Archive of tag "fan community"

Geno Church on how to create a fan community -- a live Word of Mouth Supergenius preview

June 16, 2010

As we gear up for Word of Mouth Supergenius: The “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference on July 20th in New York, our fantastic presenters are sharing some word of mouth tips as previews for the day’s 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant author sessions.

Our lineup of speakers includes Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer at Brains on Fire, Geno Church. Geno will be talking about how they helped Fiskars create their amazing fan community.

Check out Geno’s live Supergenius preview (and check out our YouTube channel to see all of our interviews):

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3-Minute WOM Lesson: How LEGO connects and supports their growing network of fans -- live from Word of Mouth Supergenius

June 1, 2010

[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

As a preview for Word of Mouth Supergenius on July 20 in New York, we’re taking a look back at some of the amazing presentations from our last “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” conference in Chicago.

Here, Jake McKee of Ant’s Eye View shares how LEGO found and supported their biggest fans. His big ideas:

1> Look beyond your target customers
2> Support existing fans
3> Find what works and replicate
4> See Jake’s live presentation

1> Look beyond your target customers

Your target market isn’t always your biggest group of talkers. For years, LEGO was focused on kids -– that is, until they realized adults had created their own community of enthusiasts. When LEGO started connecting these talkers, not only did they increase their word of mouth, they immediately helped their bottom line. Whereas kids were spending $20 a year on LEGOs, these adults were spending around $1,000.

2> Support existing fans

Without LEGO’s knowledge, adult fans had already created an online LEGO community and marketplace. LEGO approached this group by offering support and resources in the form of an ambassador program. By offering to support what these fans were already doing so well — instead of demanding ownership and control — LEGO was welcomed into the community.

3> Find what works and replicate

The enthusiasm of the adult fans helped teach LEGO how to gain more participation from their other fans -– including kids. Jake says that when you find something that works with one fan group, try applying it to other groups of talkers. Because the fundamentals of great communities are the same, strategies behind one fan community can often generate similar success for another community.

4> See Jake’s live presentation from Word of Mouth Supergenius

Check out Jake’s presentation from Word of Mouth Supergenius — and join us live in New York on July 20 to see a bunch of amazing marketers share case studies like this:

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3-Minute WOM Lesson: Lessons from the amazing Fiskars fan community -- live from Word of Mouth Supergenius

April 20, 2010

[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

As a preview for Word of Mouth Supergenius on July 20 in New York, we’re taking a look back at some of the amazing presentations from our last “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” conference in Chicago.

Here, Spike Jones shows us how Brains on Fire created the amazing Fiskars fan community — a community that increased sales 300%, significantly reduced advertising expenses, and generates 13 new product ideas a month — all for a 360-year-old brand. His big ideas:

1> Involve fans from the beginning
2> Don’t make it about scissors
3> Fight an injustice
4> See Spike’s live presentation from Word of Mouth Supergenius

1> Involve fans from the beginning

Often, your fans have better ideas than you do. Before launching anything, Spike and the crew at Brains on Fire went around the country to small crafting stores and met their most devoted customers, seeking their input on what they needed in a community. By involving fans in the earliest stages, they built buy-in and sparked excitement around the Fiskars project long before the community was established.

2> Don’t make it about scissors

Most customers aren’t interested in talking about your products. Instead, give them a place to talk about their passions related to your products. The conversations within the Fiskateers fan community is so strong because they’re not about scissors, they’re about what you do with scissors.

3> Fight an injustice

Great communities stand for something. More than just to discuss crafting, the Fiskateers’ purpose is to create a fun, friendly environment where everyone is welcome (and they kick out those who break that pledge). It’s a rare feeling in the surprisingly mean-spirited online crafting world.

4> See Spike’s live presentation

Check out Spike’s presentation from Word of Mouth Supergenius — and join us live in New York on July 20 to see a bunch of amazing marketers share case studies like this:

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3-Minute WOM Lesson: 3 simple elements of a great talker program

April 6, 2010

[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

A formal talker program — a community, a fan club, an ambassador program, etc. — can help you stay connected to your biggest fans. Yours doesn’t have to be complicated, you’ll just need a few basic elements to get started:

1> A way to sign up
2> Benefits for participation
3> A newsletter

1> A way to sign up

You can’t have a talker program without a way for your fans to sign up. Online, simple subscriber forms on your homepage, your check-out pages, and your sidebars make it easy to get fans registered. Offline, let them sign up on receipts, sign-up sheets, comment cards, invoices, or through simple drop-boxes for their business cards.

2> Benefits for participation

Formal talker programs earn members by offering them something they can’t get anywhere else. Talkers love stuff like insider news, behind-the-scenes content, updates from the CEO, and invitations to private events. Hint: Nobody is signing up for your community to get more ads (they already get plenty of those).

3> A newsletter

A newsletter allows you to stay in touch with all of your community members. It helps keep the talker program top-of-mind for your members and makes it easy for you to share updates or timely information. If you send yours once a week, in a year you’ll have sent more than 50 personalized, anticipated messages to your biggest fans.

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