A devoted fanbase is the life force behind every celebrity and brand’s success, and their engagement through social media are instrumental in growing your brand and social presence.
As social media is the most effective and popular means for fans to connect with their favorite celebrities and brands, it is important to connect with fans on a personal level and appear approachable and relatable, demonstrating that you appreciate them as much as they appreciate you. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of our top five ways to build and maintain a strong relationship with your fanbase.
Personal Interactions
A fan favorite, social media interactions are the most direct contact you can have with your fan base apart from talking face-to-face. If you want to get to know them or vice versa, try hosting a Twitter Q & A with a personalized hashtag, doing a five-minute follow spree, reposting and replying to comments or asking open-ended questions on your Instagram story or Twitter. It’s a satisfying experience for the fans to see that they’ve gotten your follow or response and to know that their post was bold enough to catch your eye.
Personal interactions are a direct acknowledgement of your fans. Over the past eight years, Australian pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer have continuously responded to fans’ tweets and had follow sprees, leading to their current legion of 12.6 million followers.
Giveaways & Challenges
Holding giveaways is one way to give back and express your appreciation for fans’ continuous support. Some of the common giveaways include branded merchandise (t-shirts, hoodies, backpacks, etc.), concert or meet & greet tickets and signed albums. The most popular social media giveaway method is to post an eye-catching image of the prize and caption the photo asking followers to tag three friends and like the picture for their chance to win.
Challenges are fun outlets for you to see who your fans are and for fans to express their creativity and interact with one another. Whether you ask your followers to make a TikTok with your new single or make a meme centered around your latest project, the fans will not fail to tag you, use your hashtag and repost one another. You’ll strengthen their sense of belonging within the fandom, especially when you join in on the challenge and repost their entries, further promoting your brand.
Use a Personal Tone of Voice
Whether you personally manage your account or not, it is important that your messages come across as natural and welcoming, letting your personality shine. Making sure you don’t sound like a bot, using internet slang or memes and writing with your own voice are some ways you can show your fans that there’s a real person behind the screen. When you use your own tone of voice, fans can get a true sense of who their idol really is.
For brands, doing this can not only gain you followers, but also create a fun brand image that resonates with your target market. You might think of Chrissy Teigen’s witty sense of humor or Wendy’s casual, hilarious and on-trend twitter accounts, both of which have loyal followers who understand them deeply.
Use Livestreaming
Unedited and unscripted, livestreams are real-time connections to your fans. Often, livestreams are fan-led, where the conversation is guided by fan comments and questions—it’s the perfect place for personal interactions. Similar to video content, during a livestream, viewers get to see who you are outside of a big production setting without a script or fancy edits—you can truly be yourself.
A medley of the aforementioned techniques, livestreams are another platform to hold giveaways and offer more behind-the-scenes content. Whether you’re on a quick five-minute break from recording your next album or waiting backstage before a talk show, you can always log on to say a quick hello to the fans. In today’s day and age, fans love getting to know their idols as personally as possible, and even a brief livestream to answer some question goes a long way in showing your appreciation for those who’ve gotten you to where you are today.
Post Videos
The ultimate way to give fans an intimate glimpse of your life is to share different types of vlogs or behind-the-scenes content. Seeing what goes on before a concert or behind the scenes of the latest film you’re working on lets the fans see your hardworking and playful sides and who you are out of the limelight. It’s a gesture that adds another dimension to your image, showing that you want them to know you and feel involved in your life.
Some types of videos you might post may include bus tours, A-Day-in-the-Life vlogs, how you train or prepare for a role, viral internet challenges or collaborations with other well-known personalities. If you prefer shorter clips, Instagram and Snapchat stories allow you to make quick video posts to your followers.