values that inform our social media policies. The private Facebook group we set up to help our dealers share information requires verification and an invitation from an administrator before new dealers can join. Once they do, they must follow specific guidelines to ensure they use the space ethically and effectively.

But that group is just for dealers to network and support each other. Our internal platform, Roof Maxx Connect, allows us to go even further by disseminating training and resources to dealers all over the continent. It gives us insight into how dealers across our network are handling leads and managing their territories, while giving them access to support whenever they need it. And because we built it, there’s absolutely no risk of negative outside influences or the other risks associated with giant social media companies.

The tangible benefits of owning your brand’s online spaces

This approach does more than just protect us and our dealer network. It also has measurable benefits for the business as a whole.

With our dealers living in so many different places, having a way to standardize messaging and training is critical for our brand consistency. Launching Roof Maxx Connect has allowed our service to be more consistent across all of our locations, while curating a private group for dealers has given them a way to share industry tips and learn from each other’s experiences.

Sometimes, dealers who are in nearby areas help each other when they run out of product. Other times, they share their recommendations on different suppliers. We’ve even given a Good Neighbor Award as part of our Annual Dealer Awards for dealers who go the extra mile for each other.

The best part is that this becomes a positive feedback loop. Creating the right culture in our online spaces makes them stronger, and stronger online spaces contribute to our company culture as a whole. Our dealers feel more informed, more connected and more confident when they sell our product.

So don’t just be careful about your brand’s online spaces and tools. Prioritize making them as supportive and positive as you can. It’s an investment you’ll be glad you made.

The internet can be a wonderful tool, but it can also be a scary place. That’s at least as true for business owners as it is for individual users. If you’ve ever worried about the potential reaction to something you’ve liked or posted online, imagine having the same concerns about each of the thousands of individual dealers in your company’s network.

I’ve personally addressed this challenge at Roof Maxx, the virtual home improvement company I founded that now has dealers in all 50 states. We don’t try to control everything our dealers say or do online in their personal time, but we also understand the importance of taking responsibility for any online activities that directly involve our brand.

Our solution has been to create our own internal platform for lead and territory management, while using a private social media group to facilitate communication between dealers.