Written by: Mackenzie Christian
In the vast world of music, it feels good to be connected. Fans have so many unique ways of connecting not only with their favorite artists, but also with each other! Some music fans put in their social media bios all of the dates and number of times that an artist has liked/responded to something they have posted. They might have a profile picture that features them with their fav artist. Fans have also created partnerships with fellow fans they’ve met through their favorite artist and launch joint fan accounts. Fans like, comment, follow, post, and interact with each other constantly to stay in the know about their favorite artists. This incredible connection that is formed around the love of an artist is called fan engagement. 🙌
What is fan engagement?
Fan engagement has two different functions utilized by two different groups: The artist and the fans. For the artist, fan engagement is crucial. They need to engage with their fans in order to gain followers/support and continue to build their brand. Fan engagement for an artist can look like hosting meet-and-greets, responding to dms or social media comments, newsletters, live streams, or intimate fan gatherings. That’s right, Taylor Swift is on to something with her secret session house shows! For the fan, engaging with the artist can be empowering and fun. It can look like commenting on posts, participating in live streams, organizing a fan project or a fan meet up, and just connecting with your fellow fans! It’s an amazing bond when fans come together over an artist. There is a sense of community when fans get to share their experiences and hear from each other that the artist they spend their time thinking about and listening to values each individual fan. 💖
What is a fan project?
A fan project also works both ways for the fan and artist. An artist driven fan project is when the artist organizes something for their fans to get involved in. We see this when artists include fans in their music videos, include fan interviews in their concert DVD, or take time to recognize a group of fans that has done something special for them. Twenty-One Pilots are giving us a perfect example of a unique artist driven fan project. They are running the first ever “never-ending music video” for their song Level of Concern. Every three minutes and 40 seconds the song starts over with new footage of fan submitted videos.
On the fans side, a fan project usually involves a big group of fans coming together to do something to get the artist’s attention and make them feel
loved. That could be working together to get your artist trending on twitter, or a project at a concert. At the Nashville show during Jonas Brothers’ comeback tour, Happiness Begins, the boys had no idea what they were in for. Through With The Band, fans created the “Comeback Project” and held up 16,000 signs while the JoBros sang their song Comeback. These signs read “Thank You For Coming Back To Us!”, and all three of them were crying at the end of the song. Nick even posted about the project on his Instagram thanking the fans! The fans from that show now have a special memory of how they were able to connect with each other to create something beautiful for the Jonas Brothers. It also provided fans with a way to show the Jonas Team that their fans are here to stay. @Haley1033 said it best when commenting on Nick Jonas’ post saying “Being there holding a sign was an experience that I’ll never forget!”
What is a fan meet up?
Traditionally fan meet ups happen prior to an artist’s concert, as a way for fans in the same or close communities to meet, connect with one another, or plan for the next concert they are all going to. Fan meet ups can be so creative and flexible that today you can organize them for any occasion. Fan meet ups can be for new music, album releases, anniversaries, and other major milestones for the artists! Some
of the best fan meet ups can be getting a group of friends together to watch a concert movie and relive those nights! Singing and dancing in your living room with your closest fandom friends can create “Midnight Memories” that you will never forget!🕺 Sometimes fan meet ups are as small as a group of you and your friends having a listening party or as big as promoting it on social media to meet somewhere like a park or open public space to meet hundreds of other fans!
How can I get connected as a fan?
It pays off to follow other fan accounts for updates on what your favorite artists are up to! Be an active follower. Comment on your favorites posts and respond to story polls. That increases your chances of getting a response! Social media is such a strong link between artists and fans! Being active on these social channels also increases your
chances of building a community of other fans to start fan projects with and host fan meet ups! Even virtually, hosting fan meet ups can create lasting relationships between fans, and you never know when it may catch the attention of the artist you love. Try and to get a hashtag trending! This will increase your chance of gaining an artist’s attention, but it also creates a strong sense of unity within the fanbase! When you can, participate in live events! If there is a fan project, make sure that you get your voice heard too! For a major fan project each individual person makes such a huge difference.🤩
How can I get connected as an artist?
As an artist, you MUST be active on social media. Like and respond to comments to engage with your fans. Host live streams and virtual concerts so fans feel connected to you and to each other! Surprise fans during a Zoom call! Go live and host a Q&A! Social media is the biggest way to be connected to your fans! It is the best way to be
relatable and “face-to- face” with your fans without actually doing so. A great tip for getting connected but more importantly, staying connected as an artist is to be approachable! This doesn’t mean let fans into every aspect of your life and always be “on” for fan interactions, but vulnerability and authenticity go a long way with building loyal fans. Let fans see more of your day-to-day life. No matter how mundane it may seem to you, fans love seeing every aspect of your life that you are willing to share! Another tip would be to make your fans part of the process! Whether this means you post a “retweet for A, like for B” style Tweet or creating Instagram story polls for fans to help choose music and other creative things. Fans will remember almost anything special that you do for them. Collect emails to start a mailing list for newsletters so that people are excited and ready when you release something new. Get a Fan Crew - our modern day version of a fan club, started to get your fans invested in you!
Fan engagement is what makes the world of music fandoms so special. It is priceless to form a special bond with the artist you support, and that is our mission. With The Band empowers fans to create stronger relationships with their favorite artists while also creating community among their fandom. 💜
If you want to get more involved in fan communities,
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