Fans vs. Communities
In business, fandom goes beyond community.
Because fans don't just support, they promote––unapologetically.
This is a different level of connection that few brands have achieved.
It’s a combination of compelling content, earned attention, and a unique experience that you can’t get anywhere else.
And it’s one of the most special things you can create.
Broken down simply:
Community = Time + Energy (Friction)
Fandom = Voluntary + Organic (No friction to the end-user)
As companies, we need to create fans, not communities, by building fandom into our current processes.
How?
Through the experiences that we’re already offering:
Fulfilling our product promise – the thing just works the way it’s supposed to.
Customer Success – taking care of our people.
Land and expand – creating internal fans outside of our champions.
Random surprise and delight stuff.
All the juice is in creating fans that promote us––voluntarily and organically.
And this requires far less time and energy from both parties.
If you’re interested in the expanded version of this post, you can check out my LinkedIn article from today. It’s a 1-minute read instead of the usual 30 seconds ;)