Is Community-Led Growth the Big Marketing Shift for 2025?

Such a good observation, Hamza! The shift is already happening right now as far as I can see: - Larger companies (especially those with a consumer brand) started their consumer communities from the earliest days - Marketers are curious about community-led growth and constantly asking how to leverage community to build a $10B business like Notion - According to CMX's 2022 report, community management is transitioning from a growth stage to a mature stage, marking a significant shift in how businesses view and prioritize community engagement. 94% of IPO-ready companies and 95% of Series B+ firms recognize the impact of community on their growth strategies Almost all people recognize the value of having a community. "People need communities to belong to and brands need communities to help them cut through the noise." - Schaefer (2019) However, I also see that a lot of companies do not recognize the difference between having a community "for the sake of it" or having a community flywheel for your brand is different than being community-led and thus, embracing community-led growth as a go-to-market (GTM) strategy. The terms "community-led growth", "community building" and "community-led GTM" can be used quite interchangeably but they have distinct focuses. Being community-led or embracing community-led GTM strategy, requires two important additional elements often missing, other than putting the community at the center of your business, including shaping goals, products and strategies: a) acknowledging community as a sustainable source of growth, the key to unlocking and accelerating growth across the company, and b) involving community members in the decision-making process. Growing a following on social media and focusing on building relationships with your followers is still alright, and highly encouraged, especially if you are starting, or you are a small business, as it's still fostering a sense of belonging. But only companies that are doing those points mentioned above, are truly community-led. And it's a long way to go, because one, it's the founder's preferences, how deeply customer-centric the business is, and two, it really depends on your product's nature, if it requires an ongoing customer engagement, learning, or adaptation for users to see full value. Community-led growth can be powerful on top of your current GTM strategy, as an engine to your car, but it will not replace it. Consider what is best for you. FYI: This answer is part of my Community-led GTM Newsletter (launching soon this month) where I will deep dive into the fundamentals of community-led growth, explore the best case studies out there, like how the big guys like Notion, Figma, and other consumer product startups did what they did and how you can do the same. I am welcoming marketing and growth teams, community builders and consumer product startup founders to subscribe. And if you are looking to start launching consumer products in APAC through community, we might have more stuff to explore and discuss. Let's talk more!

Yeah! That's why most growth-track companies are now moving towards incorporating UGC strategies in their marketing plans. "People trust people" very true

Absolutely seeing this shift! Who knew authenticity and genuine connection could actually trump glossy ads? 🙃 It's like brands finally figured out that listening is more than just hearing. By the way, if understanding what people like can drive marketing success, imagine the edge Her Ideal Match could give in the dating world.

Absolutely seeing it, Hamza! Community-led growth is like marketing’s glow-up moment! 🌟 People trust real voices and real stories way more than a glossy ad, and honestly, who doesn’t love that warm “we’re in this together” feeling? And hey, as someone working on a product myself (shoutout to pdftopdf for anyone who loves a smooth PDF workflow 😉), I totally get the power of listening to your community. It’s a game-changer to co-create with people who actually use your stuff—they’re the best guides! Here’s to more community vibes and real connections in 2025! 🙌

User-generated content works the best I believe, the challenge is to get users (even fans) to create content about your product.

Totally agree! Community-led growth is where it's at. People trust authentic stories and experiences from real users way more than slick marketing campaigns these days. It's all about building genuine connections and letting your passionate community be your best advocates. Any AI tools out there to help foster and grow brand communities? Would love to explore how AI could support this shift toward community-led growth in 2025 and beyond!

Definitely! Community-led growth is the way forward. People trust real stories and experiences from their peers way more than slick marketing. Focus on enabling your biggest fans to share authentic content about your brand. Empower employee advocates too. Build genuine connections and let your community do the selling for you. 2025 will be all about keeping it real!

The shift toward deeper engagement with communities and genuine fan connections became evident when platforms like Twitch gained traction. But my top marketing trend for 2025 is the rise of 360 Marketing Automation platforms. These platforms are set to thrive, especially now that text-to-image technology has reached a ready state. Content solutions like Jasper already showcase the potential for streamlined content creation. Once these tools are integrated, we’re likely to see comprehensive solutions that manage and optimize content across all channels automatically.