Audience vs Community: Do You Know the Difference?

This is a good question for libraries and a great post to get the thinking started.  Libraries have both audiences and communities and knowing the difference is important to startegic thinking.

Audience vs Community: Do You Know the Difference?

Read more: http://www.marketingtechblog.com/audience-versus-community/#ixzz1xlm5qVSp

Snippet: The post “discusses the differences between building your audience – listening, engagement, relevant content, loyalty points, gamification, gifting  economy, give-aways and messaging consistency. Some may argue that these are the  strategies behind building community… but there’s one question that will answer  whether you have one or the other. Will the community continue without you,  without your content, without your incentives, or without the overall value you  bring them?  If the answer is NO (which it probably is), you’ve got an  audience.

Building your community is a much different strategy.  Community building tools include naming of the group, the events and the  individuals, using insider jargon, having your own symbols, developing a shared narrative, having value systems, rituals, consensus building and  pooling resources. Communities live beyond the leader, the platform, or even the  product (think Trekkies).”

Stephen