David Meerman Scott's Fanocracy teaches you how to get fans too
TED Talks guru and blogger Seth Godin's high school teacher was off the mark with her comment in his yearbook.
“You are the bane of my existence and it’s likely you’ll never amount to anything.”
Because marketing expert Seth has customers who are fans. Millions and millions of them.
More than 10 million have viewed his 3 TED Talks and there are millions more happy customers who buy his books (Linchpin, Purple Cow, This is Marketing), read his quirky daily blog and listen to his podcast.
Thousands are expected to sell-out his Seth Godin LIVE "See Things Differently" tour down under this year.
Seth sits atop a "fanocracy" - a term coined by one of Seth's favourite authors David Meerman Scott, who'll explained the term in our recent interview.
Well-known as the bestseller author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, Meerman Scott told us how gaining fans, not just customers, is possible for any business or entrepreneur.
In Meerman Scott's book Fanocracy co-written with his neuroscientist and medical student daughter Reiko Scott, he explains it's more than a healthy number of customers in your CRM database.
It's customer loyalty on speed.
It's die-hard fandom, and it doesn't just have to be enjoyed by just The Grateful Dead, Coachella, Nike Air Jordans and Start with Why's Simon Sinek.
Meerman Scott says a fanocracy can be built by every business or entrepreneur.
There are 3 basics to building a strong fan base:
- Know your audience;
- Give your communities the correct resources and space;
- Always treat your customers as humans.
So what specific customer relations magic tricks does Seth Godin perform on his customers to turn them into fans?
- He stands out. Seth's blog is remarkable. People remark upon it because it's odd. And share it. Not all will like it. But those who love it grow his fan base. Seth Godin said in his interview with The Growth Faculty that in every [Google Ads] auction that is taking place, Google keeps 95% of the money. "You do the work, take the risk, yet Google makes the bulk of the money. You need to do something unique and different, so people search for you by name."
- He tells the truth. Like Brené Brown, Seth talks about frustration, fear, anxiety, failure, disappointment. He understands the customer experience. He knows his audience.
- He gives a gift without any expectation of something in return. His popular daily blog is free, his advice is valuable. It's customer service at its best.
- He is passionate about his work, and he encourages others to find their passion. Passion is key to fandom. We like to be part of something that has energy.
Another aspect of building a fan base is "letting go of your creations."
"Once you put your art, product, or service out into the world, it's not fully yours," writes Reiko Scott in Fanocracy.
Seth Godin understands this more than most. He strongly urges others to create their own works. He is a cheerleader of other people's creativity.
"I don’t want you to connect with me online. I want you to connect with other people online, to make a ruckus, to raise the bar, to join a community, found a community and lead a community! You don’t need me, pick yourself." Seth Godin, interviewed by The Writer Files.
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