Brand therapy with bite.
We’re back on the Hotline: your no-filter brand advice column where nothing’s off-limits and no question is too dumb to ask. You send in the dilemmas that keep you pacing the floor at 2am, we send back answers you can actually use (and maybe a reality check you didn’t see coming).
Buckle up. And remember, you can submit your Qs here.
Q: I’m finding it tough to build real community in 2025—social is saturated, and as a newer brand, getting traction feels way harder than it used to. I don’t just want surface-level engagement. I want to build something authentic—a space people want to be part of, interact with, and advocate for. Something that fuels loyalty, repeat purchases, and gives the brand cult-like energy. Would love your thoughts: How would you approach building that kind of community in today’s landscape? — (Sheena L. Sydney, Wellness)
Dear Sheena,
The first shift is letting go of the idea that community is just engagement at scale. Comments aren’t community. True community is when your people connect with each other without you prompting them.
That means smaller circles, deeper bonds, and spaces where they can meet outside of your content cycle. Think micro-groups with their own in-jokes and rituals. Give them ways to interact peer-to-peer; a group chat, a local meet-up, a challenge they own. Engineer offline touchpoints if you can: pop-ups, workshops, runs, panels. Digital relationships deepen fastest when they’re anchored in something physical.
If you want to make it happen, start with these moves:
- Name the space: Whether it’s a private WhatsApp group, Discord, or Slack, give it a branded identity so people feel part of something with a pulse.
- Identify your spark plugs: Find the customers who light up your comment section, DMs, or events. These are your unofficial “community captains.” Nurture them quietly; gift them, check in, make them feel seen. Belonging breeds advocacy, and when they feel part of the inner circle, they’ll carry the brand torch without you ever asking.
- Build around ritual: A Weekly Q&A, monthly challenges, Friday IG Channel thread. Rituals create habit.
- Design a reason to meet IRL: Quarterly city meet-ups or brand-hosted classes make the online bonds real.
- Reward contribution, not just purchase: Give early access, small gifts, or spotlight features to those who show up for others in the group.
Your role is to create gravity, not to become the sun they orbit. If you can step back and the connections still hold, you’ve built a real community. And in a noisy, saturated landscape, that’s the ultimate win.
Love, P.O
Q: Am I building a brand… or just feeding the content machine? — (Maria P., Auckland — Accessory brand)
Dear Maria,
The easiest trap to fall into right now is thinking your brand is the content you make. The algorithm rewards speed, volume, and recency, so you play the game — post, post, post — until you realise all you’ve built is an unpaid media channel for your own products. If the only way people experience your brand is via the weekly reel, you’re building a schedule, not a legacy.
A brand is what people think, feel, and say about you when you’re not publishing. It’s the story they tell their friends, the association they make when they see your colours, the role you play in their world. Content should amplify that, not be the sole expression of it.
The litmus test: if Instagram went down tomorrow, would your brand still exist in the minds of your audience? Would they seek you out, talk about you, remember you? If the answer’s “not really,” it’s time to shift energy from filling the feed to deepening the brand world people are being invited into. Content is a delivery system, not the destination.
Love, P.O
Q: Can you manufacture hype or does it just “happen”? — (Eli R., Brooklyn, USA — Agency)
Dear Eli,
Hype feels like lightning in a bottle, but most of the time, it’s more like a well-timed storm. The best brands make it look organic while pulling every string behind the scenes: drip-feeding information, creating deliberate scarcity, timing announcements to ride cultural moments.
You can manufacture it, but not by starting with “We need hype.” Start with tension. Start with something worth waiting for, something people will talk about in the gap between hearing about it and getting it. Then build the choreography: teaser > reveal > access. Keep the circle tight at first, give early insiders a reason to talk, and make every beat feel like they’ve stumbled onto something special.
The golden rule? If the orchestration is obvious, the spell breaks. The best hype feels inevitable in hindsight, like everyone just happened to be looking your way at the exact right moment.
Not by chance, but through design.
Love, P.O
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