The PromoKitchen Community: I Belong!

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I’m just about finished reading Mark Schaefer’s newest book titled, BELONGING TO THE BRAND, Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy. I recommend it.

In chapter 2, Mark introduced me to a new way of looking at marketing relationships with customers. He describes it as an emotional continuum. I think he’s referring to the range of emotional states that customers experience in their interactions with a brand over time.

At one end of the continuum, customers may feel indifferent or are disengaged from the brand. At the other end, they may feel deeply connected and loyal. The emotional continuum is that range of emotions in between these two points.

According to Schaefer, “The goal of brand marketing is to build lasting emotional ties to customers. Many companies are focused on social media promotions, but it only results in weak relational connections. When people subscribe to content like a blog or podcast, the second level of the continuum, it represents a new level of interest and emotional commitment. The highest level of emotional connection is community which results in collaboration, co-creation, and organic advocacy."

Here’s my understanding of how this could apply to social media marketing:

Social media fans follow you and “like” you. (think Instagram)

An audience subscribes to you. (think newsletter, blog or podcast)

A community will engage and build with you. (think volunteering for a great cause)

Mark Schaefer notes that communities have three common characteristics: Connection, purpose, and relevance. Of course, we have lots of room for improvement (sometimes it gets a little messy in the kitchen - looking at you, Danny) but I sincerely believe that PromoKitchen delivers on all three characteristics.

Some hear the word community and feel it’s an overused marketing buzzword just here to sell subscription services and opt-ins.That is not how I see it. Community is more than a buzzword. It means: I BELONG. It means I’m building this with others. It’s safe for me to be me here. It means I’m not alone and we stand for something. It affirms that I share a common history, a sense of direction and a spirit with these people or brands. PromoKitchen is still building community in everything we do. I can hear Mark Graham's voice now as I type this, “How will this best serve our community?” 

That brings me to you. The great news is the renegades at PromoKitchen have been trailblazing a purpose-driven, relevant, and fun community for over 10 years now. Have you ever listened to a PromoKitchen podcast with Bobby Lehew, Johnny Cupcakes, Johanna Gottleib, Charity Gibson, Mark Graham, Kate Plummer, Seth Godin? Have you read a blog post by Jessica Gibbons-Rauch, Bill Petrie, Brad White or any of the many contributing writers? They took time to share industry specific insights and lessons learned with you.

Did you ever attend any of the epic PromoKitchen Mixers at the House of Blues in Las Vegas during the PPAI EXPO? That event was built to increase the awareness of mentorship, education and to share an epic evening with our fantastic community.

So where are you on the PromoKitchen emotional continuum? Are you a fan? Do you subscribe? Or, are you ready to build?

No matter what your role, there’s more need now than ever for connection, purpose and relevance. 

The way I see it, we need fresh voices that will help us challenge the status quo and prepare for the future. Selfishly, I want this community to flourish and be relevant for the next 10 years. We are inviting innovative, independent, entrepreneurial minds to step up and help build our community! If you’ve been a fan, or a subscriber quietly watching or reading from afar, I’m inviting you to take the next step and grab an apron and join us in the kitchen. We need new recipes!

If you’re unsure about how to grab the apron and get involved or have questions, please reach out to me directly, or to any of the other talented and wonderful PK Chefs.

I’m really looking forward to meeting you in the kitchen! And yes, we’ll probably “Spice It Up” and make some tacos. 

Jay