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The 2012 NFL season is now underway, so let’s take a moment to consider football’s biggest and most unsung hero: the superfan.
On game day, superfans don’t just show up. They’re the ones tailgating at dawn, starting the wave and convincing all their friends to show up and cheer, too.
Not many of us would go that far for something we love. And that’s what makes superfans so valuable – in football and in social media.
Social media superfans aren’t as easy to spot as face-painting football fans, but they’re just as important. They’re the ones writing great reviews about your products, commenting on your blog posts and telling their friends about you. They take the work of social media marketers and amplify it, and we couldn’t do it without them.
Happily, social media gives us lots of ways to find and reward brand superfans. To find them, try:
Setting up alerts though Google, Social Mention or your favorite social media monitoring tool to make sure you don’t miss any reviews about or mentions of your business or product.
Pasting a link from your blog or website into Topsy.com to find out who’s sharing your content. (Click the “show influential only” checkbox to narrow down the list to just influencers.)
Using social media insight tools like Buffer and Crowdbooster to discover which of your fans and followers are the most active in sharing your content and commenting on your posts.
Once you’ve found your superfans, what should you do next? It’s simple – anything and everything you can to let them know how much they rock.
Get To Know Them
Once you get to know your superfans, you’ll know what motivates them and have a better idea of how to give them what they want. Enter their information into a CRM tool so you can keep up with them, then follow them on Twitter, fan them on Facebook and read their blog.
Meet Them Where They Are
Superfans take the extra time to chat you up, so do the same for them. Respond to their comments (and make sure you remember names!). Involve them in a Twitter chat or Google Hangout. Ask them for a testimonial or guest blog post. If you see them in person, buy them a drink.
Help Them Be Great
Yes, they love your brand – but most social media superfans have lots of other stuff going on in their lives, too. Take some time to learn how you can help them they way they’ve helped you. Share their content. Introduce them to like-minded people. Build them up as experts.
Give Them Perks
It’s tried and true, but everybody loves a perk. Reward your superfans with unexpected treats, creative contests or any other special treatment that makes sense for your brand.
Include Them
Give superfans super access to your brand – they’ve earned it. Create an exclusive group of your biggest and most vocal fans to help them connect to one another. Give them a direct line to your brand for their suggestions and ideas. Ask them for their opinion about what’s going on in your industry, or even about your product’s future.
Empower Them
Finally, make sure your superfans have everything they need to keep talking about you. If they’re blogging about you, make sure you supply them with photos, quotes or anything else they need. If you notice they’re telling their friends about your brand, consider creating a referral program.
Superfans are enthusiastic, energetic and they love your brand – a perfect combination. How do you find and reward your social media superfans? Let me know in the comments.
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