All the marketing professionals are busy trying to increase the reach and awareness of their brand through social channels, posting new content often daily or at least multiple posts a week. But as social channels are full of high-quality content and often prioritizing the content from our friends, improving the organic reach is getting challenging for brands. Advertising is an obvious solution to the problem, but can be expensive in the long run. Could you build an engaged community and use your audience as brand ambassadors, tapping into their networks?

The forward-thinking brands build communities to strenghten their online and offline awareness, and here are two brilliant examples:

1. UEFA #WePlayStrong

Themed Together #WePlayStrong, The European Football Association UEFA launched a comprehensive initiative aimed at inspiring girls between the ages of 13 and 17 to engage in Europe's most popular sport. The purpose of the site was to show that football is a pretty cool sport for girls, too.

The site encouraged football teams to create „Sticker Snaps“ and share on social with the #WePlayStrong hashtag. A selection of the best images and videos from Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) are included in the Your Story section of the site: impressive videos of girls kickin' it, selfies of proud girls on the field, and testimonials by famous female footballers and musicians supporting the campaign. What's obvious, these girls don't just enjoy playing football, they also love contributing to the community.

What's special about this campaign: The campaign is a truly international initiative, giving testament to EU sports commissary Tibor Navracsics's conviction: "Football is so much more than just a game. It builds community and connects people across nations, religions and gender barriers." 

Read next: 7 great examples of a user-generated content campaign

2. Malteser #werkanndersoll

Malteser Hilfsdienst is one of the biggest charities in Germany, providing social services as well as medical aid and education across the country. Their logo, a red crest with a white Maltese cross, is well known to many and a reminder of the organisation's affiliations with the Catholic church. What is less known, however, is that volunteers provide many of the services.

Active volunteers are using the hashtag #werkanndersoll on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to share their activities, from organizing blood donation drives to teaching first-aid classes. The campaign theme #werkanndersoll means 'those who are able should participate', a reference to the moral obligation to use one's power for the good of the community. Activities posted on social media are collated and displayed on the social media wall. 

The purpose of the campaign is to build visibility and reach for the organisation's services and to help recruit new volunteers. It also strengthens the community spirit of the volunteers working in different locations across the region.

What's special about this campaign: Volunteering is built on committed, active individuals who are willing and able to pass on the community spirit and inspire others to become engaged, as well.

Read next: 3 examples of how nonprofits use social media for fundraising.