Lavishing them with freebies? Flying them all over the country? Throwing monthly parties for them?
Maybe for a while. But not only is that not sustainable, it’s not good business, either. So here are some simple ways to engage with your fans and make them feel like the rockstars that they are:
1) Listen. Wait, don’t JUST listen. First of all, let you’re fans KNOW that you’re listening. There’s a big difference between listening in the shadows like some CIA operative and sitting down at the table, looking people in the eye and actively listening.
2) Empower with responsibility. No, you don’t have to let them run your website or sit in board meetings if you don’t feel comfortable with that. But take notice of how your fans are probably already self-organizing around their sub-passions and put some corporate oomphf behind those efforts. Help them create committees and ask them to set goals. And all on a volunteer basis. Passionate hand-raisers don’t necessarily want stuff. And besides, elevating them in stature in the community makes people feel like - what? - rockstars.
3) Don’t just give SWAG away. Let people earn it. And let them assign their own value to it so they can decide how and why they should give it to others. Again, this is the empowerment thing at work. And then it becomes more than a t-shirt. It becomes a badge of honor.
Are the above three things simple? In theory, yes. But they take both time and you giving away a sliver of control. The good news is, they’re doable. And cost effective. Because once your advocates run with the ball, they’ll go a lot further than you ever could have imagined.