Why fan interaction is so important for your online strategy

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The relationship between an artist and their fans is one that has adapted gradually over the years. In the past, the separation between the two was much greater, and fans were rarely able to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, let alone hold a conversation with them. Back then, before the social media age, artists’ only interaction with their fans usually came in the form of fan letters. This meant that there was always a barrier between fans and artists, and fans were never able to feel close to their favourite stars. While this wasn’t an issue at the time, in the current climate things are very different. Now, with social media offering so many opportunities for interaction between artists and their fans, we’ve taken a look at exactly why you should be utilizing the opportunity as part of your online strategy.

Although there are many other vital aspects involved in perfecting your online strategy, your communication with your fans is one of the most important. The way that you respond to and reward your most loyal fans plays a great role in shaping your reputation among your audience. Interaction is absolutely key in encouraging positive public opinion around your brand, and plays a huge role in allowing people to form a judgement of your character.

Various options for interaction

When interacting with your fans, you don’t always need to send across a long written reply. Often, a simple ‘like’ on a Facebook or Instagram comment or a Tweet can be highly meaningful to an individual. Simply ‘liking’ a comment reinforces the message that you care about your fans and what they have to say, and that you are regularly reading fan posts. Responding does not always need to be time-consuming, and a ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ can take only a few seconds, but will provide endless positive results. As soon as fans realise that certain comments are being ‘liked’, they will feel much more inclined to post a comment themselves. When fans understand that you do pay attention to their messages, they will reach out more frequently in the hope of making contact with you.

Keeping your audience interested

By interacting with your fans, you ensure to keep them interested in your content. Using your social media simply for posting promotional content and not responding can appear rather robotic. If fans continue to reach out to you and you don’t respond to anyone at all, they will soon start to lose interest and your engagement rate will suffer as a result. Through responding to fans you encourage them to keep engaging with your content in the future, and keep them interested in your posts as a whole. While you are in the process of growing your fan base, this is particularly important. Responding to fans is a great motivator for new fans to support your career and invest in your persona.

Building a solid connection

Every time you respond to a fan, you build a meaningful relationship with that individual, allowing them to feel more connected with you and your career. A single response can turn a one-sided relationship into a solid, meaningful connection. The more people feel connected to you, the more your engagement will grow as a result. Ultimately, a fan who likes your music will only provide a certain level of engagement, but a fan who likes your music and thinks you’re a great individual is certain to engage much more frequently. People talk, and giving one fan a positive experience can lead to that experience being shared around the world. This positive word-of-mouth advertising will authentically benefit your brand in the best way possible, building your reputation and spreading the word about your music.

The human appeal

Responding also gives you a much more human appeal as an artist. Social promotion can often feel inhuman, and can make your content appear robotic. Taking time to break down the boundary between you and your following can give you a more human appeal as an artist. Appeal to people on a human level, be honest and genuine. Being true to yourself while promoting your content is the perfect balance, and will allow your fans to feel close to you while aiding in your promotion. Nobody wants their social timeline to be filled with promotional content 24/7, so don’t fall into the trap of focussing on promoting all the time. Take a break from promoting, and build a meaningful relationship with your following, you will feel the benefits in the long run.

Giving back to your audience

Ultimately, the best marketing campaigns involve giving back to participants. This is the simple reason why competitions on social media always provoke so much organic engagement than regular promotional posts. In the same way, a response to a fan is also giving something back. Due to this, when you respond you give your other fans more reason to reach out and interact with you. More fans reaching out means more engagement, more conversation, more reach. Offering something in return is the single most effective way to encourage engagement from your fans, and responding to messages is a great way to do this.

Regularly interacting with your fans is something that can only have a positive impact on your career as a whole. The more people you make a meaningful connection with, the further your message will spread around the world. Your engagement with your fans is something that will provoke even more engagement from them in return. Overall, an artist who regularly takes the time to respond to fans will experience increased engagement as a result. With social media making fan interaction so easy, it is simpler than ever to build a meaningful relationship with your following, improving your online strategy as a whole.