Owned vs. Rented Audiences: Here’s How to Shield Your Marketing Investments

21th Edition: Through the Funnel (Marketing News & Jobs)

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MarketingHQ
January 18, 2025

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News From MHQ to You 🗞️

Amid the recent headlines surrounding the TikTok ban, we’ve dedicated this edition to exploring the importance of owning your audience. As platforms shift and vanish, building resilient, future-proof marketing strategies has never been more important. Let’s explore why investing in what you own can safeguard your brand in 2025 and beyond.

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Hot Take: You Don’t Own Your Audience. Communities Are Your Key to Longevity 🔥 

Here we go again: the TikTok ban in the U.S. has reignited an important conversation for marketers, creators, and brands alike. If TikTok disappears, millions of creators could wake up to find their audiences (years in the making) gone in an instant.

This isn’t new. We’ve seen it before with Facebook’s algorithm shifts, Instagram’s pay-to-play model, and the declining organic reach across social platforms. The reality is simple: you don’t own your audience on social media—you rent it.

Social platforms are landlords. They make the rules, they set the costs, and they can change the terms whenever they please. This is why building owned channels like communities, newsletters, and podcasts is no longer optional, it’s essential.

The Role of Communities in Building Brand Loyalty

In 2025, fostering meaningful connections with your customers is more critical than ever. When social platforms and algorithms shift, your ability to engage directly with your audience ensures your brand remains resilient. Building and nurturing communities allows you to engage customers beyond transactions, creating a sense of belonging and trust.

Here’s why communities are vital in today’s landscape:

  1. Authentic Connections
    Communities provide a space for genuine, two-way interaction, fostering deeper emotional bonds between your brand and its customers.

  2. Advocacy and Referrals
    Engaged community members often become brand advocates, spreading the word through word of mouth referrals (the "Dark social" effect: private, untraceable human-to-human communication that is driving a shocking 95% of your web traffic).

  3. Customer Insights
    A active community of your target audience is an invaluable source of real-time feedback on your audience’s needs, challenges, and preferences.

  4. Resilience to External Forces
    Platforms may change or disappear, but a strong community offers stability. It's a space you control, one where your audience knows where to find you.

Marketing Leadership Toolbox 🧰

How to Build Communities That Last

To create thriving communities, start with these key strategies:

  1. Define Your Purpose
    Be clear about your community’s mission. Is it to share knowledge, solve industry challenges, or foster connections? A well-defined purpose attracts the right people.

  2. Use the Right Platforms
    Whether it’s Slack, Discord, LinkedIn Groups, or your own platform, choose the tools that align with your audience’s preferences.

  3. Empower Peer-to-Peer Engagement
    Facilitate member interactions and let them shape the dialogue. This creates an organic and dynamic environment.

  4. Provide Exclusive Value
    Keep your community engaged by offering perks that feel truly special. This could include exclusive industry insights, premium content, or early access to new products. Founder-led marketing can be particularly impactful, showcasing authenticity and leadership, but don't hesitate to tap into other internal or external domain experts to deliver added value.

  5. Celebrate Your Members
    Highlight their contributions, achievements, and successes to foster loyalty and a positive feedback loop.

Here are a few tools that can help you get started:

Examples of Community Success

Some brands have mastered the art of community building:

  • HubSpot: Their "Inbound" community connects marketers, creating a shared learning environment that fosters brand affinity.

  • Salesforce Trailblazers: A space for users to collaborate and share solutions, reinforcing Salesforce's commitment to customer success.

  • Peloton: A fitness community that strengthens emotional connections through shared goals and encouragement.

  • Gong: The "Celebrate" community engages B2B sales professionals, fostering collaboration and resource-sharing.

Stop Renting. Start Owning. 🔒

Social media platforms are valuable tools to find and engage your audience, but they are not the foundation of a resilient marketing strategy. A community, like a newsletter, is your owned asset. It’s a space where you set the rules, build trust, and ensure your brand thrives no matter what changes come.

Because when the platforms you rely on today disappear tomorrow, will your audience still know where to find you?

Now is the time to invest in what you own. Build your community. Start your newsletter. Create your foundation. Your future self (and your audience) will thank you. 🙌

Career Up 🚀

New year, new career? Here's a start:

Fractional CMO - Silver Mirror Facial Bar (Remote) $5k - $13k / month + Bonuses https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104667043-partial-cmo-for-multi-state-spa-partial-chief-marketing-officer

VP, Growth Marketing - EcoVadis $220k - $240k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/103457568-vp-growth-marketing

VP, Marketing - TopView Group $250k - $300k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/83086685-vp-marketing

VP, Brand Marketing - Synchrony $150k - $250k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104748162-vp-brand-marketing

VP, Product Marketing - EcoVadis $220k - $240k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/103457487-vp-product-marketing

Director of Product Marketing.- Zappi $170k - $180k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104495299-director-of-product-marketing

Product Marketing Director - Seraphic Security (Remote) https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104282944-product-marketing-director

Associate Brand Manager, Digital & Social-First Marketing - Unilever $84.40k - $126.60k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104495297-associate-brand-manager-digital-social-first-marketing-knorr

Associate Manager, Paid Marketing - DoorDash $105,400—$155,000 https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104183232-associate-manager-paid-marketing-consumer

Head of Digital Marketing - Frank & Eileen $140k - $160) https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/98872506-head-of-digital-marketing

Digital Marketing Specialist - Poetic (Remote) https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/59012958-digital-marketing-specialist

Digital Marketing & Advertising Manager - Sony Pictures Entertainment $81.95k - $106.54k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104747882-digital-marketing-advertising-manager

Marketing Communications Specialist - Dagen $110k - $120k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104866207-marketing-communications-specialist

Lifecycle Marketing Manager - Trade Coffee $90k - $130k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/96118722-lifecycle-marketing-manager 

Senior Marketing Manager - Moxies $100k - $120k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104865605-senior-marketing-manager

Content & Social Media Lead - OWM (Remote) $90k - $110k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/72432528-content-social-media-lead

Content Marketer - Plain $120k - $150k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104865606-content-marketer

Brand Manager, Cointreau Rémy - Cointreau $125k - $140k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104866172-brand-manager-cointreau

Marketing Manager - Nulixir Inc. $70k - $110k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/66215279-marketing-manager

Senior Events Experience Manager - Vimeo $110,700 - $169,500 https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104337124-senior-events-experience-manager

Senior Marketing & Events Manager - PayNearMe (Remote) $125k - $140k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/100018656-senior-marketing-events-manager-remote

Sr Events Marketing Manager - Later $125k - $135k https://jobs.marketinghq.io/jobs/104866173-sr-events-marketing-manager

Find MANY more marketing career opportunities, across all functions and seniority levels, on our Job Board MarketingHQ

Until Next Time

Make 2025 the year you turn your career dreams into reality!

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- The MHQ Team

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