#RockstarChat Recap: Should Brands Connect With Their Fans and How Can They?

This afternoon we had the first #RockstarChat, and it was such a smart conversation!  The topic was Should brands connect with their fans?

Everyone was in agreement that brands should be connecting with their fans, but what happens if a brand can’t connect with all of their fans?

@mackcollier Yes, identify your most passionate fans (and critics, too), perhaps bucketing them into lists.#rockstarchat

— Bob Cargill (@cargillcreative) March 6, 2013

I love Bob’s thinking here, by taking all your fans and breaking them down into lists or buckets, it becomes a more manageable process.  But that raises another question: How do you decide how to create the lists/buckets and which fans go where?

@mackcollier Passion takes on diff forms. ID which are VIP to bus. goals and focus energy there. i.e, Curation, vs creation #rockstarchat

— Kristy Bolsinger (@kristy) March 6, 2013

Now we’re getting somewhere!  A big reason why many brands don’t connect with their fans is that they don’t really have a process in place for doing so.  There’s no roadmap.  But first, Bob says you should create sublists or buckets of fans to make the connection process more manageable.  Then Kristy builds on that, saying that the criteria for connecting with your fans should tie back to your business goals!  For example, if you want to raise awareness of a new product, or boost trial signups, factor those goals into your connection efforts with your fans.  Let that be a sort of qualifier to decide which fans you connect with.

But then again, let’s remember that our fans are passionate people that love our brand, so maybe we don’t even have to look for them?

@mackcollier Are not the most passionate fans they ones who reach out to a brand? They usually initiate contact? #rockstarchat

— Jennifer Kent (@OkanaganJen) March 6, 2013

I love Jennifer’s point here, often our fans will reach out to us!  Look for handraisers, these are often fans that want to help you and connect with you, which is why they are initiating contact.

And as Kelly reminds us, it always pays to be listening:

@mackcollier They’re knocking at your door every day – you just need to be actively listening! Listen, connect, empower. #rockstarchat

— Kelly Hungerford (@KDHungerford) March 6, 2013

So those are a few key takeaways I saw from today’s #RockstarChat.  If you joined, what were your favorite points that I missed?  And BTW, here’s a preview of next week’s #RockstarChat topic:

@mackcollier Of course you also find potential fans in those places — may currently be critics #rockstarchat

— Janice Person (@JPlovesCOTTON) March 6, 2013

Next Weds at 1pm Central we’ll be chatting about how to deal with dissatisfied or even angry customers and convert them into fans! Hope to see you then!