Going Into the Woods: Consistency Through Community

Community is such a tossed around word these days it’s starting to lose meaning. It’s the buzzword/concept du jour that marketers are doing their best to build. Understanding what community actually means is key to being able to build it.  

Community can be global, it can be local, it can be twenty people in a garage sharing ideas. Condensed and simplified: Community is similar connections brought together in a common place(s) where they have a voice. Brands are trying to “build community” online and off, and many are scrambling to keep up with the evolving landscape that supports these communities, again, online and off.

Incredible views, excellent coffee= a helluva experience

Facebook is the perfect place to build community. Most brands have a Facebook page, but do most brands also have a page for all their locations? No? The Woods Coffee in Bellingham, Washington does. The local, yet ever expanding, coffee purveyors have quite the following in the Land of Subdued Excitement (Bellingham’s actual motto). It’s because they’re local, understand the locale and create experiences for Bellinghamsters (actual term for Bellingham natives) that connect with them.

Adding value, building community, one farmer's market update at a time.

The Woods started building community offline by producing roasts and beverages locals wanted. They listened to the very community-minded Bellinghamsters and began offering healthy, homemade alternative food options. The baristas know you, remember you and treat you like coffee-royalty. Their mission statement is ALL about the experience—coffee isn’t mentioned once.

The Woods then transferred that community online, realizing that each of their stores has its own unique flair that one corporate site couldn’t encompass. They talk about the Farmer’s Market, an important staple in the town, and hold contests with local business offerings as prizes. The Woods Coffee encapsulates life in the Pacific Northwest, which is multifaceted and deserving of multiple pages.

With thirteen stores already in a town of almost 82,000, and more stores sure to come, The Woods is doing something right. Their online presence, of which Facebook is one part, is simply transferring their successful offline community-building into a digital space.