Connecting with the people who adore you.
There are people out there who love your stuff. Did you know that?
It’s probably true if you’re a start-up and almost certainly true if you’re a large company.
Some are so enamored of your stuff they make videos about it and put them online, like the guy who created a video of Star Wars ships hovering over San Francisco. It’s stunning and well worth a few minutes of your time to see what a true fan can do.
Crazy, right? His name is Michael Horn. He made it on his own time–presumably spending hours in the process–because he loves Star Wars.
His video caught the eye of Lucasfilm and they recognized him with a short interview on the official Star Wars blog. Nice move. Recognition is a cool thing, especially from a company who’s product you love. Fun for Michael, fun for all of the other fans, and it generated a good amount of buzz. Everybody wins. (Google it)
I’ve talked to several companies that know they have fans like Michael Horn but aren’t doing anything about it. Nothing. Not even an email to say, “thank you for your enthusiasm, we really appreciate it!”.
When I ask why, the answer is always the same: “we’re too busy doing more important things”.
Really? They’re too busy to introduce themselves to people who are spending their own time (and sometimes money) to promote the company’s product to the entire world and encourage them to do more?
Dummies.
Other businesses spend big money trying to generate that kind of word-of-mouth enthusiasm and the companies I talked to are getting it for free.
You have a Star Wars guy (or gal). They’re out there somewhere and they want to tell the world about you and your product.
Looking for them is relatively easy. Set up searches for your product with Google Blog Search, twitter search, Technorati, and whatever other tools you like.
Once you find them, make contact. Maybe just to say thanks. Maybe something more. I don’t know what exactly, but I’ll bet you do.
There are people out there who love your stuff. Are you helping them them spread your story?
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Have an example of fans spreading the love? Share it in the comments.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I hear you loud and clear on the point that you’re making! You’re right…I think it’s often overlooked and underestimated. Take new bloggers for example. They’re so worried about stats (generating new traffic and attracting more comments) that they fail to focus and bring their attention to the existing members of the community. People who are already there, reading and evangelizing their stuff. People should focus on their existing audience, their existing fan-base because they have the potential of bringing you and giving you back so much more!
Thanks for the comment, Ricardo. I like your blog. Lots of good stuff on there, especially “Solve. Don’t Sell! Be Personable. And Respect Others.”
Link: http://snipurl.com/4dh7c