At the beginning of this year, CEOs for both Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group sent internal memos to their staff that touched on their focus for the year. One major point-of-focus was to develop and utilize their artists’ “superfans.”
What are superfans, you may ask? Superfans are the fans who attend your shows, listen to all of your releases, buy your merchandise, and can’t wait for more. They are also the fans who would love to connect with you directly or learn more about who you are as an artist. Perfect examples of superfans include the BTS Army and Swifties.
This all may seem a little overwhelming because there are so many tools available to artists that allow them to connect directly with their fans. For example, Discord is a popular platform that many record labels use for their artists, in addition to it being adopted by other brands and publications, such as Consequence. Below breaks down how to set up a server and start connecting with your fans. Another option is the platform called Community. This platform is robust in what it offers; however, there is a monthly/annual cost to using it. The differences between the two are Discord is a general app-based chat, which is free of charge, whereas Community is a lot more complex. For example, Community allows you to segment your fans based on interests, birthdays, etc. and allows you to send video messages and further group the types of responses you receive. This is great if you want to target certain groups of fans based on current events (ex. “Anyone see the Grammys last week?”) or geographic location (to promote upcoming shows, secret appearances, etc.). Through this segmentation, you can truly connect individually with each fan. The only caveat is the more granular you get, the more time consuming it will become.
Discord
The first step is singing up for Discord. The next step is setting up a server, which is a little complicated for a beginner. However, don’t fret, I have used the platform Fiverr to employ a professional to set up a server and connect the artist’s X feed. The cost for this was minimal (approx. $40) and incredibly easy. Finally, once the server is set up, it’s time to start promoting. You can share your new Discord server link via email newsletters, social media, etc.
Social Media
The more common type of direct-to-fan engagement is social media platforms. This involves responding to fan comments and being active with your fans once you post a piece of content. I won’t dive too deep with recommendations because this is a very commercialized topic, but I will say that this is probably the easiest and cheapest way to start building deep connections with your fans.
Meet-and-Greets / In-Person Connections
M&Gs and in-person connections are a great way to connect directly with your biggest fans. Starting out, this may be as simple as hanging at your merch table before and after a performance or walking through the crowd at one of your shows to connect with and thank any fans who are wearing your merch. Once your career builds, a more formal M&G experience can be set up, which could also provide an additional source of revenue. Setting up record store appearances, which could be offered to all fans or only those fans who purchase your record/vinyl, or ticket packages in which the fans have the opportunity to meet you before/after the show are a few other options. One incredibly creative M&G experience I have seen in the past is “Tea with Bea,” which was hosted by Bea Miller who opened up for the DNCE. She had a handful of fans meet her backstage, she set up a private space using black pipe-and-drape (think black fabric curtains), and sat down with fans to drink tea and chat. I am sure this was an extremely memorable experience for those fans, who posted about it and told all their friends about it following the show.
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