Here's what you need to know about your fans

To be the best, you need to know your fans… And no, we don’t just mean studying their demographics. You’ve got to get deep into the fanbase! You need to create an actual understanding of who your fans are.

We’ve mentioned building relationships with your fans a lot recently and we are deadly serious! A lot of musicians don’t treat this as a priority. But at the end of the day, better understanding ultimately leads to better communication… Personal communication.

When we say communicating personally, we aren’t saying that you have to send every single fan a personal message asking about their day. Sending out group emails and communications is not an issue, so long as you do it the right way. The likelihood is that your fans know it’s a bulk email, and not sent just to them, but it shouldn’t be obvious. If a fan knows that an email wasn’t really designed for them and it isn’t relevance to them, you got issues!

Everything you send to your fans needs to be meant for them. Delivering the right message to the right audience is absolutely vital. It shows an understanding of who you are communicating with and creates value on both sides. Your fans will feel that you take the time to know them, whilst you put the right content in front of the right people, maximising its potential.

Sending out blanket information to everyone offers the complete opposite effect. Your audience becomes annoyed and disinterested, so stops paying attention to the information you send.

Your fans are individuals!

…and they want to be treated that way too! No one wants to feel like just another number. When you interact with your fans on social media, send them updates or announce something exciting, treat them with the value they deserve.

We know it’s not possible to know every single one of your fans personally, but that’s not what we are suggesting. What you do need to do is understand them. Then, by understanding who makes up the different segments of your audience, you’ll be able to build a much stronger content strategy.

What Platforms Are They On?

If you’re planning to announce a pre-save on Spotify, then you probably don’t want to send it to your Apple Music listeners. Especially if sending it out is costing you money. Similarly, if you had zero Spotify listeners and 20,000 apple music listeners, then you’ll probably want to invest your time and promotion into Apple Music, as that’s where your audience is.

You can see the data from your client portal and your email campaigns to rack the platforms your audience uses and other data. By collecting this information, you can segment your audiences and send out relevant posts.

How interested in your career are they?

There is a big difference between a casual listener and a die-hard fan. A casual listener probably isn’t very interested in your next livestream, but a diehard fan will want to know everytime you blow your nose! Differentiate between the two and customise your content for these two groups. Send every bit of news to the diehard fans! Save the other audience for big announcements only.

Where on Earth are they?

We know we said we weren’t talking about demographics. But we’re also not, not talking about them. The demographic data is extremely important. It just isn’t the only thing you need.

You need to know where they are. Although, you’ll probably be fine without the house name and number (it would look a little weird if you asked for that). But if you know their country, and maybe even their county/state or closest city, you can make the most of localised promotion. After all, we’ve all received an email about a gig happening on the other side of the country and wondered why on earth we’ve been sent it. AVOID THAT. Use location data to tailor geo-targeted updates.

Do they already have your music?

Do you want to send a link to buy your new release to someone who already bought it last week? Probably not. It’s a waste of both of your time.

You need to understand who is listening to, and purchasing your music. If you have a fan mailing list or newsletter list, be sure to update this info with tags and segments!

What is their name?

Personalise your communications. It’s a simple button for you, but for your reader, it’s personalised to who they are.

By not tracking fan behaviour and information, you end up sending blanket messages to your whole audience. On the surface, this seems good. You are still getting your information out there and communicating your exciting news. But, in the long term, this will do more harm than good. Your audience lose interest and take zero notice of your updates. You may even find yourself with a one-way ticket to the junk folder!

Not to worry though. There is a solution. By getting to know your audience, you reduce the risk of sending unwanted communications out.

So you know what to do! Remember that your audience isn’t one faceless mass. Treat your fans as the individuals they are, and tailor your communications to the individuals. See why it’s important to treat your fans properly in our recent blog post, “Harnessing the Power of Word of Mouth”.

If you are interested in distribution solutions for getting your music out there, check this out!