Contrary to popular belief, a super-fan is not always a crazed group of followers or a die-hard groupie. All brands have super-fans. They’re a key component in building and sustaining a successful career by enagaging a solid fanbase.
The question then becomes: what classifies as a brand and how do you build one that attracts enough super fans.
The term super-fan refers to an individual who supports a brand and everything that brand produces. Artists depend on super-fans as a bedrock of support. When on tour, a band can trust that their super-fans will show up, buy merch, and be tweeting about the show long after it’s over. When band’s establish a healthy base of super-fans, they are establishing a continuous body of support that can last throughout their careers.
From Starbucks to your local coffee shop that plays nothing but bluegrass, all brands attract super-fans. This comes down to the fact that people are drawn to originality. Every brand needs its own niche to attract a sustaining number of super-fans.
Who will your super-fans be?
Before a company, artist or individual can successfully attract, engage, and retain super-fans they must have a well-established brand. At the end of the day, there are billions of different people in the world with trillions of different interests; this means every brand who successfully markets a clear and individual niche has a high likelihood of attracting super-fans.
Building a brand comes down to three things: intended audience, clarity of product, and quality of service.
Whether you’re trying to market your sound or attract a wider demographic of ticket-buyers, your brand begins with your unique offerings and intended audience. Detecting what sets you apart is the quickest way to identify the basis for your brand.
After establishing a solid brand with individualized characteristics that will attract super-fans, the task becomes maintaining engagement from those fans. This maintained loyalty is often seen when artists create personal relationships with fans and release a steady flow of their branded product (shows, recorded music, etc.).
In addition to establishing these bonds, the branded product must retain its super-fan as the brand grows.
Joining a community with inter-industry connections can make a huge difference too. Today, a lot of artists are finding security in artist networks, like youbloomConnect, which help bands grow their fanbase and develop their brand through artist-partnering and co-marketing tactics. Definitely check out our guide to how youbloomConnect works if you want to learn more about our strategy.
Ultimately, developing a brand comes down to originality. Pursuing what sets you apart and working to maintain relations with super-fans as your brand-base expands will ensure your success in the future marketing of your music.
