The online community is growing and it is estimated that the global internet using population will more than double in the next few years as underdeveloped nations connect more people via wired and wireless internet. Not focusing on the online community is a mistake millions of companies around the world had made for a few years into the new millennium. Today, almost every company knows the impact an online community can have. It is not surprising that even the world leaders take their online presence seriously and try to galvanize opinions of the online community.

As a company, you should use your online community to help you grow your brand. Here are just three ways they can do so.

• Your online community can make your company trend. Whether it is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest, the online community is famous and infamous for making brands out of companies and celebrities out of unknown people, almost overnight. You can keep advertising online for a year, you may be working on search engine optimization for longer and you may have always held events in a traditional way. All of that and the resulting impact can be dwarfed by a few hours of trending on social media or if you have a viral post on social networks. You may even have a marketing video go viral on YouTube and other platforms. Once you, your company name, product or service starts trending, you need to capitalize on it.

• Your online community will facilitate growth beyond geographical limitations. All small to medium enterprises are stunted to their immediate cities and perhaps the state they are based in. Very few manage to break out to a nationwide presence. Not many companies dream of an international presence. The online community has no boundaries. A retail store in some town will only sell to locals, passersby and at the most to tourists. An online retail store in any town can sell to customers based anywhere in the country and even beyond if the shipping infrastructure or logistics is in place.

• Online community can get you significant press coverage. If you trend for a few hours, if your posts go viral, if you start expanding your online presence and if people keep talking about your company, then the media will take note. There are industry specific websites, product and service specific departments of major media and news organizations, there are influential people who write about the niche you cater to and there are experts who will comment on your development. All of it, the entire press coverage will come at no cost to you.

DO YOU AGREE? Can your online community help you grow your brand?