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Here is Why Brands Should Look for Passionate Fans to Enhance their Reputations

Today’s adverting industry operates with traditional influencer marketing which borrows strongly from transactional partnerships particularly between influencers and brands. The problem with this approach is that it doesn’t allow brands to explore their organic fan base which happens to be one of the significant sources of brand advocacy. Ordinarily, fans are the top influencers and tapping into their power can be the best marketing tactic.

When looking for fans to boost a brand’s reputation, it is important to get a person who is authentic and passionate with the brand. A real brand advocate can spread an infectious excitement all over. For instance, last year, Carter Wilkerson, a huge Wendy’s fan tweeted that he was at Wendy’s and asked about the number of re-tweets he needed to win a free year of chicken nuggets. Carter wasn’t an influencer but was only a fan of Wendy’s. After the success of the tweet, brands and influencers took notice and began supporting his request. That is how #NuggsForCarter was born.

Therefore, every brand can utilize all opportunities at finding their Carter Wilkerson. The current social listening tools focus on much more than hashtags and mentions thus enabling companies to pick point their brand advocates. The brands that come on top are those that identify creative ways of reacting and leveraging that dialogue in real-time.

However, it is not advisable to wait until someone tweets something about a brand. It is necessary to remain proactive especially when engaging with fans. For instance, when it was discovered that Joe Zee was a huge fan of Pizza hut, he received an Oscar’s pizza party. Brands remain proactive by always searching for fans, approaching them and listening to them.

Additionally, it is powerful to include the passionate fans in certain marketing stunts. Creating connections with fans shouldn’t be a one-time thing but rather a continuous process. In the current advertising world, brands can exploit all kinds of tactics including brand partnerships as well as marketing events. Thus, the best way of creating long-lasting relationships with fans with is through dialogue and demonstration of care for their needs and desires. Brands should never ignore the input of their consumers because it is highly valuable.

Unfortunately, brands and marketers have been locked up in an influence marketing that disregards the power of offline human connection. Brands can create impact dialogue by turning away from celebrities and embracing real-life fans. Fan-generated content elicits genuine enthusiasm from the consumers. Creating a stable fan base is one of the most exciting elements of building a brand.