Community Is Good for Humans … And Your Brand

• Brands are evolving beyond just selling products to creating communities where customers feel a sense of belonging and identity.
• The loneliness epidemic exacerbated by the pandemic highlights the need for social connections, which coworking spaces are well-positioned to provide.
• Successful brands and coworking spaces enable people to join not only a physical space but also a community with shared vision, values, and vibes.

Community isn’t just for coworking spaces — it’s the future of brands.

As author and brand expert Marty Neumeier famously said, “People no longer buy brands. They join them.”

Does your brand offer a sense of connection and identity? Do you have something people can join? Does joining your brand give customers and members a sense of belonging?

These are big, complex questions, but the future is a big, complex place.

The U.S. Surgeon General reported in May that Americans are more lonely and socially disconnected than ever. And our current loneliness epidemic is a serious threat to physical and mental health, with social isolation’s effects on mortality equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Social isolation and loneliness contribute to a person having a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression and dementia.

So here we are.

Lonelier than ever, disconnected, riding the wake of pandemic isolation and its mental health challenges, and moving quickly toward a future where remote work is the norm.

Enter coworking.

Coworking at large is uniquely positioned to provide the third spaces, loose social connections and community that we humans are desperate for. Coworking can’t solve all of our problems, but it can easily solve the challenge of getting people out of the house and into places where we can informally connect and, frankly, just not be alone.

I’m surrounded by friends, family, community and loved ones, and I still feel better every day when I walk through the doors of my home coworking space. I feel more connected, I feel a sense of belonging, I feel taken care of and I know I’m part of something bigger than myself.

Coworking spaces — the best coworking spaces, that is — have found ways for people to join not just the space, but the brand and the brand community. 

Coworking is an easy example because connection is baked into the DNA of this movement-now-industry. But it’s not the only example. Every company should be leaning into creating a community around your brand, whether in-person or online. 

It’s easier than ever to bring people together around shared vision, values and vibe.

So what does your brand stand for? What type of belonging do you offer customers and members? What are the vision, values and vibe of your brand that people can align with?

This is where we’re headed. 

Are you in?